The remarkable seven man defensive line for winners
I’m sure over the years of watching American football you have wondered what I have wondered.You know cool things like whatever happened to seven man defensive line defenses? I’m sure those were the days… (Oh the scoring!)
The question we should not ask or ponder is a no brainer at least I hope it is along with other football fanatics. So let’s not ask why haven’t teams used a seven defensive linemen type of strategy more often since this defense was effective? Because that would be the point where I take a few steps backward, shake my head, and laugh like Eddie Murphy performed Raw live in front of me.
The idea of seven defensive linemen during this era of football is basically a joke. Sure some of the basic concepts match up but it won’t work. For example, I agree having more rushers than an offensive line can block is usually a good thing. However, if the offensive coordinator calls a play to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly, then the receiver who catches the ball is probably still running towards the end zone now.
Plays with a receiver running a slant route or a bubble screen would put this defense into a turn and recover setup attempting to get an angle to stop the runner. (Can you say sprints for the seven defensive linemen?) Advantage offense and I’m confident about it. The reason I’m confident is simple. The offense’s plays will produce big gains because there are only a total of eleven players on defense. Count the seven down linemen and only four other (faster) defenders are on the field.
Best case scenario for this base defense is the offense runs the ball and the ball carrier runs lateral. It would allow defenders time to shed blockers and tackle the runner with ease.
But with if that was not the case?
With if the offense decides to go 4 WRs (wide receivers) or run an empty set (5 WRs)? (I’ll ask the question again. Can you say sprints?) Basically, it’s four on four or five on four in favor of the offense. This is advantage offense. The one of the best things an offensive coordinator can ask for (other than having a receiver wide open) on a given play is a one on one matchup.
Seven down linemen as a base defense is pure comedy.
Now that’s out of the way. Let’s go back to the original question. Whatever happened to seven defensive linemen in base defenses? 1906 and the forward pass.