i came across this on an akron zips message board.
http://www.zipsnation.org/

Quote :

"3-5-3 A Scheme to Stop High-Powered Offenses By Patrick Finley It seems like the phone never stops ringing at Georgia Military College. Since installing a new defense in 2001, the small college in Milledgeville, Ga., has become the de facto expert on the subject. And it seems that the more people hear about the 3-5-3 defensive scheme that they run, the more the phone keeps ringing, with coaches from high schools to colleges trying to find out GMC’s secret. “I can’t begin to tell you how many phone calls and e-mails I’ve gotten about how to run the defense,” said GMC defensive coordinator Taylor Burks. “A lot of people seem to like it.” “I would say that, since we started, between myself and the head coach, we’ve gotten at least 500 phone calls or e-mails. Probably more.” A Reaction Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law states that “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In the case of football, the 3-5-3 is that opposite reaction. Some of the most run-dominant major college football programs in America have moved toward a spread offense, a fact that is indicative of the national push toward a more efficient passing system. Once run-heavy Oklahoma changed offenses and became a national power, and perennial option-dive Nebraska has installed the scheme new head coach Bill Callahan used to propel the Raiders to the Super Bowl. If that’s happening on the major-college level, you can bet it’s happening in high schools and small colleges, too. The 3-5-3 seems to be the magic bullet many coaches are turning to, to help not only cover multiple receivers, but to blitz the passer and slow down the spread offense. It’s the right defense at the right time to counter the latest offensive trend. “It matches up with what offenses are doing nowadays,” Burks said. “This is a good answer to what’s going on out there.” That’s one of the reasons that many major programs – including national powers West Virginia and Florida – installed the defense. “There are people out there who are majoring in that defense,” said Bill Miller, the associate head coach and linebackers coach for the Gators. The Mountaineers shifted to the 3-5-3 as an every-down defense during spring practice of 2002 – after learning it from the coaching staff at Wake Forest months earlier – specifically to help slow the spread offense. The scheme has worked – WVU was 9-4 in 2002, the best turnaround in Big East history. Last season, the Mountaineers’ 6-1 conference record was good enough to tie Miami for the Big East crown. “Most people have gone with the spread offense and multiple wideouts,” said West Virginia defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel. “With our defense ... it’s a little bit easier in terms of covering people.” Florida uses the 3-5-3 defense on third-down situations, especially when they expect the opposition to pass. Miller – who has been the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, Miami and Michigan State – said the scheme gives him myriad ways to defend the pass. “There are lots of different things, coverage-wise, that you can do with the 3-5-3,” Miller said. X’s and O’s The 3-5-3 is a surprisingly simple defense to run, and that’s one of the reasons GMC runs it. Being a junior college, the school has their players for roughly a year-and-a-half, and can’t afford to use a complicated set that takes months to master. The Bulldogs line up two defensive ends and a nose tackle, which are supported by three middle linebackers positioned inside the tackles five or six yards off the line. Two “dog” safeties line up outside the tackles beside the linebackers. That leaves two cornerbacks and a free safety in the defensive backfield. There are two main factors that makes the 3-5-3 a viable option when it comes to defending the spread offense. First, the defense puts eight players – the linebackers, ‘dogs,’ corners and safety – on the field who can cover a receiver or running back coming out of the backfield on a pass pattern. By putting more athletic players on the field, the defense can avoid mismatches the offense usually creates by spreading the field. Of course, those eight players must not only be athletic enough to run with the receivers, but they must also be talented enough to be able to make interceptions. They don’t usually have much support behind them – at GMC, for example, the defense plays man coverage about 95 percent of the time. “As long as you match up your coverage, you can bring all kinds of pressure from anywhere on the field,” Burks said. The second factor that makes the 3-5-3 dangerous is the fact that a coordinator can blitz between four to six players each down. Because the defenders are so close to the line of scrimmage, a blitz can come from the linebackers, “dogs,” corners or safeties. By balancing run and pass blitzes the defensive coordinator can send his best athletes after the ball-carrier. Offensive coordinators facing the defense have traditionally tried to run the ball between the tackles, figuring they could take advantage of the three-man front. “We didn’t know quite what to expect when we started, as to how we were going to be attacked,” Casteel said. “The more familiar people become with it, people try to run downhill at it. The Big East is that kind of a league.” Offensive coordinators try to do the same thing to GMC, but it hasn’t worked so far. Through the team’s first three games, they had allowed 1.32 yards per carry on 97 attempts. Since installing the defense in 2001, GMC won a national title in 2001 and was the NJCAA runner-up in 2002. “It’s all about putting your players in the best position to make plays,” Burks said. D-Linemen Are Hard to Find Maybe the best part about the 3-5-3 defense, at least according to Burks and Casteel, is that it helps to fill a gap in their recruiting needs. The idea is simple – schools need fewer defensive linemen, and can focus on turning ‘tweener’ players – athletic players whose positions might not be defined coming out of high school – into either linebackers, “dogs,” cornerbacks or safeties. “D-linemen are hard to find,” Casteel said. “It’s far easier to find linebackers or safeties.” The same is true at GMC. At a junior college, size – especially big players with talent – are hard to come by. That allows the Bulldogs’ coaches to focus on finding the best athletes they can, and then fitting them into the system. “You don’t have to go find too many defensive linemen, which are hard to find,” Burks said. “You always go out and look for great players. If we find a cornerback that we like, and if he doesn’t turn out to be a great coverage guy, we can move him to the ‘dog’ safety position. “And if we have a cornerback that can’t cover so well and is still playing corner, we can call certain plays to have him blitz.” The defense has also helped GMC develop players. Because players pick up the system so quickly, they play sooner and get recruited by more Div. I programs. Since 2001, all but one defensive starter has signed a letter to play at a Div. I-AA school or better. Ten players have gone on to play at the Div. I level after spending two years at GMC. “We keep it simple, and it works,” Burks said. How It Can Work for You There’s a reason that so many coaches – the majority of them being at the high school level – have inquired about the 3-5-3 defense with coaches at GMC. It’s easy to learn, it requires fewer defensive linemen, and it’s a proven way to stop the spread offense. “The thing you can do with it is blitz people or you can play max coverage and drop eight players and rush only three,” Miller said. “The combination of max coverage and max pressure makes it interesting.” West Virginia started running the defense because coaches thought it better fitted the players they wanted to put on the field. “We thought it would fit into our personnel a little better than the eight-man front we were using,” Casteel said. “We were very linebacker-heavy and short of defensive linemen.” It’s safe to say that prep coaches around the country have the same limitations when it comes to their players. And as long as the latest trend is to throw the ball all over the field, the 3-5-3 will continue to garner interest from coaches who have struggled in stopping the passing game. “The key is to get athletes who can run with receivers in open space,” Burks said. “It enables you to put more speed on the field.” Said Casteel: “It gives us a little bit more speed. We have more second-level defenders on the field, and have the chance to play max coverage or blitz or overload the side.” The simplicity of the scheme makes it worth considering even as just a third-down option, especially because the blitz packages make it as appropriate on third-and-5 as it is on third-and-16. “We run it as an every-down defense, but a lot of schools are running it as far as a third-down package,” Burks said. That’s because, like a nickel or dime defense, it puts better athletes on the field. Only in the 3-5-3, it doesn’t sacrifice aggressiveness. “Let your imagination take control,” Burks said. “With the system, you can make your defense the best it can be.” It certainly seems to be the wave of the future."

