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In American football, the 6–2 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of six down
The 6–2 is a defense that became popular in the 1930s due to the demands of the improving passing attacks of the time. In the early 1930s, pro football's passing rules were liberalized. By the late 1930s, the two standard defenses in college and the NFL were the 6–2 and the 5–3. The 5–3 was regarded as a pass defense, and the 6–2, for most teams, was the base defense.
By the 1940s, one could see this defense overshifted or undershifted. Pass defenses were man-to-man, zone, or a combination, the three man secondary lending itself to a Cover 3. Players would pull out of the line, to fall into short zones, as zone blitz teams do today, rushing four and having four players in short zones.Bible, p. 156. Secondary rotations were common as an adjustment to a "man in motion" from the T.
The usage of the 6–2 defense waned as the
The Past is Prelude
September 1, 1997.
linemen
Lineman or linesman may refer to:
In personal roles:
*Lineworker, one who installs and maintains electrical power, telephone, or telegraph lines
*Lineman (gridiron football), a position in American football
*Head linesman, the American football of ...
and two linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
s.
Historical
The 6–2 is a defense that became popular in the 1930s due to the demands of the improving passing attacks of the time. In the early 1930s, pro football's passing rules were liberalized. By the late 1930s, the two standard defenses in college and the NFL were the 6–2 and the 5–3. The 5–3 was regarded as a pass defense, and the 6–2, for most teams, was the base defense.
By the 1940s, one could see this defense overshifted or undershifted. Pass defenses were man-to-man, zone, or a combination, the three man secondary lending itself to a Cover 3. Players would pull out of the line, to fall into short zones, as zone blitz teams do today, rushing four and having four players in short zones.Bible, p. 156. Secondary rotations were common as an adjustment to a "man in motion" from the T.
The usage of the 6–2 defense waned as the T formation
In American football, a T formation (frequently called the full house formation in modern usage, sometimes the Robust T) is a formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about five yards behind the quarter ...
became more popular and more effective. By 1950, the base defenses in the NFL were all five man line defenses, either the 5–3 or the 5–2 Eagle. 8 man front defenses were still popular in the college ranks, and the six man line evolved. The defensive lines grew tighter, to gain numerical advantages over the five interior linemen. Gap control concepts were introduced, and to defend against the original option offense
An option offense is an American football offensive system in which a key player (usually the quarterback) has several "options" of how each play will proceed based upon the actions of the defense. Traditionally, option-based offenses rely on Rus ...
, the Split-T
The split-T is an offensive formation in American football that was popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Developed by Missouri Tigers head coach Don Faurot as a variation on the T formation, the split-T was first used in the 1941 season and allowed the ...
, rotating backfields were introduced.
Modern usage
Types of 6–2 defenses
Steve Belichick
Stephen Nickolas Belichick (January 7, 1919 – November 19, 2005) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played college football at Western Reserve University, now part of Case Western Reserve University, from 1938 to 1940 and t ...
differentiates between three fundamental forms of the 6–2, based on the position of the linebackers. If the linebackers are in the interior of the formation, with three defensive linemen to either side of them, then the formation is called the Split 6. If two guards are found between the two linebackers, then the formation is called the Wide 6 or the Wide Tackle 6. A formation where the linebackers are over the ends, in a fashion akin to the 5–2 Eagle, then the formation is referred to as the Tight 6.
Stemming from the Wide Tackle 6 front is the Stacked 6–2. In this formation, the linebackers line up behind the guards instead.
Play of the ends in the six-man front
An important function of ends in the original 6–2 or5–3 defense
In American football, the 5–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of five down lineman (football), linemen and three linebackers.
Historical
The 5–3 is a defense that appeared in the 1930s due to the demands of the ever–improv ...
were as penetrating linemen.Bible, pp. 136–137 Ends were often asked to crash (rush) at 30- to 45- degree angles from the vertical. Even into the early 1940s, as Aldo Forte noted, the crashing ends of the 6–2 could present considerable problems for an opponent. Only occasionally were they asked to fall back into pass defense, take on the role of a "wide" linebacker, or cover an offensive end man-for-man.
By the 1950s, however, new contain concepts, such as the "five spoke" unit emerged.Jones and Wilkinson, Chapter 6. In a "five spoke" contain strategy, ends, along with the three man defensive backfield, become part of the contain unit. This means that the ends acquire pass coverage responsibilities, and may have to step off the line and away from the defensive tackles to defend against certain pass patterns.Arnsparger, p. 56. So, instead of being pure run defenders and pass rushers, as 4–3 ends are, 6-man defensive ends with contain responsibilities function in ways much like outside linebackers in other defenses.
References
Bibliography
Arnsparger, Bill, ''Arnsparger's Coaching Defensive Football'', St. Lucie Press, 1999. Beech, Mark, ''When Saturday Mattered Most'', St. Martins Press, 2012.book
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...
Belichick, Steve, ''Football Scouting Methods'', Martino Publishing, 2010. original copyright 1962, by Ronald Press.
Bible, Dana X. ''Championship Football'', Prentice-Hall, 1947.
Brown, Paul and Clary, Jack, ''PB: The Paul Brown Story'', Atheneum, 1979
Carroll, Bob, Gershman, Michael, Neft, David, and Thorn, John, ''Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League'', HarperCollins, 1999, Chapter 17.
Daly, Dan, ''National Forgotten League'', University of Nebraska Press, 2012. book
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...
Halas, George, Morgan, Gwen, and Veysey, Arthur, ''Halas by Halas'', McGraw-Hill, 1979.
Jones, Gomer, and Wilkinson, Bud, ''Modern Defensive Football'', Prentice-Hall, 1957.
Owen, Steve, ''My Kind of Football'', David McKay, 1952.
Smith, Homer, ''Football Coach's Complete Offensive Playbook'', Parker Publishing, 1987, Chapter 1.
Zimmerman, Paul, ''The New Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football'', Simon and Schuster, 1984, Chapter 6.
Zimmerman, PaulThe Past is Prelude
September 1, 1997.
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
, retrieved June 22, 2013.
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American football formations