5-2

[CoachKen]

BKWarrior,

Your thought process on the 4-4 is actually well founded, it gives you a lot of second level speed and pursuit, but it forces you into a constant three deep and on the D1 level you will be in trouble quickly...unless...your outside guys are really strong safeties. When we play Alabama you will see a four man front and three backers, except when they give us a nickel look and then it will be two with the extra DB set to the three receiver side or the wideside. They will come after the QB often and we will have to be ready for that.

The 6-2 is an old defense based on pure gap control and when few people threw the ball well. In my first coaching job it was our base defense for four years.

About the 5-2...many people credit Bud Wilkenson of Oklahoma with what is the modern version of this defense, that is why it is often called the "Oklahoma 5-2." He devised it to stop option football, with a rotating secondary the CB was usually responsible for the pitch back when action started that way. Tackle on dive back with the nose, End on QB, and the near side backer to scrap or fill depending on the play. This was the first defense to play assignment football against the option. If the LB got the dive back, the backside LB had a slow read for cutback. When option football was at its height, the 5-2 was very prevalent. Some idiots tried to use the 5-3 for this but it left you with a three deep secondary and put tremendous pressure on the OLB to make the pitch play on a faster back since the CB had to play deep third.

[BKWarrior]

Defense for dummies! Maybe that'd be coaches next novel

I WANT to see the 4-4. Hell, I'd like to see a d where we can switch it up more. Dictate to the offense what we want them to do. If you can do it with offense (make the d react to you) you should be able to do it the other way.
I would like to see us run diffrent defensive formations. not just the 3-4 that sometimes looks like a 4-3, I mean every defense!
With our d last year, we really didn't get as much pressure (initial pressure) as I would like.