There was a time in football where FBs played on every team, but every team had single-back formations as well.  There was a division of formations on such teams.  Now however, the trend in football is to commit to FB or single-back formations to such a degree that teams are now overwhelmingly geared one way or the other.

The Broncos have signaled a hard move to the singleback forms, following in the footsteps of the Patriots.  (The Patriots, in fact, prefer to not use the term "FB", instead classifying all backs as RBs).  In the Super Bowl this Sunday, fans will see one of the more committed single-back teams going - the Indianapolis Colts.

What is the difference between the two approaches (besides the obvious), and is one better?  Let's take a deeper look after the jump below...

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Not much good comes from missing the playoffs.  Well, okay.  There ARE some good things.  For one, we get higher draft picks.  And for another, we get back to MHR University (Yeah, I'd rather be in the playoffs, too).

Readers and trolls (and may it please the court): Comes now before the court a question of antitrust  and intellectual property law involving the National Football League.  This Wednesday a case will be heard before the Supreme Court of the United States (hereafter referred to by the common acronym SCOTUS) that may have some interesting ramifications for the pro football world (and even other leagues).  Here's a small tidbit on what to watch for.

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How good are the Ravens?  Don't be fooled by the 3-3 record.  They've beat the teams they should have (KC and CLE), and won against a tough SD team.  Their losses came to teams that are pretty good (NE, CIN, and MIN).  Don't sell this team short.

On the other hand, many folks are more likely to sell Denver short.  Vegas has them down by 3 points at the time of this writing, despite a 6-0 record.  Denver beat two teams that beat BAL (NE and CIN), as well as CLE, SD, OAK, and DAL.  How good is Denver?

Special Teams - Sep and Oct players of the month (Kicker Matt Prater and Returner Eddie Royal).

Offense - Kyle Orton, who played the first four games with a protective glove has thrown only one INT (a bomb throw to end a half with no time left) and holds a 100+ QB rating.

Defense - Keeping opponents to an average 11 points a game.

But how do the teams match up?  Both teams come off of a bye week, and have had ample time to draw up superior game plans.  Who wins in each aspect of the game, and how should they plan the game?  Let's look at some possibilities....

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I get a lot of questions regarding three formations.  The first is the 5-2 variant of the 3-4 (such as employed by the Denver Broncos).  My last MHR-U was on this topic, and several members and staff have written on this issue.  Since Denver uses it, you can expect MHR to be on top of it.

I also get a lot of e-mails about the wildhorses formation.  I've told several members that I would write on this, but many members have stepped into the gap and written excellent posts about the formations and how they are used.  For my part, I am going to put together a reference guide so that the inquiring scholar may look up all of the information he or she needs in one, easy to find place (below).

The 4-4 is a common formation at many smaller HS programs, and a great number of middle school programs.  It isn't really seen at the pro level, but an understanding of this formation is a building block for anybody's knowledge of a good defense.  I'll discuss the two main variants of this formation, and how the formation was used at one middle school program that I was associated with.

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I'm making a pretty bold pronouncement.  I do not believe that the Denver Broncos are running a true 3-4 defense at all, despite what the mainstream media may be reporting.  I believe that the Broncos are running a 5-2, and I believe this for more than one reason.  Below the fold, I will explain why I believe this to be true, and I will also explain some concepts about the 5-2 and also the system that seems to be emerging in Denver.  I will also cover counters, as well as personnel considerations.

I have also received a lot of requests for information about the 5-2 under other posts.  If I've left out a question, please accept my apologies and post it under this story.  I will do my best to get to every question.

Defining the 5-2

Allow me to borrow from a comment I made under another post...

There are two ways to look at how a player is defined. Coaches will argue this point until they are blue in the face.

1. A player is strictly defined by where he lines up. If Peyton Hillis lines up in the slot, he is a slot receiver – period.

2. A player is defined by the position he is best suited for and defined by the team as. If Hillis lines up in the slot he is "a HB lined up in the slot".

