Defensive line play in the 3-3 Stack.

Acurrent phenomenon sweeping the gridiron is the same Stack 3-3 (or 5) defense with which Hank Stram of the Kansas City Chiefs devastated two leagues back in the '60s and '70s (AFL and NFL) and is currently being used by many colleges as a base defense or change-up on third-down play.

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Such major colleges as West Virginia and Nebraska have shifted to it as an every down defense. West Virginia ranked 104th in rush defense in 2001, then committed to the 3-3 in 2002 and finished 11th.

Following are some of the myriad reasons that teams are switching to it:

It has an 8-man front.

The 8 defenders are in two point stances, making it easier for two of them to see and run to the ball.

Replacing a lineman with a linebacker or defensive back allows the defensive coordinators to put more athleticism and speed on the field.

Allows the defense to use smaller players, which some programs have in abundance.

Matches up well against spread offenses.

Tailor-made zone blitzes. With 8 men near the LOS, it becomes difficult for the offenses to distinguish who will rush and who will drop.

Allows defenses to effectively attack directionally--wide side, short side, right, or left.

The 3-3 has great flexibility and adaptability, as you can see by the way it can be manipulated to aggressively attack the offense.

Following are various strategies or methods of attack available to the 3-3 defensive line.

SHADES

Base Call, Diag.1:

Places all three linemen in a head-up foot-to-foot alignment on the offensive linemen. All the various aspects of line play--shades, slants, and jets--start from the base alignment. Defensive linemen are in an attack/read mode and will read the blocker's hat. When in doubt, they favor the inside or B gap. Linebackers will overlap to C gap.

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55 Technique, Diag. 2:

Ends are in 5 techniques. Ends place their inside eye on the offensive lineman's outside eye. Defenders are in a three-point stance with their inside hand on the ground and their outside foot back. They will power step with the shaded foot while reading the blocker's hat.

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As with all alignments, the defender is in an attack first-read second mode. The width of the 5 techniques can be adjusted according to the ability level. The better the defender, the tighter the alignment.

44 Diagram 3:

A 44 call places the ends in a three-point stance with an inside shade on the offensive tackles. Their shaded foot is back and the covered hand is down. The ends are responsible for B gap. Any outside release by the offensive tackle should trigger a trap read by the defender.

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33 Diagram 4:

The ends align on the outside eye of the guard in a three-point stance. Once again, the ability levels can dictate the thickness of the shade. A 33 call presents the offense with a 3-on-3 ration in the middle, which could present pass protection problems.

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On 55, 44, and 33 calls, the ends will first show base alignment and their move on their own to the called front. This will add pre-snap line movement to the defense, which could cause run or pass scheme confusion.

On all the previous calls, the nose two gapped the center. To get the nose on a particular side of the center, we simply add a pre-fix to the numerical call using words.

Plus 55, Diag. 5:

If we desire the center to shade to the strength of the formation, we will call Plus 55. The ends will be in 5 techniques and the nose will shade to the strength of the formation.

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Minus 33, Diag. 6:

Should we want the nose to shade to the weak side of the formation, a minus call will be in order.

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Lucky 55, Diag. 7:

There may be times you will want to shade the nose of a particular player, wide side, short side, left, right, or the center's snap hand. To do this, you may use a Lucky (lefty) or a Ringo (Right).

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SLANTS

A wide variety of directions can be used to slant the defensive line in the 33. All slants start from the base alignment, which has the nose head up on the center and the ends head up on the offensive tackles. Directional slants include weak, strong, right, left, and motion.

Weak: This slant is directed away from the strength of the formation.

Strong: Linemen slant to the strength call.

Right: Linemen slant to their right. This direction slant isn't determined by the offensive formation. Wide side or shortside tendencies may trigger this call. Offensive right or left tendencies could also trigger this call.

Left: This slant, like the Right call, is predetermined.

Motion: Offensive motion may be a clue or tip-off to the upcoming play. Linemen can slant to or away from motion. The slant can be communicated by a Roger (right) or Louie (left) call.

Reasons for Slanting can include:

* Toward a particular offensive player.

* Toward the wide side or short side of the field (hash mark tendencies).

* To left vs teams that are right-handed.

* To right vs teams that are left-handed.

* To formational tendencies.

* To or away from motion tendencies.

SLANT TECHNIQUE

No matter what reason you have for a slant or which slant you want to employ, the technique remains the same. The slanting defensive lineman aims for the V of the offensive opponent's neck.

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The defender's weight should be on the opposite foot. For example, on a slant to the defender's right, his weight should be on the instep of his left foot.

The first step should be taken with the slant side foot. Slant left-Step left. The defender should cut down his base. In other words, without giving away the slant, he should narrow his base and get his feet closer together.

CHANGE UP ON A SLANT

Jacks Call, Diag. 8:

Tells the nose not to slant, but to play base. It's the ends who will execute the slant.

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4 Call, Diag. 9:

Tells the end to work to a 4 technique instead of executing the slant. There are various reasons for using a 4 call. For example, if the defensive coach is concerned about a possible trap play to the strong side, he may be hesitant about calling a Strong slant.

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Diagram 9 shows what would happen should the offense have a trap called vs a Strong slant.

Diagram 10 illustrates the same trap play with a Strong 4 call.

As we evolved in our understanding of the 3-3, we figured out that we could get the same advantages from slanting without really slanting. In other words, we could get people where we want them without taking a chance of them being cut off on a slant or having to re-direct, should the play be opposite.

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Since the slant is not overly effective vs dropback passes, we prefer a straight-line approach to the quarterback.

SHADE

Instead of calling Strong (Diag. II), we can call Strong Shade (Diag. 12). This call places the left end in a 5, the nose in a plus shade, and the right end in a 4 technique. Each defender plays an attack-read technique from his particular shade.

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Jet, Diag. 13:

Taking the Strong call and tagging it with a Jet call, the defense can get the result shown in Diag. 13. Each defender will get on the edge of the blocker and explode upfield. This is particularly effective on pass plays.

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Strong Gap, Diag. 14.

A Strong Gap call places defenders in the gap to the strong side. Each defender will execute a gap charge from this alignment.

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Any directional slant call--Weak, Strong, Right, Left, and Motion--can be tagged with a Shade, Jet, or Gap call. This will give defensive coaches the ability to play Base, Slant, Shade, Jet, or Gap according to the situation.

By Kenny Ratledge, Defensive Coordinator, Sevierville (TN) County H.S.