Can someone give me a good breakdown of these two positions. I know that the strong safety generally helps more in run support, but I wanted better and more detailed information than that.
2007-07-16 15:26:57 · 0 answers · asked by scodag77 2 in Sports ➔ Football (American)
Its real simple,The strong saftey generally sits on the side of the play where the offenses Tight End lines up. He is there to try and get between the TE and the ball, if possible. The safety is set further back to make a variety "Safety related plays...not punt intended.
It's that simple.
www.phillyburbs.com has a football101 section that will help you get a better understanding of how each player is supposed to work in the line up.
Good luck.
2007-07-16 15:39:23 · answer #1 · answered by Slappy 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If I remember correctly, the strong safety is supposed to play against the tight end. While the free safety doesn't line up on the same side of the formation as the tight end. Thus the strong safety is more run support since traditionally the tight end was a blocker and for short pass routes. Although with the TE becoming more of a playmaking receiver, the answer I gave may be out-dated.
Related to this I believe is the weakside/strong side linebacker. But I believe that is determined by who is lined up on the side of the FB.
2007-07-16 15:44:36 · answer #2 · answered by Blargh 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You pretty much got it, but it depends on the defense the team runs. In cover two, both need to have the speed and agility to cover deep. If you play a base 4-3 or 3-4, your strong safety spends a lot of the time in the box, blitzing, and probably covers a TE. Your free safety often is called upon to help WR's in deep coverage as a double teamer even if it's not a Cover 2 Defense.
2007-07-16 16:01:39 · answer #3 · answered by Quiet Storm 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The others have pretty much covered it (no pun intended)
The SS lines up on the "strong" side of the formation (the side with the TE), provides run support and usually covers the TE in man-to-man situations, though this varies according to the defensive coverage. The FS is typically "free"- he doesn't have any particular offensive player as his assignment, so he plays center field, protects against deep passes and helps the cornerbacks.
So when the FS blitzes, that leaves the wide receivers mano-a-mano against whoever is covering them, which can result in big plays for the offense.
2007-07-16 16:11:43 · answer #4 · answered by Proto 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look at the quarterbacks eyes. They will tell you where he is throwing the ball. Also look to see if the QB is taking a 3 step or 5 step drop back. The less time the QB takes in the pocket the shorter the route is for the WR and vice versa. To read the WR you need to see where they line up. If they are close to the lineman then they are running an out route. If they line up closer to the sidelines then they are running a slant or hitch. If the reciever raises his body that means he is slowing down to make a cut in his route.
2016-03-17 05:23:35 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on the scheme. You pretty much hit the nail on the head. Sometimes they are interchangable, other times the SS is just a glorified linebacker.
2007-07-16 15:38:42 · answer #6 · answered by blibityblabity 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