What Makes a Defensive End Great? originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Aaron Agte, Former Football Player and Student of the Game, on Quora:
In order to be a great defensive end, you have to be able to burst off the line – not knowing if it is a run or pass – and in a split second read the offensive play, then have the skill, technique, and athleticism to beat the offensive player and do your job sufficiently for your team to make the tackle.
If it is a run:
The offensive lineman is usually firing out at you or ignoring you for a pulling lineman to hit you in the side while you’re not looking. If the offensive lineman is firing out at you, you need to hold your ground, not get pushed back, then feel which way he is trying to block you and fight against that. A good run defending defensive lineman should be able to hold his ground, then as the running back goes on one side or the other, the defensive lineman can shed the block and make the tackle at the line of scrimmage. If the offensive lineman in front of you ignores you, it is usually because someone else is coming to block you. You need to identify the blocker and engage in the same way to not be blocked out of the way. If you are being double teamed, you need to hold your ground so that one of your unblocked teammates can make the play.
If it is a pass:
You need to get into the backfield as fast as you can. You need to use speed and technique (such as swim and spin moves and bull rush) to get off your block and get to the quarterback.
The difference between the two is what makes it hard. If you think it is a run and hold your ground, but it is actually a pass, then you are making it easy for the offensive lineman to block you in place. If you think it is a pass and sprint into the backfield, but it is a run, the offensive lineman can easily use your momentum to push you out of the play. This is a big part of the reason why play-action passes and draws can be effective. (Play-action is where the offensive linemen block as if it is a run, and your read is to hold your ground, which makes it hard to rush the passer. Draws are where the offensive line block like it is a pass and you sprint into the backfield, but it is actually a run and the running back runs past you as you take yourself out of the play.)
To effectively defend both, you need to burst off the line, engage the offensive lineman, then depending on how he is blocking you (you will have to make this read based on ‘feel’ because you won’t actually be able to see anything behind the lineman in this split second), either hold your ground prepared to tackle the runner on either side OR quickly disengage and get past the blocker to rush the passer.
A great defensive lineman needs to be able to do both (and the offensive lineman knows this [hello game theory]) AND do it based on feel in a split second AND have the skill, technique, and athleticism to actually beat the block and make the play.
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