My training placed me in the second camp, but there are very good coaches who were brought up either way.

Now back to the 5-2. My point was that, regardless of which school of though you come from, the Broncos are running a 5-2. Here’s why….

If you belong to the first camp – we have five players on the line. By definition, five on the line is automatically a 5-2.

If you belong to the second camp (mine) – we are using true DEs at DE, NOT OLBs! If we were some kind of 3-4 with the OLBs cheating up to the line, it might be a trickier analysis. But we aren’t! We’re not training guys like Elvis Dumervil or Tim Crowder to play at OLB at all! They’re playing their natural role as DEs on the line! (If Doom plays like an OLB, it is only because he’ll get dropped back in a zone blitz, or because the formation changes).

For me to see this unfolding and to realize what was going on was like a light turning on. In another words, no matter how you slice it (and reasonable people will slice it in different ways), this HAS to be a 5-2.

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(Many, many thanks to Ted Bartlett for putting in the time to put together the diagrams to illustrate an example Ted Block play.  He was able to knock out the diagrams in less than a day!  My attempts at diagrams take much longer and don't look nearly as good.  Please join me in appreciating his hard work). 

In the last MHR University, we took a broad look at the Ted Block scheme.  The concept (used in San Francisco under new Broncos DC Mike Nolan) is very likely going to be seen in Denver's 3-4 this year.  The scheme calls for the LILB to block the way to the QB for the ROLB.

Andra Davis may be the right guy (not very fast, but very physical) to line up at LILB.  Spencer Larsen, who has played at LB but has also played run-blocking duties as a FB is another terrific candidate to clear the way to the QB.

Join Ted and I, as we take a closer look at the Ted Block, including a look at how the different D-Linemen and LBs affect the scheme in a hypothetical play.

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A little over a year ago, "Fooch" (Editor of Niners Nation) interviewed me about the Ted position and a nifty scheme that the 49ers run on defense (linked further down).  After the 2008 season, former 49ers head coach Mike Nolan came to Denver and brought his (and head coach Josh McDaniels) 3-4 to town.

Flash forward...

Some months ago (Feb 08), I commented under a post that D.J. Williams should move to RILB, and a month later (Mar) I wrote in a story that Williams was better suited for RILB.   "Move him AGAIN?"

Flash forward again...

Wednesday, May 27th I read the Associated Press wire that defensive coordinator Mike Nolan is now going to play D.J. Williams at RILB.

Rock Me Amadeus!  (Some of you old timers will get the inside joke).

No, my real name is not Coach Nolan.  But more of the pieces of the defense are coming together.  Could it be that we can have a "penetrating" defense (as stated recently by McDaniels), but might I still be correct in thinking that we will be a 2-gap defense?  How can that be?  A one-gap defense (such as the "Phillips") is the "penetrating" defense that we might expect.  On the other hand, a "Fairbanks-Bullough" defense can be penetrating too, if you use the TED Blocking scheme, and guys are bulking up to play the line.   Hmmmmmm.

Read on.....

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If you ever get out to Indiana and decide you want to try your hand at coaching 7th-grade football, be careful.  Just north of Indianapolis lies Westfield Middle School (home of the Shamrocks).  I've seen the facilities on the east side of 31 driving to Indy, and they are very, very impressive.  There, Coach Todd Hagemeier runs a 3-4 defense.  Not a lot of middle schools can go that route, and he even tells me they also use a scheme that transposes from a 3-4 into a 46.  Wow!

Todd writes this e-mail to MHR University:

...I started doing some digging on the 3-4 and your site came up.  You do a great job and I plan on using your info for my 7th grade team this fall.  I am also living in Indiana AND a Purdue fan.  So getting to my questions.  Have you considered writing about the aspects of the 3-4 in the red zone, how a coach should call the defense, and maybe even more importantly what NOT to do in the red zone?...

This is a wonderful question, and well worth the time for all of us to look at in some depth.  Let's take a look at implications...

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