Basics of the 3-3-5 Defense
Speed. That is the name of game in today's football world as coaches realized the old Pro-Set I-Formation was not as effective as athletes became bigger, stronger, and much faster at all positions across the board. As the offenses moved to closer to the opposite hashes, power players such as fullbacks and tight ends were replaced with more athletic hybrid athletes who may have given up some blocking power, but more than made up for that with athletic versatility in a quick attack passing game. Therefore defenses were next to adjust from the traditional personnel sets in order to counter this speed and versatility. One such adjustment is the growth of the 3-3-5 defense or the 33 Stack. High schools such as Cincinnati St. Xavier with 33 guru Coach Steve Specht and Byrnes High School in South Carolina have become national powerhouses by putting their best eleven athletes on the field regardless of traditional size requirements per position. Division 1 schools such as South Carolina, Air Force, Tulsa, Akron, and West Virginia have all employed the 33 as their base defense with success. The following is a very basic description of the base alignment of the 3-3-5 and the roles of the various positions.
Numbering systems vary amongst staffs and programs but here is the system I will be using:
Base Alignment:
Defensive Line--
Nose: The Nose will play a head up technique on the center. He is responsible for 1 A gap and must force a double team in that gap. While a 2 gap NG is ideal, controlling his assigned gap is a must.
Defensive Ends: The DEs line up in 4 techniques (head up to the offensive tackle). They also will have a gap to control based on the called slant or stunt and their option responsibility will also vary amongst dive/QB depending on that call.
Linebackers--
Mike: Mike stacks four yards behind the NG. He is responsible for the A gap opposite the call. For instance, if the line slants weak, Mike is responsible for the strong side A gap. In a pass read, Mike has the "hole" or the hook/curl zone depending on straight dropback or sprint out action.
Outside Linebackers: The outside linebackers stack behind the defensive ends at 4 yards depth. These are B gap and C gap players again depending on the DL slant. Like the DEs, their option responsibility depends on the slant which will determine if they are on dive or QB. Usually, these players will also be the press players with sprintout to their side, but normal pass assignment is hook/curl zone.
Spurs: These are the most versatile athletes in the defense as they must be a linebacker/defensive back hybrid. The alignment for a Spur is 3x3 outside leverage from the last man on the line of scrimmage or 4x2 inside leverage from the #2 WR in Twins or Trips. The Spur is responsible for outside contain and must funnel all runs back to the LBs. On option, the Spurs take the pitch out of the equation. In a base formation, the Spurs cover the flats in a passing situation. Again, this position will be everywhere on the field from Safety in a Cover 2 or 4 shell to press Cornerback in a Cover 2 to bringing heat off the edge or B gap.
Defensive Backs--
Not much change amongst the DBs besides alignment/coverage disguises with the Spurs. In a normal Cover 3 call, the CBs will be 6x1 inside leverage on the #1 WR and the safety will be 11 yards off the ball with his alignment depending on the hash, strength, and WR set.
The Backbone of the 3-3-5
The 3-3-5 relies on versatility to match up against any formation. From the base formation above, almost any defense can be run. If the power running game is hurting you, drop a LB down onto the DL for a 40 look like this:
The 33 Stack has an adjustment for every formation that does not require a personnel substitution. The graphic above is only a simple example to illustrate the versatility. Now it should be noted that every Defensive Coordinator in a 33 scheme will also have a substitution ready where a DL will come into the game and one LB will come out. Many High School teams and even a few college teams play what is called a "Stand Up" front. Exactly how it sounds, the DL and LBs stand up and move all over the line of scrimmage before blowing up a gap on the snap. What they give up in size and technique there, the deception and confusion make up for that. Coach Specht at St. X even shows a base alignment of 3-3-3 and then moves from that. By having your best 11 athletes on the field, the versatility to match any offense is always there.
That leads into the next backbone of the 33...deception and pressure. With this defense, pressure can come from anywhere at anytime. Therefore, pre-snap movement is essential. You will see the defensive line shifting across the line of scrimmage, linebackers prowling in the gaps, Spurs stemming to the edges or even starting out lined up with the safety before crashing down to their normal alignment. All of this disrupts the Quarterback's pre-snap reads for coverage and causes havoc amongst the offensive line calls.
Now imagine the possibilities we have now...a mobile unit that will be attacking on every snap. The defensive line will have a slant for every play (left, right, strong, weak, and a cluster call where both ends fire out to C gap and the NG fires strong A). At least one LB will be coming behind that DL slant...but usually more than one or a Spur will come also. We can walk the Spurs up to the edge in a 9 technique for a 50 look or move them out to jam the #1 WRs while the Corners drop to the hashes for a Robber 2 coverage, or we can....
The possibilities are endless.
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