the article:
http://www.americanfootballmonthly.com/Subaccess/Magazine/2004/nov/3-5-3.html

some coaches discussing it:
http://www.nfhs.org/scriptcontent/va_custom/NFCOACHFORUM/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=000003

[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 4:50 PM. Reason : ]

9/8/2006 4:48:47 PM

it sounds pretty interesting to say the least. i worry that this scheme will trouble 2 facets of our offense:

1. will our o-line be able to handle the blitzes? they only have 3 d-linemen in front of them, but they'll have to mind 3 middle linebackers and 2 strong/"dog" safeties up near the line as well. considering that two of our most experienced linemen are out, leroy harris and luke lathan, i'm not sure if the guys will have the reaction and athleticism to pick up the blitzes effectively.

2. having safeties and athletic linebackers adept with pass coverage up on the line of scrimmage could be dangerous for our tendency to throw screen passes. further coupled with the possiblity of our o-line struggling with the blitzing, i'm very nervous about marcus stone's ability handle the added pressure. he's going to have to be very alert. if a defender nabs a pick in the flat, it's going to be a touchdown for the badguys.

according to the article, most coaches have tried running up the middle to bust up the 3-5-3 defense. that seems to be a very logical retaliation, but the article makes it sound like it wouldn't be successful. the frames junior colleges' statistics to support this notion. however, we certainly have top div-1 level running backs. i'm confident that running it down akron's throat is the most viable answer to their defense, especially with our enigmatic passing offense. running our two-back set with shake-and-bake will keep the defense honest, and that would open up the passing game. however, screw that. let andre run all over these guys. once he breaks through the front 8, all he has to worry about is a group made of 2 corners and a free safety. nc state should have another big rushing day.

someone who doesn't look into the game this much, will see that marcus will once again have a low production game. as much as i feel marcus isn't the man, i'm not going to harp on him for this game as long as he doesn't screw up. given the reasons i stated above, we'll purposefully shy away from passing the ball. now that i think about it some more, maybe the app state game was sort of a dry run for what the coaches want to do against akron? or maybe that's just optimistic, wishful thinking on my part...

9/8/2006 4:49:09 PM

they're gonna need it to stop our incredibly high powered offense.

9/8/2006 4:49:24 PM

if you had 4 WR's one of them would always be covered by a LB

9/8/2006 4:50:43 PM

no. there are 2 corners, 1 free safety, and 2 strong/"dog" safeties.

you two didn't even read the article, did you?

