What it is

A defensive technique is a number that tells a defensive lineman exactly where to line up against the offensive linemen. The numbers run from 0 to 9, starting at the center and moving outward.

In a game

Even numbers mean head-up: the defender lines up right in front of a blocker. The 0 technique is over the center, the 2 technique is over a guard, the 4 technique is over a tackle and the 6 technique is over a tight end. Odd numbers mean a shade: the defender lines up on one shoulder of a blocker. The 1 technique is on the center’s shoulder, the 3 is on the guard’s outside shoulder, the 5 is on the tackle’s outside shoulder, the 7 is on the tight end’s inside shoulder and the 9 is on the tight end’s outside shoulder.

More detail

A letter “i” after a number, as in 2i or 4i, means the inside shoulder. The spot where a lineman lines up decides which gap he attacks. A 3 technique stands on the guard’s outside shoulder, so he attacks the B gap, which is why teams like him as a pass rusher. A nose tackle in a 0 or 1 technique takes on the center and holds the middle. A whole front is really a set of techniques: in a 3-4 defense, for example, the nose tackle often plays the 0 technique, and the two ends play the 5 technique over the tackles.

The diagram

1. A technique number tells a lineman where to line up. The numbers start at the center and move outward.
2. Even numbers are head-up: the defender is right in front of a blocker. 0 is over the center, 2 over the guard, 4 over the tackle and 6 over the tight end.
3. Odd numbers are shades: the defender stands on one shoulder of a blocker. 1 and 3 are around the guard, 5 and 7 around the tackle and tight end, and 9 is outside the tight end.
4. The alignment decides which gap the lineman attacks, so the numbers are the building blocks of every front.