Back a couple of months ago I wrote up an explanation of USC's Elephant Defense Alignment which had confused so many fans, announcers, and sports writers in 2006. The only local sports writer that seemed to get it was Dan Weber of the Press Enterprise during the 2006 season. In my opinion he writes some of the best articles on USC football that I can find. Anyway, expect to see a plethora of articles talking about how USC will move back to a 4-3 defensive alignment in 2007. I have already noticed a couple of them in the news. What is unfortunate and disappointing to me at least is that the print media and the announcers on TV can't seem realize the basic differences between a 3-4 and a 4-3 scheme let alone the different types of 4-3's that exist in football today and are played by USC on a regular basis every year.
I won't go through the differences of a 4-3 and a 3-4 in this posting...for some of that you can read the Elephant Defense Alignment article and Pete Carroll's presentation on USC's 4-3 Under Base Defense on this site. For further study I also suggest any of the following books: Bill Arnsparger on Coaching Defensive Football, Fritz Schurmur on Coaching the Defensive Line, or even Howie Long's book Football for Dummies. The first two are considered two of the best texts by experts in the field. They are full of jargon and coach speak but they put you inside the mind of two noted defensive experts who have coached their teams to multiple Super Bowls at the NFL level. The latter book despite its title is quite informative as well and explains at a high level the difference between a 3-4, a 4-3 over, a 4-3 under, and other common fronts. That is more than you will get from the newspaper or the usual TV commentators.
Here are some things I suggest keeping in mind to consider when checking out the Trojan's defensive line. 1)Who are the personnel? 2)What is the exact offensive formation of the opponent? 3) What is the down and distance? 4) What are the gap responsibilities? and 5) What are the exact technique alignments? Only after considering each of these questions can you begin to get a handle on the actual defense that is being played up front by USC. The secondary is another matter as well that has to be coordinated to the defensive front but will not be touched upon here. What I will do here is put up some pictures that I have recently clipped from some old games I started re-watching during the off season. You should notice some consistent trends and I hope identify a couple of things to watch out for during the upcoming 2007 season.
Let's go back to the first game of the 2003 season when USC opened against Auburn for starters.
2003 4-3 Under Alignment vs. I Formation
Apologies for the fuzzy image...sometimes the TV telecast is just not that good and after recording and converting it the image does not get any better. Here Auburn lined up in a Straight I Formation with the tight end right and two receivers split left. As you can see USC put 5 men on the line of scrimmage and two linebackers behind them (Note: that is a referee in the picture as well). Also the strong safety has dropped down near the linebackers at the top of the screen. Both USC cornerbacks are to the left and one safety is deep. From this angle you can't tell but after the snap it was possible to make out that the Nose Tackle #99 Mike Patterson was playing a 1 technique to the strong side of the formation and DT #84 Shaun Cody was in a 3 technique to the weak side of the formation. The DE's were in 5 technique spots outside the tackles and the strong side linebacker covered the tight end at the top of the screen. This alignment of the front four is typical for USC versus a Straight I run formation. Out of respect for the run game of Auburn USC put a safety near the tackle box for additional support.
Let's skip ahead a year and look at the season opener against Virginia Tech in 2004 for comparison.
2004 4-3 Under Alignment versus Virginia Tech
This picture is a little closer to the line of scrimmage before the snap of the ball. Here again we have a team lined up in an Straight I Formation with the tight end to the right. The receivers were split wide to both sides and one came in motion right before the snap of the ball. You can't see the jersey numbers due to the angle but after the snap you could identify that the Nose Tackle was in a 1 Technique to the strong side of the formation and the other defense tackle was in a 3 technique to the weak side of the formation. The two defensive ends were in 5 techniques or just outside the shoulders of the tackles. The strong side linebacker dropped down as usual in this formation to cover the tight end on the line of scrimmage. Just out of the picture are two linebackers about 4-5 yards off the line of scrimmage.
Let's jump ahead to 2005 now. I have a picture saved from the Fresno State game and that is probably the best to use for comparison.
2005 4-3 Under versus Fresno State
This angle unfortunately is not the best for identifying the technique spots but it will suffice. Again for consistency I stayed with the Straight I Formation for the offense. USC responds with four down lineman and a strong side linebacker (freshman Brian Cushing #10) covering up the tight end on the line of scrimmage. One of the Trojan lineman is obscured by the camera angle but he is there just inside of Cushing. On this play the Nose Tackle #49 Sedrick Ellis is aligned in a 1 Technique playing off the shoulder of the center in the gap between the center and the guard to the strong side. The other defensive tackle is aligned in a 3 technique to the weak side of the formation. The defensive ends are in their normal 5 technique spots outside of the tackles. Two linebackers are 4-5 yards off the line of scrimmage. This has been the normal base alignment for USC since Pete Carroll arrived in 2001. You will see USC in this defensive alignment about 40-50% of the time which out weighs any other alignment most games.
