Yes- Defensive line play has options

2/5/2012 11:03:13 AM
By: SCoreboard



There are two basic ways to use/play the defensive line.  The most common is with the defensive line clogging gaps to allow the linebackers to play freely to make tackles.  This is done normally with very large defensive linemen that anchor a gap and take on two blockers.  This style is the most common because there are far more big guys without speed that make up the majority of defensive line players.

The other option is to attack gaps with the defensive line through technique and/or stunts.  The goal with this type of play is to crash the gaps and play in the offensive backfield to cause disruption.  These players are hard to find because they still need to be big enough to play against the run.  This requires more athletic, faster defensive linemen more in the mold of Cody.  To your point, it looks like SC's defensive line will lead to more of an attacking style.

The hard part personnel-wise is that defensive linemen are a rare breed and there aren't too many great ones.  Usually a defensive line has a combination of players that are either big or fast, but rarely both.  It seems that these big athletes "grow" the most in the Southeast area.  That's why it hurts to lose out on several in CA this year because now we also get to play against them for 4 years.

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