I can’t beleive I have to ask this. I KNOW that I know it, but can’t remember it. Need a refresher.
The 4-3 defense is almost wildly different from a 3-4 defense. What gets me running like a little girl is trying to recognize a “dime” package from a “nickle” package. (Dude, one’s a bigger bag of meth) There, got that cheap joke out of the way.
So what’s the difference?
Nickel = 4 linemen, 2 linebackers, 5 defensive backs (usu. 3 corners, 2 safeties)
Dime = 4 linemen, 1 linebacker, 6 defensive backs (usu. 4 corners, 2 safeties)
There’s the theoretical Quarter as well, 7 DBs and only 3 linemen, but you don’t see
that very often because that’s almost a team’s entire secondary on the field at once!
Nickel Defense tiny Diagram
Dime Defense tiny diagram
http://football.about.com/cs//a/dimedefense.htm
Dime can also be used to decribe 3 down linemen, 2 linebackers, 6 defensive backs (usu. 4 corners, 2 safeties)
As long as we’re at it, what’s the 46 defense? I can’t decide if it’s four linemen and six defense backs or four linemen and six linebackers or four linemen, x linebackers, and 6-x defensive backs.
I’ve played nearly two seasons as the Eagles in Madden using this defense, and I’m still not sure exactly what it is.
6 linemen, 4 DBs and a safety in the secondary. Basically, it’s 10 guys on or near the line and a mostly empty secondary.
46 Defense relies on man-to-man coverage. The gamble in the 46 is that the man coverage willl only need to hold long enough for QB pressure to shorten the life of the play and the shorten the routes (not to mention the QB’s life).
46 Defense has a wide range of success versus failure. In many defenses, the scheme can overcome some personel shortages, yet not take advantage of outstanding defensive players.
On the other hand, the 46 exposes weak DEF players quickly, yet takes advantage of exceptional defensive players, esp the line and the corners.
These are some of the same things I’ve been wondering, and just sort of filling in the gaps as I follow the games. The About.com articles do help…
One thing not described yet, though, is the difference between a “strong” safety and and “free” safety.
The strong safety lines up closest to the line, usually on the strong side (meaning the side with the tight end). The free safety plays deep in the middle. The free safety is the deepest defensive player on the field.
Well, basically the best way to describe a free safety is as an outfielder in the defense, back behind everyone else to back up as needed. A strong safety is almost like another linebacker, and will likely either be responsible for tight end coverage or be the 8th man up in the box against a strong running game.
The diagrams in the links provided by jimmmy don’t help as much as they could. The DB and NB in the dime defense just get relabled as NB and LB respectively. There’s got to be more to it than just calling them different names.
And while we’re at it, where do the names come from?
Nickle comes from having 5 DBs. 5 cents in a nickle.
Dime is sort of an extension of that.
I’ve got a question, and this seems like a good place to ask. What’s the difference between a split end and a flanker? Not so much the positional difference, but how a player gets chosen to play one of those positions versus the other. I know they’re both wide receivers, and that in a 2 WR formation (the standard formation) the split end is the 7th man on the line of scrimmage (which I think is required), while the flanker lines up about a yard behind the line. I should add that I realize that the “end” on the line is automatically an eligable receiver, so the flanker lines up on the “strong” side, letting the tight end be a receiver.
To use an example, if I’m Bill Parcells, and my starting wide receivers are Terry Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson, how do I decide which one I want at flanker and which one I want at split end?
The split end should be on the line of scrimmage and the flanker should be off the line. Officially a flanker is in the backfield along with the quarterback, fullback, and halfback… although some of these designations are not really used anymore. The flanker postion used to be a second halfback.
Flanker is now refered to as a Wide out, the same as a split end.
Halfbacks are now refered to as running backs.
Generally, although it’s not a hard and fast rule, the bigger guy will be the split end, and the smaller, faster guy will be the flanker.
The split end, being on the line, will often have to take a blow from the cornerback right at the snap. You want a big man out there who can help the cornerback learn that this is a mistake. The flanker, behind the line, will have a few steps between him and the opposing defensive back, so he will often use his elusiveness to avoid a chuck at the line and try to beat the DB downfield.
Also, the split end, being on the line, is limited in his motion. A flanker can cross the entire formation before and during the snap, and if he is speedy enough in doing so, can cause confusion in the defense’s coverage scheme.
[QUOTE=Who me?]
Flanker is now refered to as a Wide out, the same as a split end.
Halfbacks are now refered to as running backs.
[QUOTE]
Halfbacks also commonly line up behind the fullback, so are called tailbacks instead.
A flanker who lines up between the split end and the line is often referred to as a Slot Back, or “In the Slot”
Well, I left out a / in my quote tag, which brings up the “Slash” player. This is usually an athletic player (often he was a running QB in college, but his passing game isn’t up to NFL standards) that plays a variety of positions. “Slash”, because he’s a QB/RB/WR/KR/PR/DB/…