Defensive back

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A diagram of a standard 4-3 defense set. The defensive backs include two cornerbacks (labeled CB on the diagram), a free safety (labeled FS) and a strong safety (labeled SS). 4-3 green.svg
A diagram of a standard 4-3 defense set. The defensive backs include two cornerbacks (labeled CB on the diagram), a free safety (labeled FS) and a strong safety (labeled SS).

In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the defensive linemen who play directly on the line of scrimmage, and the linebackers, who play in the middle of the defense, between the defensive line and the defensive backs. [1] [2]

Among the defensive backs, there are two main types, cornerbacks, which play nearer the line of scrimmage and the sideline, whose main role is to cover the opposing team's wide receivers, and the safeties, who play further back near the center of the field, and who act as the last line of defense. American defensive formations usually includes two of each, a left and right cornerback, as well as a strong safety and a free safety, with the free safety tending to play further back than the strong safety. In Canadian football, which has twelve players on the field compared to the eleven of American football, there is an additional position called defensive halfback, which plays like a hybrid between a linebacker and cornerback. Canadian formations include two cornerbacks, two halfbacks and one safety, for a total of five defensive backs.

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Deshea Townsend jumps for the ball with St. Louis Rams wide receiver Drew Bennett Townsend jump.jpg
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Deshea Townsend jumps for the ball with St. Louis Rams wide receiver Drew Bennett

Besides the standard set of defensive backs, teams may also remove a defensive lineman or a linebacker and replace them with an additional defensive back. The fifth defensive back is commonly called the nickelback (so named because a five-cent coin in the U.S. and Canada is called a nickel). By extension, a sixth defensive back is called a dimeback (because the next value coin in the U.S. and Canada is called a dime). Rarely, teams may employ seven or even eight defensive backs.

Historic notable defensive backs include Hall-of-Famers Dick "Night Train" Lane, Mike Haynes, Ronnie Lott, and Troy Polamalu, Deion Sanders (aka "Primetime"), and Ed Reed, among others. In 2019, the National Football League released its all-time team in honor of the league's 100th anniversary, in which the top defensive backs in its history were noted and honored. [3]

Longtime National Football League executive and renowned former general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, Gil Brandt released a list of the top cornerbacks of all time. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornerback</span> Position in gridiron football

A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnovers through hard tackles, interceptions, and deflecting forward passes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linebacker</span> Defensive position in American football

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  1. A defensive position on scrimmages, also called free safety. Typical formations include a single safety, whose main duty is to cover wide receivers. See also defensive back.
  2. A two-point score. The defence scores a safety when the offence carries or passes the ball into its own goal area and then fails to run, pass, or kick the ball back into the field of play; when this term is used in this sense, it is also referred to as a safety touch.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">American football rules</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa 2</span> American football defensive scheme

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halfback (American football)</span> Offensive position in American football

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safety (gridiron football position)</span> American and Canadian football defensive position

Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their duties depend on the defensive scheme. The defensive responsibilities of the safety and cornerback usually involve pass coverage towards the middle and sidelines of the field. While American (11-player) formations generally use two safeties, Canadian (12-player) formations generally have one safety and two defensive halfbacks, a position not used in the American game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3–4 defense</span> American football defensive formation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">4–3 defense</span> American football defensive formation

In American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs". However, defenses will readily switch to other defensive alignments as circumstances change. Alternatively, some defenses use a 3–4 defense.

The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see Glossary of Canadian football.

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In American football, a back is a player who plays off of the line of scrimmage. Historically, the term "back" was used to describe multiple positions on offense and defense, although more descriptive and specific position naming is now common. Thus, "back" can refer to positions including:

References

  1. "Defensive Back - DB Definition - Sporting Charts". www.sportingcharts.com.
  2. "The Positions in a Football Secondary - dummies". dummies.com.
  3. "NFL 100 All-Time Team defensive backs, special teams revealed". NFL.com. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  4. "Gil Brandt's greatest NFL cornerbacks of all time". NFL.com. Retrieved 2021-10-19.