[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 4:51 PM. Reason : ]

9/8/2006 4:51:21 PM

its pretty long

but if thats the case then there arent enough linebackers to stop andre

i have run that defense in madden i think though on some plays

every defense has strengths and weaknesses

[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 4:53 PM. Reason : .]

9/8/2006 4:52:46 PM

yeah, it is long as shit. i hesitated at first, but was drawn into it once i started reading. it's actually pretty interesting.

9/8/2006 4:56:03 PM

i'll read it this weekend when i have a few hours

9/8/2006 4:56:31 PM

read it before the akron game, and you'll sound like a football genius when you breakdown the defense's scheme when someone is perplexed by what they're seeing.

9/8/2006 5:35:10 PM

Run up the gut. /thread

They'd be completely unable to stop us from gaining at bare minimum 3-4 yards every single time we ran the ball up the middle if they ran a 3-5-3 against us all the time.

Just run an A formation or big set and pound them all the way down the field with Brown/Baker.

[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 6:21 PM. Reason : .]

9/8/2006 6:19:51 PM

you're forgetting. every fan will notice a blatantly obvious flaw in their defense tomarrow, but our team will not exploit it

9/8/2006 6:27:02 PM

^^ consider that penn state could only muster 76 yards rushing. i'm only throwing that out there as a devil's advocate though, since i said we should just pound the ball as well despite other teams not succeeding with that strategy, and i actually read the article and thought about it. i'm no lou holtz though.

also consider that wake forest's defense has always given us fits, even when we had philip rivers, mclendon, and a healthy o-line.

[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 6:37 PM. Reason : ]

9/8/2006 6:34:54 PM

would this not be a 3-3-5

9/8/2006 6:53:03 PM

^^Does Penn State have Baker/Brown???

[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 6:59 PM. Reason : ]

9/8/2006 6:59:06 PM

If this were last year, we could figure out some way to get our tight ends matched up against their safeties and corners creating size mismatches. Now that we only have one tight end, that might be a problem.


If I saw correctly, Penn State only had 24 rushing attempts. Now that may have been because they got stuffed early and abandoned the run, but I think they had an idea of how to attack this defense through the air and went with it.


[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 7:06 PM. Reason : ]

9/8/2006 7:04:17 PM

^^ no, but they have a 1,000 yard rusher who could only get 30-something yards.

9/8/2006 8:39:44 PM

Penn State may not have Brown or Baker, however, I bet they have a much better offensive line to go with that running back of theirs.

9/8/2006 8:46:04 PM

the easy way to stop this, because i play with west virginia alot, its to simply run up the middle on a slant block scheme or a zone scheme or take it to the outside for a 4-5 yard gain everytime.

once they get the LBs to move up a little then u go to a slant pass game to exploit it over the top, now once they change that u can go over the middle deep to a reciever...u cant go side to side because of these dog safeties, and one of the easiest plays to run is the option pass although we never use it because it allows the LB to follow the recievers then make a choice between who to cover.

this D eliminates the BIG 50+ yard runs but you can have a very efficient day against it.
Marylands offense is perfect to run against this D.

9/8/2006 10:09:08 PM

btw, WV calls it a 3-3-5

9/8/2006 10:43:45 PM

^ah...THATS what i've used in madden

^^^PSU had a great season last year...a couple years ago however they sucked ass

I think we win a close game

9/9/2006 3:41:23 AM

3-3-5 uses 3 lbs and 4 corners 3-5-3 uses 5 linebackers (or 2 "dog" strong safeties) and only 2 corners. both of those use 3 linemen and a fs of coursse.


im pretty sure akron will be using 3-5-3 to load the box up against brown

[Edited on September 9, 2006 at 3:59 AM. Reason : haha challenge stone]

9/9/2006 3:58:23 AM

if we SHOULD run up the middle, we won't... or it seems that way

9/9/2006 7:20:15 AM

well, running sure as hell didn't work. the deep passes would've had stone been able to actually connect with anthony hill or the receivers.

9/9/2006 5:06:52 PM

andre brown got hurt

of course running isn't going to work

but toney baker did a pretty good job

9/9/2006 5:07:40 PM

I'm glad they got the name of the defense right. A lot of people call it a 3-3-5 which by the ruls of the D-fence is wrong. I played this D-fence in college. We were the worst D-fence in the conference my junior year, installed the 3-5-3 in spring practice, and then finished in the top 10 in the nation in both rushing and total D-fense, and top 20 in pass D-fence my senior year. We allowed less than 200 yards of Total Offense a game and yeilding less than 16 points per game. We were number 1 in the conference in rushing and total D-fence, second in passing D-fence (the only team better gave up 220 yards rushing a game, you figure it out) and led the conference in interceptions. I made All-Conference along w/ 7 otheres on D-fense and we had 2-All Americans. This is the real deal. But I don't know why everyone thinks this D-fense is new. It was Invented by Bear Bryant.

9/10/2006 12:49:11 PM

i'll bite. where'd you play (i don't feel like looking up the stats), and who are you?

[Edited on September 10, 2006 at 4:40 PM. Reason : ]

9/10/2006 4:39:18 PM