Multiplicity But Simplicity | Introducing the 4-2-5 Defense

Glad you chose to take this on Seth! This will add some nice quality time before the fall.

Yet, in some weird way, I feel like the bell just rang for summer break and as I’m bolting out of the school, with the wind in my face, into the warm bright sunlight and toward the promise of the freedom that endless hours outside of that building will bring – I can hear my teacher behind me announcing that we have a summer assignment.

excited to see if it will work out well this year. One thing is for sure….the defense needs to not flinch or shrink back. My wife would get so mad at me when i would yell at the tv…..“where’s their fire! where’s their passion!”

I also wanted to add, but completely forgot, that I was watching the FSSW Texas Tech spring review and Glasgow was being interviewed about the defense and he said that the entire defense was installed in 3 days. There were quite a few articles this spring written about how Holgorsen implemented his offense in 3 days and how it all works. I wish they had followed this up with an additional question about how that process works, but the interviewer did not. In any event, I hope this is indicative as to how the process works, which is that if the defense can be installed in 3 days, then the remainder of the practices were spent repeating those 3 things over and over. I have a feeling that this year, we’ll see a relatively simple defense, but hopefully that simple defense will be really good at what it does.

will admit to you that coaching defense is one of those things where recruiting the right players and making sure they go into game situations with their heads screwed on the right way will make you look like a genius whether you’re running a 3-4 or a 4-3 or a 1-5-5. That’s why we saw such an appreciable improvement when Setencich was replaced by McNeil, and that’s a little of why we saw such a regression when McNeil was replaced by Willis. Glasgow seems to share that outlook.

Another way to present the theorybehind playing great leverage is telling your players once the ball declares inside or outside of you, never allow it to crossback across your face.

Being in Boise, has afforded me the opportunity to see the 4-2-5 in action for the last 5-6 years. One of the major underpins to this defense is physical Safety and Nickelback play. Whomever fills the role of the Rover (either the NB or FS) has got to be the type of player that is willing to deliver big hits. Usually the Rover is the last line of defense in the run, as the front 4 engage in OL, the 2 LB’s are required to fill the remaining gaps and that leaves the Rover to play as a MLB in run situations. Now that Rover will almost never be in the typical middle ground a MLB would be in a 4-3, so he has to play about 8-10 yards from the line and really understand the flow of the play and come downhill to meet the RB. If we still had a Dwanye Slay, I would feel much more comfortable. This is a great defense in my opinion, because with the 5 DB’s it almost never leaves the defense flat footed in Play-Action or well disguised Pass plays, which will bode well in this pass happy league. In obvious Pass situations, you have the personnel on the field already and do not have mass substitutions. It really comes down to developing a player that is a DB, that plays like a really fast LB and can deliver the big hit. Look at TCU’s Tejay Johnson and BSU’s Jeron Johnson from this last year, both undersized compared to the Big 12 type player or NFL type bodies, but both were in the top 3 for tackles on their respective teams and both on defensive units that finished in the top 3 in total defense and both could bring the hammer down.

One thing is for certain – it’s not very complicated on paper. If it translates as easily on the field, which a 3 day install would indicate, I may not be all that surprised if our D take a bigger step forward than I had originally thought it could.

Very smart approach considering his motivation (lessor talent at NM), and very effective solution. As we’ve seen with TCU, given better athletes, it can be very effective against top tier competition.

Here’s hoping Glasgow is as good a teacher as Patterson!

Man, this post has left me ready for football season in big way.

Awesome job, and great topic. I enjoy these ‘series’ types very much, as it breaks the USA today mold of going past generalities and one paragraph.
It’s like a preacher having a good sermon series…you have found gold. Would be curious for someone with coaching cred talk about how close the Patterson 4-2-5 was to spikes defense with the raiderback.

I have been thinking about the new defense for a while yet, and am happy to see the works of Patterson up for discussion.

It looks as if we are starting at the concept/vision level rather than at the detail level with the 5 goals:

1. Out hit the opponent.
2. Stop the run.
3. Create takeaways.
4. Eliminate big plays.
5. Don’t flinch.

These are the goals of an exceptionally successful defensive coach and his scheme / philosphy. If he put these in a paper to be presented to his peers, have no doubt that he means each and every goal is real, there are no combined goals and each stands alone for its own reason.

Out hit the opponent: This one sometimes is spoken to as tackle well or be great tacklers or some such…but the emphasis is not on tackling per se (although it may be in practice) but implies physicality as much as tackles. This takes me back to our last game with the toad, one in which they beat our recievers like rented mules with their physical play as they made stops….that reflected a mind set that goes beyond making a great tackle.

Stop the run: Yep, this looks cliche-ish….lots of coaches use this one, even at TTU, even through multiple DC’s…yet is it is not a cliche but a firm goal if you are a successful DC and if you are a focused commited player or assistant coach. Defense like offense—even Air Raid relies on the run to make the offense work correctly. Got to stop this fundamental, take it away from the other guys and get them into a one dimension offense-just passing…it talks about line of scrimmage play in many ways.

Create takeaways: or we want to be more than a run stopping, pass defending, td quenching defense, we want to be aggressive, and to be know as aggressive. We want to help win the game, not just work to prevent a loss, get the ball for our team, for our next score, for our win.

Eliminate bit plays: This one has to stand on its own, it is especially important and does not apply to just the 11+ people who play defense. What is the value for a defense to get a take away, even leading to a score, only to have the next play, say an on sides kick returned for a td by the bad guys ? Eliminate big plays !!! It is about getting on top of the game and staying there. Yes, it also implies not to give up the big play / easy score—I think there is more than that though.

Don’t flinch: And so is this one, stay on top of the game…we once talked about poise, the ability to manage adversity, the ability to manage success, the ability to focus and execute without influence from the swings in a game, a ref call, a fluky thingy, an on sides kick returned for a td. Poise !! Emotions are for after the game, hug then !! Dance then !! Celebrate then, and as a team !!

That is all I got !!

Tonight’s commentary has been brought to you by a fair dink’em box cabernet !! Night All !!