The 12 Posts of Playoffs : 9-technique

football, basics, playoffs, technique

Ok, so we’re diving a little bit deeper into the football world today, but I know you can handle it!

A 9-technique is a defensive technique. Which begs the question, what is a defensive technique?

A defensive technique probably sounds like it’s describing a specific aspect of a defender’s play, like he has a trick move that he whips out on blitzes or something. But techniques actually refer to a defender’s stance when he lines up on the defensive line.

We’ll back this truck up for a minute to remember that the defensive linemen are the players lined up directly across from the offensive linemen. The defensive line consists of defensive tackles and defensive ends.

See?

basic, football, offense, defense

(To clarify, the defensive line is in light green. The darker green squares labeled CB are cornerbacks; they are part of the secondary. If your brain feels like it’s in a blender, feel free to read this post all about defense.)

Ok, so for the players on the defensive line, each guy lines up in a specific “technique.” You’ll hear this terminology used quite a bit when draft time comes to call – analysts will be talking about a player as “a great 3-technique,” and so on and so forth. The technique describes his location on the line and what his primary responsibilities are.

In general, techniques are identified by numbers, starting with zero, and increase from inside to outside (almost always – this is still football, after all).

It looks like this:

football, fundamentals, technique

image by Pro Football Focus

There is an alternative system of numbering these techniques created by the legendary Bear Bryant, but it’s not quite as straightforward as this one. We’re going to stick to this method today, but feel free to read about both methods in this post all about techniques.

Ok, so the white line that crosses the field is the line of scrimmage. The circles on top of the line are the offensive line (plus one tight end on each side just to show how the numbers work when a tight end lines up with the O-line). The numbers on the bottom of the line indicate the “technique” of the player who would be standing in that position.

Stay with me, here.

So if a defensive linemen, usually a nose tackle, is lined up directly across from the center, he’s playing 0-technique. If a defensive tackle is lined up to the outside should of an offensive guard (labeled RG or LG), he’s playing 3-technique. If he’s lined up to the inside shoulder, he’s playing 1-technique. Directly over? 2-technique.

As per our post, the 9-technique would be lined up where?

If you guessed the outside shoulder of the tight end, you are correct!

Now the question is: who goes where? What type of player fits the mold for each technique? Let’s consider that in terms of odd-numbered techniques (except for zero), the ones most frequently used to describe defensive linemen:

0-technique: usually the biggest guy of the bunch. He’s traditionally (but not always) responsible for blocking the center and defending both A gaps*, so he’s got to be large enough to take up a lot of space on the field.

1-technique: similar physique and job description as the 0-technique, but he usually defends one gap (the A gap), not two, and should command attention from both the center and the guard.

3-technique: the lineman aligned in this position is poised for disruption. It’s his job to shoot the B gap and get into the backfield to disrupt any running or passing plays. As per Pro Football Focus (which is a must read for more information about these techniques – or about anything football, for that matter): “Unlike the first two tackle positions, the 3-technique relies far more on speed and agility than brute strength.”

5-technique: this alignment is designed to block the B and C gaps, not so much through size, but through length. The 5-technique player is usually large, but also tall.

7-technique: it’s all about setting the edge and stopping the run for the 7-technique player. In the case of a passing play, the lineman in this position should also be able to elude the tight end and the tackle and get into the backfield to disrupt a passing play.

9-technique: these are the speed rushers; the guys who are going to fly off the defensive line and into the backfield to rush the quarterback.

*Gaps? What? Read this post

So…that’s a lot to swallow, but does it kind of make sense? Questions, comments, and snide remarks welcomed below!

The 12 Posts of Playoffs : 10 Yards

football, basics, playoffs, yards

 

Did you know that all progress on a football field hinges on advancing 10 yards at a time?

True story.

It’s time to talk about everyone’s favorite aspect of football…the down system!!!

If the phrase “first down” makes you twitch a little bit because you have no idea what it means or why it pertains to football, this post should help.

The offense has four chances, called “downs,” to advance the ball ten yards. If they do, they receive a new set of downs and the opportunity to continue trying to reach the end zone to score.

Once the offense starts their drive, they have four chances, called “downs,” to move the ball 10 yards from where they started (this place is called “the line of scrimmage”). Each play is then calculated by what chance (down) the offense is on and how many yards they have left until they reach 10 yards total. Once they reach or exceed the 10 yards in one set of downs, they get a new set – four more chances to move the ball 10 more yards.

This is the reason why 10 yards is the distance that makes the football world go round.

Here’s an example. Let’s say the offense is starting their drive on their own 20 yard line. The offense needs to reach or exceed the 30 yard line, which means they’ve gained at least 10 yards total from where they began (at the 20 yard line), over the course of the next 4 downs to receive a new set of downs and therefore another opportunity to score. You will know how far the offense needs to go to gain a new set of downs thanks to the magic of technology: they need to reach or exceed the bright yellow electronic line on the field, which indicates how far the offense has to go to get a first down.

