March 6, 2006

James Durrant
UteZone.com Senior Writer

UteZone.com recently sat down with Utah defensive coordinator Gary Andersen for a lengthy chat on the Utes' defense. Utah has run basically the same base defense since the early 90's, when Fred Whittingham became the defensive coordinator. Fred passed that scheme on to his son, Kyle Whittingham, who in turn passed it on to coach Andersen, who arrived at Utah in 1997.

While some aspects have changed as offenses around the conference and country continue to evolve, many of the basics remain the same. Outside of players, defensive schemes work well when based in solid fundamentals. In this, the first of a multi-part series on the defense, we will cover the basic alignment and player responsibilities of the Utah base 4-3. We will also get coach Andersen's insights on what types of athletes he likes at each position.

Chalk Talk: Brief Description of Terminology

Defensive alignments are often designated by the number of players per level of the defense. There are three levels to any defense: the line or front, the linebackers, and the secondary or backfield.

Technically, you could say Utah runs a 4-3-4 defense, BYU runs the 3-3-5. TCU runs a 4-2-5, etc. However, often times the secondary is left out if the standard 4 defensive back alignment is run. There are different ways to describe even a 4-3 defense, based on where the line and linebackers align themselves. The most common are "stack", "over", and "under".

A "stack" alignment generally means that all 3 linebackers are 3-5 yards off the line of scrimmage and generally directly behind a defensive linemen. "Over" and "under" alignments generally have one linebacker on the line of scrimmage, the defensive line shifted to one side, and the two deep linebackers lined up in a gap.

There are some minor differences between the two alignments, basically it is an "over" alignment if the strong end is "over" the tight end, and an "under" if the strong end is "under" the tight end and over the offensive tackle. A gap is the space between offensive linemen, and each gap is assigned, depending on the scheme of the team, a letter or a number. Both systems start from the center out to the tight ends.

Numbers generally go odds to the left of the offense, evens to the right, starting at "1" to the center's left and "2" to the center's right. Letters are the same on both sides and begin with "A" on either side of the center. "Strong side" or "weak side" in either offensive or defensive terminology generally refers to where the tight end lines up. The tight end side is the "strong side". The "box" that is often referred to during broadcasts refers to the area between the tight ends and extending to the running backs and linebackers.

Utah's 4-3 alignment and player responsibilities

Utah runs a 4-3 under style defense as their basic alignment. According to coach Andersen, "the reason we call in under is the defensive front is basically reduced to the weak side of the defense. It is a weak side reduction defense with a true anchor STUD linebacker playing on the line of scrimmage and then a true strong side end, 5 technique, playing to the strong side "C" gap."

Andersen also adds, "We're going to have our nose guard playing in the "A" gap to the strong side, our 3 technique (defensive tackle) is going to play the "B" gap to the weak side, and then our open end (or weak side end) is going to go to the weak side of the defense. Everything that we do bases off our base defense."

Some of the basic responsibilities of each position:

STUD - The STUD or strong side linebacker is the anchor of the strong side of the line. His job is to hold the edge of the defense, or, in other words, to keep the play from getting outside of him. He is generally the most physical linebacker, as he will usually be fighting with a tight end to hold that edge. In coverage, his responsibility is usually the tight end.
MAC - The MAC or middle linebacker is generally lined up in the strong side "B" gap. His responsibilities are the "B" gap and generally one of the running backs in coverage. He needs to be able to run to the ball and attack his gap. Occasionally, he will be an "A" gap player, but his primary responsibility is the "B" gap.

Rover - The ROVER linebacker is more of the free linebacker. It is his job to flow to the ball and make tackles. "Our ROVER backer is more protected," says coach Andersen. "He's more of a runner. He has the ability to make a lot of tackles in our defensive scheme." The ROVER will also have a running back in coverage schemes.
Open End - The Open End is the more athletic of the defensive linemen. His job is to control the edge of the defense on the weak side. On certain blitz packages, he will drop back in coverage if a back comes his way. He's a hybrid player, not a STUD linebacker, not a Base End, but a combination of the two and their responsibilities.

Chalk Talk: Traffic Players

Traffic players on the defense are usually the two tackles and the Base End.

"If I'm inside and I'm covered up (meaning an offensive player to either side), I'm a true traffic player at that point," explains coach Andersen.

"I have to be able to take on double teams because either one of those could take advantage of me and get on me, so I've got to be able to squeeze that [offensive player] back up in [the gap] and put myself in position to truly play a gap and a half."

So what exactly is a gap and a half? Says Andersen, "A gap and a half is this: Right now [the base end] is a true "C" gap defender, but the way I play with my body, the way I squeeze with my hands and the way I put things back inside or squeeze it back, in other words, if I get a down block right here, I'm going to squeeze that gap back here and I'm going to play my gap with my body and I'm going to play the tight end gap with widening that gap to help the STUD linebacker, so I play a true gap and a half."

A gap and a half is basically collapsing the lineman into another gap while the defensive lineman plays his gap with his body, thereby closing a gap and at least half of another. This prevents linemen from getting downfield and blocking the linebackers. Playing a gap and a half helps the MAC and ROVER linebackers to make plays in the running game.

Another important aspect of the defensive linemen is playing their gaps in the passing game. The two ends are most responsible for applying pressure on the quarterback, but all four linemen still play their gaps during the pass rush. This is referred to as playing the QB running lanes, and is an important part in keeping quarterbacks from scrambling and getting positive yards. Every lineman has to stay in his rush lane while generating a pass rush.

Defensive line positions:

Tackle - The Defensive Tackle (also called the "3 technique", referring to the numbering system mentioned earlier) is a true "B" gap player. His job is to basically control the "B" gap, which keeps offensive linemen from getting downfield and blocking the ROVER.
Nose Guard - The Nose Guard is a true "A" gap player. His job is to control the "A" gap, keeping the MAC backer clean. His primary responsibility, based partly on his alignment between the center and strong side guard, is to get double teamed and take up two blockers. Any traffic defender needs to be able to take on double teams, but by alignment the nose is going to see the most.

Base End - The Base End, frequently referred to as the "5 technique" is also a hybrid player. He's not really a pure end, and not a pure tackle. He's a combination ? a traffic player who needs to have the strength to control the "C" gap and yet have the speed to generate a pass rush off the edge.

Defensive Secondary positions

Safeties

The Utah safeties do not have a defined role such as "strong" or "free" safety. They are basically interchangeable. In Utah's basic scheme, one safety will play the "post" ? an intermediate to deep middle zone so the corners know they have help to the inside, and one will have man coverage or blitz responsibilities. Occasionally both will play deep zone coverage, covering their half of the field and giving both corners immediate help to the inside. And sometimes one safety will drop down into the "box" to give the appearance of a run stopping alignment and confuse blocking schemes.

Cornerbacks

Utah is a very heavy man coverage team, constantly leaving their corners on an island - it is their responsibility to keep their man from catching the ball. The first priority is always the wide receiver, run support is secondary.