Football Glossary-Defensive Line Play: Techniques and Gap Control

In my French on the Bench column last week, and repeatedly throughout the season, I make reference to different "techniques" to describe different defensive linemen. Several folks have asked us to create a glossary of these terms. There is a wealth of information out there that is availble with football jingo, but the terminology and archetypes change so rapidly, that I would rather direct you to terrific resources we find on the web.

In my research on analyzing our recruiting class, I stumbled across the following page, which does a terrific job of describing all the nuanced roles and assignments associated with the different positions along the defensive line.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/28/defensive-prototypes-de...

On this site, they describe each of the key techniques currently utilized across the college and pro football landscape.

1) The zero technique, 3-4 nose tackle
2) The one technique, a 4-3 defensive tackle lined up over the inside eye of the guard
3) The three technique, a 4-3 defensive tackled lined up on the outside eye of the guard
4) The five technique, a 3-4 defensive "end" that lines up heads up over the tackle
5) The seven or six techniques, a traditional 4-3 defensive end
6) The nine techniqe, a wide alignment defensive end, usually from the nickel defense.

The article also covers "one gap" and "two gap" responsibilities. I highly recommend it.