Let's jump up to 2006 now for comparison.
| 2006
UCLA Game versus Straight I |
2006
Game Michigan Game versus Offset I |
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Here are some I formation plays against UCLA and Michigan. The Michigan back motioned over out of the I to an offset alignment in this instance. Against both teams you can make out the basic alignment of USC. The Nose Tackle is in the 1 Technique to the strong side of the formation. The other tackle #75 Moala is in the 3 technique spot to the weak side. The strong side linebacker Dallas Sartz drops down to cover the tight end as is the norm in this instance. Two linebackers were 4-5 yards off the line of scrimmage and USC also walked up a safety as well to defend against likely run plays. Brian Cushing was playing the defensive end side opposite of Lawrence Jackson lined up in a five technique outside the tackle spot. Everyone on the defensive line played "one gap" football and assumed the exact same technique spots as previous seasons. The sole difference was a stand up defensive end instead of one in a three point stance. Since Brian Cushing was a linebacker by background and not trained in a three point stance the coaches put him at DE and lined him up in a two point upright stance in 2006. Most fans and media jumped to the erroneous conclusion that USC was now in a 3-4 alignment...however that was not the case. The Trojans were using the exact same alignment as previous years with the adjustment of Brian Cushing playing a stand up defensive end spot. It was just determined by the coaches during summer practices in 2006 than having Cushing in this role was more effective at defensive end than having Kyle Moore play the exact same position in a three point stance as a down lineman. In 2007 Brian will no doubt return to his normal position of strong side linebacker with Dallas Sartz now gone and he will cover the tight end on Straight I plays like these. And either Kyle Moore or Everson Griffin will line up in a three point stance in the 5 technique spot. Very little with change in reality to the defense and I will post the pictures for comparison.
As I mentioned however this is just a base defense look that USC uses during the season. At most it might comprise 40-50% of the snaps of the ball any given game. Just as the offense lines up differently each game the defense changes up its look as well. Here are some of the change of pace alignments that USC uses each game for different reasons. I'm sure you will notice a few of them.
4-3 Over Defense
| Michigan
2006 |
Washingon
State 2006 |
Cal
2006 |
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Here are some subtle variations that USC runs from time to time. Notice how each of these looks more like a traditional 4-3 alignment? In each case you have 3 linebackers playing 4-5 yards off the line of scrimmage. Brian Cushing is still in his stand up DE alignment. These examples are USC's version of a 4-3 Over alignment where the Nose Tackle is to the weak side of the formation and the 3 technique is to the strong side. The gap responsibilities and technique spots are thus different.
Other Defensive Alignments
| 2006
Washington State |
2006
ASU |
2006
Washington |
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Here are three other common looks you might see from time to time in any given game depending upon the situation. The picture on the far left is a nickel situation with five defensive backs in the game for pass protection. Brian Cushing also comes out of the game on these plays and a fresh lineman (Kyle Moore for example) came on in substitution. There are only two linebackers in this case as a pass play is almost 100% likely in situations like this with only 11 seconds left in the game and Washington State down by six points.
In the middle is an interesting shot that you might have caught on a play or two per game. It is a very rare alignment for USC where the Nose Tackle #49 Sedrick Ellis plays a direct shade on the center and has two gap responsibility on the play. He is virtually obscured by the quarterback and the center but you can just make out his outline. One defensive tackle and one defensive end are both in 3 technique alignments on the shoulder of the guards. If the Nose Tackle can control the two A gaps to either side of the center then this alignment is extremely difficult to run up the middle against. The two 3 techniques will occupy the B gaps and the linebackers and ends should contain plays very well to either the C or D gaps. This comes close to looking more like a 3-4 defense but technically it is not...if the 3 technique players were moved directly over the tackles it would be. This alignment is closer to what the Chicago Bears did with their interior personnel in the 46 defense in the 1980's. USC mimics some of this up front but the linebacker and safety positions are quite different.
In the picture to the right is another end of game situation against Washington. The game was nearly over and Washington was driving near the end of the game. With a pass play a virtual certainty Keith Rivers and Brian Cushing were both on the field as stand up defensive ends to rush the passer. I suppose you might call it a double elephant?
Of course there are many other slightly different looks you will see out of USC during the year especially in blitz or passing situations. In some prevent cases on third and long you will often see only three defense lineman on the line of scrimmage for USC. This is because an additional defense back or sometimes two additional defense backs are in the game for protection reasons to guard against the deep pass.
3rd and Long Prevent Defense
On other obvious passing situations Pete Carroll and staff are not shy about bringing the blitz and they have a variety of different ways of applying pressure. (Note: For some examples refer to the 4-3 Under Blitz article). Sometimes USC will bring two linebackers up the middle. Sometimes they will blitz off the edge with a corner or a safety. Here is an alignment with two linebackers coming off the edge against Arizona State that resulted in a sack of the quarterback. In the original Chicago Bears 46 defense they regularly brought two linebackers off the weak side of the formation as part of their base defense. Here USC brings similar pressure as a change of pace off the left (non TE side). It confused the quarterback and had its intended effect and resulted in a sack.
Watch closely next year and you'll see a variety of small changes USC employs on virtually every down up front. Gap responsibilities and small changes in technique are employed throughout the game. It's a shame in my opinion that this aspect of the game is not reported or covered more thoroughly. I'll post some of the more interesting shots in 2007 as they come available.