| content |
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007) |
Nose guard is a defensive position in American football. In five-lineman situations, such as a goal-line formation, the nose guard is the innermost lineman, flanked on either side by a defensive tackle. The nose guard lines up directly opposite the offensive center, or over the center's "nose". The nose guard is also used in a 50 read defense. In this defense there is a nose guard, two defensive tackles, and two outside linebackers who can play on the line of scrimmage or off the line of scrimmage in a two point stance. The nose guard lines up head up on the center about 6-18” off the ball. Responsibilities include playing run and pass in both A-gaps and spy on draw and screen plays. In a reading 50 defense, the nose guards key is to read the offensive center to the ball. In run away, the nose guards job is to shed the blocker and pursue down the line of scrimmage, taking an angle of pursuit. Nose guards tend to be shorter than most other defensive linemen. They are typically very strong and their responsibility is to stop runs down the middle and draw double teams.
Extremely quick nose guards are sometimes used to shoot through the offensive line before it can react. They then sack the quarterback or make a tackle shortly after a hand off. However, this is rare because most defensive linemen are not quick enough to consistently shoot the gaps between the individual offensive linemen.
"Nose guard" is often a term incorrectly applied to the defensive tackle in a 3-4 defensive scheme. This position is known as a nose tackle. Nose guards are sometimes also referred to as middle guards.
 |
This American football-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
