Figure 66
Defensive Left Corner Man—On the snap of the ball the defensive corner man is in a position to observe both the end and the halfback nearest to him. If the end releases and the halfback is coming toward him, the corner man must turn to his outside and sprint to a position eight yards deep. He sets up in a good football position and covers his short one-quarter area. He never takes his eyes off the passer, and should the ball be thrown into his area he intercepts the pass.
Defensive Left Halfback (Safety)—After he lines up in his proper position, the defensive halfback upon recognizing a straight drop back pass developing, immediately looks to see which side has two eligible receivers. He then starts to his outside and goes deep, unless he receives an oral signal from his corner man releasing him from his deep one-third area. As shown in [Figure 66], the defensive left halfback covers the deep one-third area to his side of the field.
Defensive Right Halfback (Safety)—After lining up in his proper position and stance, the defensive right halfback, upon recognizing the drop back pass, covers the deep one-third zone. Should he receive an oral signal from his corner man, he is released from covering the deep one-third to his side and he now covers the deep middle one-third. He should receive the signal on his third or fourth step, if the corner man gives it. The safety then plants his foot and turns to the inside, always facing the passer, while he sprints to the middle one-third if he is released from his other responsibility by his corner man.
Defensive Right Corner Man—On the snap of the ball, when the defensive corner man observes the drop back pass developing, and the end and halfback release to his side, he starts to his outside in order to cover his short one-quarter area. If the near halfback stays in and blocks, and only the end releases, the corner man gives an oral signal to his safety, the defensive right halfback, who covers the middle one-third, and the corner man covers the deep one-third area on his side.
Defensive Linebackers—The defensive linebackers play exactly like the linebackers on a 5-spoke defense, which I explained previously. The only difference is the area which they line up in (see [Figure 55] and [Figure 66]). On the 4-spoke pass defense the linebackers play the straight drop back pass and the action pass exactly as they do on a 5-spoke defense, which I explained previously.
4-Spoke Pass Defense Versus the Action Pass
Versus the action pass, as illustrated in [Figure 67], the 4-spoke defenders react as follows:
