
In both cases, the nickelback is primarily responsible for the underneath zone.

The three cornerbacks can play man coverage with the two safeties providing zone coverage up top.Įach safety would be responsible for the two deep halves of the field over top in this case.ĭefenses also have options for zone coverages, too. As Offensive Coordinators continue to find innovative and creative ways to spread the field, Defensive Backs' roles and responsibilities continue to grow. The 46 defense is similar to the 4-3 defense, but allows the strong safety to come up and play in more of a linebacker position. Playing nickel allows the defense to be more flexible with man and zone coverages. The Defensive Back position remains one of the most challenging positions to play in today's football game.
#DB FOOTBALL POSITION FREE#
The free safety would pick up the slot receiver once the nickelback peels off, then. If there's a running back in the backfield, he may have the freedom to peel off the receiver and pick up the back on a route. If man-to-man coverage is called, the nickelback will in most cases stick with the slot receiver no matter where he goes. Most of the time, they cover slot wide receivers who are likely to run shorter routes over the middle of the field and to the sidelines.ĭepending on the specific defensive play, they may also be responsible for picking up a running back on a route out of the backfield. And the best way to think about these positions is to think of them as layers on the football field. The skill guys are typically the RB, WR, QB and DB. Just like on Offense, there are 11 players on Defense. There are 3 different types of positions on the playing field there are the skill guys, semi-skilled and Lineman. Nickelbacks are typically responsible for what's called "underneath coverage." In order to effectively say what position you are going after you must know what the characteristics of the position are. The task for the offense is to move the ball forward and into the opposition’s endzone to score touchdowns, or close enough to attempt a field goal. You can move players all over the field to keep offenses off balance, and you can run variations of man-to-man and zone coverage. You can also employ a nickel defense that's simple or complex. The nickelback can play closer to the line of scrimmage than linebackers typically would, allowing for extra opportunities to create confusion with blitz packages.

They are trained to be quicker and faster, hence are more capable of keeping up with speedy receivers.Ī defense that uses a nickelback can play much faster and is also very versatile.

Nickelbacks have are trained specifically to master the art of covering receivers. In almost every case, your answer will be your third best cornerback. So, the decision becomes - when the offense brings in an extra receiver, do you want your worst linebacker covering him, or your third best cornerback? Even though this player is not a typical defensive starter, he's likely much better in coverage than your worst starting linebacker is.