The first play is called “1st and 10,” because it’s the offense’s first down (chance) and they still have 10 yards to go to get a new set of downs. Every play after that is calculated by what down it is and how much further the team has to go to reach 10 yards total. So if on the first play (1st and 10) a team gained 3 yards, then next play would be 2nd and 7 – it’s the second down, and they still have 7 yards to go to reach the first down marker.

Got it? If you need any extra help and lots of other examples, check out the Basics of Offense post.

The 12 Posts of Playoffs : 11 Men

football, basics, playoffs, men

There are a whole mess of people on the sidelines of a football field, but too much of a good thing on the playing field will lead to a 5-yard penalty.

Each unit is allowed to have 11 players on the field. They can field less (if they want to find new and creative ways to lose), but they can’t field more. Too many men on the field is a 5-yard penalty.

Who are the 11 players on each unit? On offense, it’s usually five offensive linemen, one quarterback, and five offensive “skill” players – tight ends, runnings backs, and wide receivers. It looks something like this:

football, basics, offense

 

On defense, things are a little more flexible. A standard defense will usually be composed of three or four defensive linemen, three or four linebackers, and between four and six defensive backs (safeties and cornerbacks). It might look something like this:

defense

 

On special teams, the unit that comes out for kicking plays, different players come out for different types of plays. I don’t have a visual for that, but I do have this post.

A peek into the future: next season we’ll be doing a whole series on special teams because they’ve gotten the shaft for the past history of football two years here. Sorry, guys.

Final note: have you ever heard of the 12th man? The phenomenon in which the fans are so disruptive that it’s like their team has an extra player on the field? That expression exists because of the 11-men-per-unit rule.

(P.s. Happy New Year!!! Have a wonderful day, everyone!)

The 12 Posts of Playoffs : 12 Playoff Teams

football, teams, playoffs, basics

I know that we are a few days removed from the start of the 12 Days of Christmas, but how about the 12 Posts of Playoffs? Because who doesn’t want more to celebrate?!

The 12 Posts of Playoffs will be a series that runs for the next four weeks (conveniently also the duration of the playoffs). Each post will feature a lesson that coincides with the number of the day. Kind of like Sesame Street, but helpful for knowing what’s what on a football field.

Today’s lesson: the 12 playoff teams.

The playoff schedule is set. Twelve teams have advanced. But how did they make the cut? Let’s review.

We recently went over how the 12 teams are selected. Here’s a refresher:

Within the NFL there are two conferences, the AFC and the NFC. Each conference has four geographic divisions: the North, East, South, and West. Each division has four teams. So the AFC North, for example, consists of the Bengals, Browns, Ravens, and Steelers.

Teams advance into the postseason by the merit of their regular season record. The team with the best regular season record within each division gets an automatic playoff spot. That’s 8 teams. Two additional teams from each conference also advance. These “wildcard” teams are the two teams with the best record among the non-division winners from the whole conference (AFC or NFC). That’s 4 total wildcards teams. In total, that makes 12 teams that advance into the postseason.

The four teams that win their division from each conference are ranked (“seeded”) according to their regular season record, 1 through 4. That results in eight teams total. The remaining four teams are the wildcard teams, and they are ranked 5th and 6th within their conference based on their overall record. When matched up throughout the playoffs, the team that is seeded higher plays at home; the lower seed has to travel.

Let’s put some flesh on all of that by seeing what it looks like this season.

The four division winners in the NFC are the Eagles (East), the Packers (North), the Panthers (South), and the Seahawks (West). The NFC Wildcard teams are the Saints and the 49ers (by merit of having the best regular season record among the remaining NFC teams). The division winners are seeded 1 through 4 (also by merit of their regular season record) and the wildcard teams are seeded 5 and 6:

  1. Seahawks (West)
  2. Panthers (South)
  3. Eagles (East)
  4. Packers (North)
  5. 49ers (Wildcard)
  6. Saints (Wildcard)

The winner of the conference gets home field advantage throughout the playoffs (good luck with that, NFC). The top two seeds get a first round bye, which means the Seahawks and the Panthers don’t have to play this weekend. The remaining four teams play in the first round, Wildcard Weekend, and the higher ranked seed plays the lower ranked seed at the higher ranked seeds stadium. So the Saints will play the Eagles in Philadelphia and the 49ers will play the Packers in Green Bay (you can mail the Pepto Bismol directly to my house).

