In American football, a nickel defense (also known as a 4–2–5 or 3–3–5) is any defensive alignment that uses five
defensive backs, of whom the fifth is known as a
nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. It is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adair. It wen ...
. The original and most common form of the nickel defense features four
down linemen and two
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
s. Because the traditional 4–2 form preserves the defense's ability to stop an opponent's running game, it has remained more popular than its variants, to the extent that even when another formation technically falls within the "nickel" definition, coaches and analysts will refer to it by a more specific designation (e.g., "
3–3–5" for a lineup of three down linemen and three linebackers) that conveys more information with equal or greater conciseness.
The nickel defense originated as an innovation of
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
defensive coach
Jerry Williams in 1960 and used successfully in the
Eagles' Championship victory over
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...
's
Green Bay Packers that year.
[''Philadelphia Daily News''. September 25, 1986] He later employed it effectively as a measure to defend against star
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...
Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year i ...
of the
Chicago Bears, holding Ditka to a single reception in the Eagles' 1961 victory over the Bears. The nickel defense was later used by then Chicago Bears assistant
George Allen George Allen may refer to:
Politics and law
* George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team
* George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...
, who came up with the name "nickel" and later marketed the idea as his own.
The nickel defense was popularized by head coach
Don Shula and defensive coordinator
Bill Arnsparger
William Stephen Arnsparger (December 16, 1926 – July 17, 2015) was an American college and professional football coach. He was born and raised in Paris, Kentucky, served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, and graduated from Mi ...
of the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
in the 1970s and is now commonly employed in obvious passing situations or against a team that frequently uses three+
wide receiver sets on offense.
In college football,
TCU is known to use a nickel defense as its base set, typically playing three safeties and two linebackers. Former Horned Frogs coach
Gary Patterson
Gary Allen Patterson (born February 13, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the special assistant to the head coach at the University of Texas. He is the former head football coach at Texas Christian University ...
installed the nickel partly out of necessity upon finding that larger and more prominent programs, most notably those of the large public universities in Texas, were able to "recruit away" most of the large athletes who would otherwise be available to the TCU program. As it turned out, the nickel proved to be a very good set against the
spread offenses proliferating throughout college football in the early 21st century.
A common defensive front adjustment for 3–4 teams to accommodate the nickel backfield involves putting the two outside linebackers into a three-point stance shading the offensive tackles (i.e., a 5 technique). To complete the adjustment, the 3–4 defensive ends are moved to face or shade the offensive guards. The nose tackle is removed for a defensive back. The purpose of this is to leave the four best pass rushers on the field in a long yardage situation. This is not the only adjustment that can be made. Bill Arnsparger would often remove linebackers from a 3–4 to create nickel and dime sets, replacing them with defensive backs.
[Arnsparger, Bill (1999). ''Coaching Defensive Football'', St. Lucie Press, Chapter 6.]
See also
*
Dime defense
In American football, the dime defense is a defensive alignment that uses six defensive backs. It is usually employed in obvious passing situations. The formation usually consists of six defensive backs, usually two safeties, and four cornerbac ...
*
3–3–5 defense
In American football, the 3–3–5 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen, three linebackers, and five defensive backs. The 3–3–5 defense can also be referred to as the 3–3 stack and the Spread Defense. It i ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickel Defense
American football strategy
American football formations