Safeties

Safeties along with conrerbacks are DB's (defensive backs). The safety (S) has multiple job responsibilities on defense. They can play man to man, zone or free. But more importantly, they are the last line of defense to stop the offense because normally they are the furthest players back. To start the play most safeties start 10 to 15 yards off the ball and make adjustments depending on their assignment.

Two types of safeties:

Strong safety (SS): The strong safety plays on the strong side of the field or the side that has more offensive players. There job is to either guard a receiver, running back, or zone.

Free Safety (FS): The free safety plays on the weak side or the side with fewer offensive players. Often times they are free to move where they want depending on how the play is developed. For example if the QB starts to look at the receivers to his left then the FS will start to go that way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_(American_and_Canadian_football_position)

In the image above, the defense is in a 3-4 alignment because there are three linemen and four line backers. Cause there are only two corners there are two safeties to make 11 players. Because the TE on offense is on the right side of the formation the play is strong right. When the play is strong right, the SS is on the right while the free safety is on the left.

Cornerbacks

The cornerback (CB) is one of my favorite positions because it was one of the positions I played. Also I had a lot fun playing it. The CB has the job of guarding either a man (receiver) or a zone (a specific part of the field). There is going to be a zone coverage post coming soon to further explain.

The main goal of a CB is to guard a receiver by not letting them catch the ball by all means. Most of the time they play one on one against receivers but sometimes they get help from the safety. To start the play the CB has two options; either press coverage (play on the ball) to try to stop the receiver or play off the ball so they don't get beat with a deep pass. To play CB you have to be strong, quick, flexible, agile, aggressive, and smart.

Good corners have to have good technique! The stance before the play is very important especially in press coverage because if the CB is not balanced then they will get knocked down and beat off the ball.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/

NFL Stadiums

What's up everybody. On this post there is a link to a map that I made showing you where most of the NFL stadiums are.

NFL Stadiums

Recievers

Hey everybody, this post is all about receivers. Here is a power point that I put together, enjoy!

Receiver PowerPoint

The Running Back.

On offense, a running backs (RB) main job is to run the ball and get as many yards as possible. Running backs are also called halfbacks (HB) and tailbacks (TB).They can run routes to catch passes and they can even block for the quarterback. You may here that football today is all about passing but any good passing team needs a good running game. When a team has a good run game, they have an advantage on the defends because they can control the game by keeping the ball longer. Also, a good run game opens up other play options like passes or trick plays. When running the ball, the main goal of course is to get a lot of yards while wearing down the defense. There are many holes or gaps to run the ball in depending on what the play is. You probably have heard or will hear that a good running team runs the ball down hill and through the tackles. That simply means that they go straight towards the end-zone between the offensive linemen.

Just for perspective, this is the view most RB's have before the ball is snapped. Yes the image is from a video game!

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Defensive line

The defensive line (DL) consist of 3 to 6 players depending on the down and distance for the offense. Just like the offensive line, these players are normally larger than the rest of the positions but some are a little thinner than offensive linemen. The size difference between O-linemen and D-linemen is best explained like this; the O-line has to take up space and block while the D-line has to be more athletic and agile to get between, through or around the O-line.

When there are fewer D-linemen (about 3 to 4) then the defense is most likely trying to stop short or long passes by bringing in more linebackers or defensive backs even though they can still try to stop the run. When there are more D-linemen then the defense is probably trying to stop the run, and when they bring in more lineman then there are less linebackers or defensive backs. The amount of linemen affects each persons job so each D-lineman's job varies depending on the play and set up.

Offensive Line

The offensive line (OL) consist of five to six players called linemen. Linemen often are tall, beefy, solid, or just fat. There body's are needed because they have a very physical job to do all game. These players line up side by side to block either for the quarterback on a pass or for a running back during runs.

There are three specific names you need to know.

The center is the one in the very middle, and the center has one of the most important jobs on the field; and that job is to snap/hike the ball to the quarterback. The center has to get a good clean snap to the quarterback so the play can start off as smoothly as possible. But right after the center snaps the ball they have to block the defense or else the play will not be successful.

The two guards line up on each side of the center. To tell the difference one is called the left guard (LG) and the other is obviously the right guard (RG). There basic job is to pass or run block.

There are also two tackles. Just like the guards there is a right tackle (RT) and a left tackle (LT). The tackles are the two on on the end most of the time and they line up right outside the guards.

*The tight end (TE) is also a part of the offensive line but they do more than just block. They can also run routes like the wide receivers. As you can see below they can line up right on the line of scrimmage to help disguise a run or pass. They can also line up wide like the receivers.

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