D-Ends Continued

I was reflecting on my previous post and the importance of athletic d-ends when my wife (Best Assistant Coach there is!) reminded me of a monumental play in NFL history.

In the closing seconds of the first half of Super Bowl XLIII James Harrison(6'0", 242lbs) doused the Cardinals sure hopes of scoring from the 2 yd line when he intercepted a pass and took it 100 yards for a touchdown resulting in the longest play in Superbowl History. Needless to say it had some impact on the outcome of the game.

Now James Harrison is technically not a Defensive end because the Steelers run a 3-4 defense but when you draw it up on a chalk board in x's and o's Harrison occupies the same spot that a d-end would. In my opinion that's beside the point, the point is that his athletisism allowed the Steelers to drop Harrison into pass coverage while rushing 7 other players which resulted in the most pivotal play in Superbowl history.


Once again my point is to put your athletic players to good use in the D-end position.

If you want to read more about the Steelers defensive scheme I would recommend this link : http://steelerstoday.com/?tag=james-harrison