In the AFC, the Patriots won the East, the Bengals won the North, the Colts won the South, and the Broncos won the West. The Chiefs and the Chargers won the two wildcard slots. They are all seeded as follows:

  1. Broncos (West)
  2. Patriots (East)
  3. Bengals (North)
  4. Colts (South)
  5. Chiefs (Wildcard)
  6. Chargers (Wildcard)

This weekend, the Chargers will play the Bengals in Cincinnati and the Chiefs will play the Colts in Indy. The Broncos and Patriots have the week off.

Make sense? For much more on all things playoff, check out this post.

Postseason Prep : How Scoring Happens

football, basics, scoring

Here’s a football fact you already know:

The team with the most points wins the game.

See! You can do this!!!

While the most publicized (and coveted) way to earn those points is by scoring touchdowns, there are other ways to pad the numbers on your side of the scoreboard. In today’s postseason prep, we’ll talk about all of the ways that scoring happens.

ON OFFENSE

Touchdowns (6 Points) (Not 7!)

A touchdown is scored when one team gets the football into the other team’s end zone. If the football is entering the end zone by a running player, the football has to cross the goal line and be inside of the pylons to count as a touchdown. (Goal Line? Pylon? Greek? Check out this post.) If the football is being caught in the end zone by a receiver, the receiver must have two feet down in-bounds and have full control of the ball for it to count as a touchdown.

Extra Points (1 Point) (You already knew that)

As an added bonus, teams get to have an extra opportunity to score points after scoring a touchdown. Most will kick the extra point: a scoring attempt kicked from the 2-yard line that counts for 1 point. (That’s why it’s usually perceived that touchdowns are worth 7 points – 6 points for the touchdown + 1 point for the extra point = 7 points.)

Going for 2 (You guessed it…2 Points!)

Going for 2 is the other thing a team can do after they score a touchdown. Instead of kicking an extra point from the 2-yard line, they can try to get the football into the end zone (by running or passing – just like a touchdown) from the 2-yard line. If they do, they earn 2 points.

Field Goals (3 Points)

If a team decides to kick a field goal (why would they? find out here), it’s kicked from the current line of scrimmage (the imaginary starting line where the ball is placed) and it’s worth 3 points. One thing to keep in mind with field goals: the actual field goal distance is the line of scrimmage + 17 yards. So if your team is at the 30-yard line and decides to kick a field goal, it’s not a 30-yard field goal. It’s a 47-yard field goal. That’s because the goal post is at the back of the end zone (10 yards deep) and the kicker lines up 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage. 30 yard line + 17 extra yards = 47 yard field goal.

ON DEFENSE

Pick Six or Fumble Returned for a Touchdown (6 points)

A “pick six” is when a defender picks off a pass intended for a receiver and runs it into the end zone for a touchdown. He picked it off and returned it for a touchdown – 6 points – hence the name pick six. Points can also be scored on recovered fumbles. If a player loses the ball and a defensive player recovers it and runs it into the end zone for a touchdown, that’s also worth 6 points. (For all things turnovers, check out this post.)

Safety (2 points)

Just to keep things interesting, a safety is both a player and a play. Because why not? To make things even more interesting, safeties can be scored in a variety of ways: 1. If an offensive player is tackled with the ball while still in his own end zone, 2. If the offense gets called for a holding or intentional grounding penalty while in their own end zone, and 3. If the offense kicks the ball out of bounds or the quarterback steps out of bounds while in his own end zone. Safeties result in 2 points for the defense, and, salt in the wound, the offense doesn’t even get the ball back immediately afterward like they would after a scoring play on a turnover. They have to kick the ball off to the defense on their own 20.

ON SPECIAL TEAMS

Kick returned for a touchdown (6 points)

As we all saw in the Auburn Alabama game, kicks – whether missed field goals or kickoffs – can be returned for touchdowns.

And that’s a wrap! Even though scoring is traditionally thought of as the offense’s thing, scoring can happen by any unit at any time.

And that’s why we love football.

5-Minute Football : Red Zone

football, basics, red zone

NFL RedZone is a channel on the NFL Network. I’ve never actually seen it before but from the description I think it might be my own boiling point of brain. It just sounds so awesome.

But good news! The actual NFL red zone is a place on the field that everyone can see!

So, what is the red zone?

The red zone is the 20-yards prior to the opposing team’s end zone. (Need a refresher on end zones? Check out this post.) It’s called the red zone because it’s supposed to put you on high alert that scoring opportunities are ripe for the taking. The red zone is not actually red, which you already know, but here’s a visual to work with:

football, basics, red zone

Ok, so in this “rustic” visual, the team on offense is on the other team’s 15-yard line. That means they are approaching their end zone and are in scoring range. See how close they are to the end zone? In the red zone – anywhere within 20-yards of the opposing team’s end zone – they can reasonably score, either by field goal or touchdown.

There’s nothing significant or specific that happens when a team enters the red zone. It’s not like they earn any special privileges. The just the name for a section of the field, same as “end zone” or “side lines.”