Description

A Linebacker (LB) is a position in American and Canadian football that was invented by football coach Fielding Yost of the University of Michigan.^[1] Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards (4 m) behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen. Linebackers generally align themselves before the ball is snapped by standing upright in a "two point stance" (as opposed to the defensive linemen, who put one or two hands on the ground for a "three point stance" or "four point stance" before the ball is snapped).

Type of Linebackers

There are several different designations of linebackers: strongside, middle, and weakside. Usually the strongside and weakside are combined under the title outside, and the middle is renamed inside. In many formations and systems, teams do not use the strong and weakside designations, and merely play their outside linebackers consistently on one side of the formation and designate them either right outside linebacker and left outside linebacker.^[2] These terms are abbreviated ROLB and LOLB when appearing in lineup cards.

Outside linebacker

Strongside linebacker

The strongside linebacker (SLB) is often nicknamed "Sam" for purposes of calling a blitz. Since the strong side of the offensive team is the side on which the tight end lines up, or whichever side contains the most personnel, the strongside linebacker usually lines up across from the tight end. Often the strongside linebacker will be called upon to tackle the running back on a play, because the back will be following the tight end's block. He is most often the strongest linebacker, at the least he possess the ability to withstand, shed, and fight off blocks from a TE or a FB blocking the backside of a pass play. The linebacker should also have strong safety abilities in pass situation to cover the tight end in man on man situations. He should also have considerable quickness to read and get into coverage in zone situations. The purpose of the strongside linebackers is to read the quarterback's eyes and try to figure out what he is going to do before he does it. The "Sam" linebacker has to read the offensive play if he wants to shut down the opposing team's strategy on all 4 downs of the quarter, and for 4 quarters of a game.

Weakside linebacker

The weakside linebacker , or "Will", must be the fastest of the three, because he is often the one called into pass coverage. He is also usually chasing the play from the backside, so the ability to maneuver through traffic is a necessity for Will. Will usually aligns off the line of scrimmage at the same depth as Mike. Because of his position on the weakside, Will does not often have to face large interior linemen one on one unless one is pulling. In coverage, Will often covers the back that attacks his side of the field first in man coverage, while covering the weak flat or hook/curl areas in zone coverage. In a 3-4 defense the "Will" Linebacker plays on the "weakside" of the two middle Linebacker positions and a 4th Linebacker comes in to play the weakside. Known as a "Rush", "Rover", and/or "Buck" Linebacker, their responsibility is more pass rush based but often is called into run stop (gap control) and pass coverage.coverage for the LB is important for rushing yards.

Middle/Inside linebacker

Typically the middle linebacker (MLB), or "Mike", is responsible for calling the defensive play and communicating with the coach. The middle linebacker has the primary responsibility to shut down the opposition's running attack. In some defenses, Mike is responsible for a specific gap, while in others he's given more freedom. Because of his position directly over the ball, Mike must be able to effectively shed blocks coming from interior linemen but must also possess the range and speed to cover backs and shut down wide runs. Intense aggressiveness is often a desirable characteristic in a middle linebacker as hesitation of any duration can be fatal at this position. In the 3-4 defense, there are 2 different inside linebackers that occupy the middle, therefore the one closer to the strong side is called the "Mike", while the weak side is called "Will" and less often "Buck" or "Jack". Also Middle and Inside linebackers are known as LILB or RILB, which stands for Left Inside Linebacker and Right Inside Linebacker. This just depends on whether or not a linebacker is put in for the Middle Linebacker position when they usually play Outside Linebacker. These linebackers are usually the highest paid defensive player in an NFL team

CFL

Warriors