Terminology... Numbering Defenses

This is article #21 in a series covering the origins of football’s terminology. All are available under the Terminology tab above. My book, Hut! Hut! Hike! describes the emergence of more than 400 football terms.

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FeDefensive football has grown far more technical and strategic over the years. Before the 1950s, most football books written by coaches had numerous chapters covering the offense and one or two addressing the defense. Coaching defense primarily consisted of tackling drills and other individual techniques, while defensive strategy consisted of little more than changing the defensive alignment.

John Heisman, for example, describes only three defenses in his 1924 Principles of Defense, with the only difference between two of his defenses being whether the center lines up on the line of scrimmage or backs up a few steps into a "roving center" position, the forerunner of the middle linebacker.

(Heisman, Principles of Football, 1922)

Likewise, Charles Daly's American Football (1921) describes the close defense, kick defense, forward-pass defense, and goal line defense. Zuppke's Football, Techniques and Tactics (1924) distinguishes the Diamond and Block defenses. He also points out the difference between players at primary, secondary, tertiary, and quarternary levels.