2002 Munford Bantam Cougar’s Defense

S E T N T E S
C M C

B
911 Defense
Our defense has been designed (copied) to face the largest threat that we face at
the 6-7 year old level. Anyone who has watched football for this age group
realizes that the offensive attacks that we face, and the only ones the kids are
good at executing are run-based. Look at the formations that we run into and the
series of plays that are run. Typically we see Straight T, Wishbone, and
variations of I-formation offenses that pass 1 or 2 times per game at most. They
run dives, sweeps, blasts, and counter plays. So why should we adopt a defense
that tries to stop the “modern” passing attack? The answer is that we should not.

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 2002 Munford Bantam Cougar’s Defense

One of the ways defenses can be defined and are different from one another is
by counting the number of defensive backs, linebackers, and linemen in the
game. If we have chosen a run stopping defense then the logical conclusion is to
match our personnel and positions to fit our philosophy. At the youth level this
means taking out the secondary players and replacing them with linemen and
linebackers. The reason defenses have deep safeties and corners are because
of the advent of the modern passing attack. We do not have to defend against
40 yard bombs. We are not facing Brett Favre on third and long. Kids at this
level are terrible at passing. QB Johnny is typically running for his life and WR
Jimmy can’t see through his facemask well enough to see the ball before it hits
him in the head. We just need a prudent method of dealing with the passes that
we will encounter. So you will not see zone blitz, nickel, or dime packages. You
will see kids learning how to line up properly, how to get into a proper stance,
how to pursue the play and how to tackle safely.

Personnel and Positions

The abilities of our kids need to be balanced against the assignments that the
defense calls for. This should be intuitive to those familiar with football. If we
place a kid in a position for which he is unsuited, then he may become
discouraged at his lack of success. He may then ultimately decide to quit
football and maybe all organized sports. We should expect our better athletes to
accept more difficult assignments to challenge them and support the team, and
the upcoming athletes need a position with less demanding requirements in order
to be successful. If we accept a cookie cutter approach to individual
development then we rob the exceptional athlete of the prospect to excel.
Conversely, if we limit the scope and burden of our upcoming athletes then they
also have an opportunity to be successful in their role.

Note: We are not in the business of developing future high school Middle
Linebackers or Cornerbacks or Defensive Ends or whatever. High school football
is very different from youth football. We do not know what the higher-level
coaches want in player abilities and we will not typecast any player. Players will
be evaluated and then placed where they can best help our team.

Defensive Structure
Our defense is split into two units to adjust to offensive formations, movements
and strategies. The ‘Pressure Unit’ will be made up of Def. Ends, Def. Tackles,
Nose Tackle and the Middle Linebacker. The ‘Mobile Unit’ will be made up of the
Stingers, Cornerbacks, and the Bandit. This way we have one unit solely
dedicated to stopping the run and the other unit has pass coverage and then run
stopping responsibilities.

A successful design for a team defense needs to account for the following:

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 2002 Munford Bantam Cougar’s Defense

1. Every gap must be assigned a defender.

2. There must be a containment defender to turn plays to the inside.
3. A defender responsible for reverses, bootlegs, and counter actions.
4. All eligible receivers need to be covered on pass plays.
5. A defender responsible for each ball carrier in the option series.

A description of the individual positions and assignments of both units will show
how we address each of the requirements for our defensive design.

The Pressure Unit

This unit is composed of run stoppers and pass rushers. Their primary job is
PRESSURE. They need not be concerned with pass coverage or multiple
responsibilities. They are to penetrate into the backfield and stop plays before
they get started.
This unit will be composed of the following personnel with their alignments and
responsibilities summarized here.

N = Nose T = Tackles E = Ends M = MLB

Alignment Head up to Inside shade Align 1 yd Stack behind
Responsibilities middle of the of T - Rush B outside EMOL nose guard
O-line gap @ 45 deg
Run Both A gaps B gap, force Crash, D gap, A to D gap
Responsibilities G&T to boot, counter inside out
double-team
Pass Middle rush Middle rush, Crash rush Check draw,
Responsibilities force G&T to screen, then
double-team pursue ball

Each of the defenders is responsible for specific gaps on the snap of the ball. If
the play is directed in their area then the defender needs to fight through blocks
and tackle the ball carrier. If the flow of the play is away from the defender then
he needs to get into a pursuit pattern to catch the play from the inside out. This
is the unit that will respond to changes in formation of the offensive line (i.e.
unbalanced or large splits).

The Mobile Unit

This unit will also primarily be run stoppers, but they have the added
responsibility of being conscious of passing plays and changing assignments.
When any member of this unit recognizes a pass play he will find his assigned
receiver and cover him. THE ENTIRE TIME YELLING PASS, PASS, PASS.
This unit will be composed of the following personnel with their alignments and
responsibilities summarized here.

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 2002 Munford Bantam Cougar’s Defense

S = Stingers C = Cornerbacks B = Bandit

Alignment 3yds outside DE, Inside shade of #2 Shade to strength,
Inside shade of #1 (TE), or C gap Inside shade of #3
Run Contain, D gap, C gap, D gap, A to D gap inside
responsibilities reverse, boot String to sideline out
Pass Mirror #1 receiver Mirror #2 receiver Mirror #3 receiver
responsibilities man to man man to man man to man or
middle zone

Each of the mobile defenders will be assigned a man and that man will determine
where the defender lines up. They will first check their man to determine whether
he will be giving a key for run or pass and then will assume the proper response.
(e.g. If the CB is defending the TE and the TE blocks down on the tackle, then
the CB will have read a run key and will cover the C to D gap.) If the flow of the
play is away from the defender and he reads run then he needs to get into a
pursuit pattern to catch the play from the inside out. This is the unit that will
respond to changes in formation of the backfield and ends.

Below is a sample diagram of our defense arrayed against a typical offensive

formation that we expect to see:

S E T N T E S
C M C

B
Adjustments
We will incorporate a limited number of blitzes and stunts into our defensive
structure to allow use to meet certain offensive threats. As the players master
the base defense we will add complexity to the defense, but not until they show
competence in the base defense.
Player Descriptions

N = Big, Strong, Smart ~ able to control the C, read the play and fill the proper A-
gap (being able to drive the C back into the play is a big plus.)

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 2002 Munford Bantam Cougar’s Defense

M = Quick, Big Hitter, Smart ~ able to recognize and pursue quicker than anyone
else on the team ~ able to shed blockers ~ great tackler (willing to drill anyone,
even when they are already being tackled, hit 'em again.)

E = Speed, Big Hitter, Speed ~ able to run right past any attempted kickouts and
wreck every play ~ able to shed blockers ~ great tackler (would be MLB if he
could recognize and pursue better)

B = Speed, Discipline, Tackler ~ able to be last line of defense due to speed and
discipline ~ able to make every tackle because noone is behind him (I personally
don’t want my Bandit to move forward until the MLB has the runner wrapped up
or MLB has missed the play.)

S = Discipline, Speed, Pursuit ~ able to get as deep as the ball, slowly work in
toward the play but most of all stay home ~ able to contain, contain, contain ~
able to turn the play inside then pursue from backside

C = Smart, Big Hitter, Quick ~ able to read a play and make the tackle ~ able to
cover receivers ~ able to bull rush a TE to make the DE's job easier (these are
really OLB types and I may change their name in the future)

T = Strong, Quick, Mean ~ able to force the double-team and beat it if they can ~
able to take a pounding and come back for more ~ able to make offense pay if
they don’t double-team him

**These descriptions are obviously wishful thinking in some cases. But you
should be shooting for these traits when you are deciding whom to put where. **

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