6 Questions Your 4-2-5 Defense Strong Safety Needs To Answer

At the start of every season, thousands of players will take the field for their first Varsity football game.

The game will be faster.

It will happen in College. And in the NFL, too. As you move up in levels, the game gets faster.

Help your players slow it down. Organize their pre-snap thought process.

We use the ASKA acronym. Alignment. Stance. Key. Assignment.

It’s simple and straightforward. You can apply it to the entire defense.

But let’s go deeper. Focus in on the 4-2-5 Defense Strong Safety. (you can create a similar checklist for every position)

This is all about anticipation. Slowing the game down.

You want your player to make an educated guess on what is about to happen.

If he’s right most of the time you’re going to have a kid playing at a high level. Playing with confidence. Playing fast.

Here are 6 questions your Strong Safety should ask before the snap…

Where is the Ball Spotted?

Pay attention to the hash. Teams tend to run to the wide side. Where your Strong Safety is (usually) aligned.

Look at the field zone. Trick plays are unlikely on either end of the field (backed up or going in). In the middle of the field, tricks are more common.

There’s a LOT to this. As much as you want to make it. But if you overload with information, he plays slower. Coach Simple.

Look for one or two pieces of information based on hash tendency and field zone to give him. Just clues to the bigger picture.

Take the trick play example. I like that because it applies to just about every game. Same with the wide side of the field tendency.

We teach the Umbrella Principle for understanding defensive run fits. It helps to know how big that umbrella is going to be. (here’s a quick video on the Umbrella Principle)

What is the Quarterback Alignment?

The wide angle of the Strong Safety gives him the best look at the QB alignment of anyone on the field. What does the alignment tell you?

Teams tend to run the ball more from under center. Be balanced in Pistol. Throw from shotgun.

That’s not universal, of course. It’s more common today for teams to run every snap from shotgun.

For those teams, you might check the depth of the back. In front of, even with, or behind the QB. That can give you even more clues to what’s coming at the snap.

Who is the Most Dangerous Receiver?

In a pattern reading coverage or man coverage, this is going to be his #2 Receiver. The receiver your 4-2-5 Defense Strong Safety is responsible for.

If you’re playing a Cover 3 zone coverage, it’s the player most likely to come into his zone.

Look at his alignment. What’s he likely to run? There’s a big difference between a Tight End, Wing or Slot Receiver.

Can you collision him? Where do you need to get to knock a slot receiver off a vertical?

When you talk most dangerous, you’re referring to the receiver most dangerous to the strong safety. Not the best receiver on the field.

What’s the Formation?

If you’ve done a good job in your game planning, you focused on their top formations. Not all 700 formations they’ve run this season.

Looking at those top formations should give him a clue. Because in your game planning, you had the scout team running the best plays out of the top formations.

Who’s My Block Threat?

Every defensive player should try to determine “Who’s going to block me?” before the snap. That’s a huge edge.

For the 4-2-5 Defense Strong Safety, his block threat might be the Tight End. Or the Fullback. Or the slot receiver.

The block threat might not be in his primary field of vision. He’ll have to be ready for the blocker to come out of his peripheral vision.

Your Strong Safety is going to be a lot better off when he’s expecting that block.

Where is My Help?

Help is critical. Understanding leverage for forcing the run or playing the pass is all about knowing where your help is.

Help for your 4-2-5 Defense Strong Safety usually comes from the Free Safety. Or an Inside Linebacker.

He doesn’t have help outside. Be aware of that.

You can expect your nearest help to be the sideline (unless there’s crack block, and you BETTER get some help in the form of a call, from the corner!).

Great players know where all 11 defenders are on the field. With a kid just being introduced to Varsity football, you don’t get that. You just need him to know where he is, and where the nearest help is going to be.

Information Overload for Your 4-2-5 Defense Strong Safety

All of this is great information. But you don’t want your 4-2-5 Defense Strong Safety on information overload.

Stick to the most necessary information. All 6 questions are important, but how much you need to get from each answer varies.

You don’t ask him to go through an entire scouting report pre-snap. You ask him to look at a few pieces of information and make an educated guess on what’s about to happen.

It’s a great hack for speeding up the player by helping him anticipate the play. And getting great performance out of young football players comes down to getting him to play fast.

Does your defense needs to tighten up this season? Check out the 4-2-5 Defense. Click here to get my exclusive video series on the Foundations of the 4-2-5 Defense.