Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic

My favorite comment when we post a new 4-2-5 Defense article or podcast to the Joe Daniel Football Facebook Page has got to be, “So it’s a nickel defense ”. You got me, dude. There seems to be a small counsel of football terminology gatekeepers out there. No one knows who appointed them, or what authority they have. But they’re pretty sure they have it. Today’s episode of the JDFB Quick Clinic isn’t to fight those guys. After all, they’re right! The 4-2-5 Defense and the 3-3-5 Defense are at least, in theory, a Nickel Defense. But it is important to talk about terminology and what we mean when we say Nickel Defense. While it can certainly be used to describe a 4-2-5 Defense, and there is no harm in doing so, most coaches are not talking about the two as being one and the same. Nickel Defense or Nickel Package? The most common place you’ll hear coaches talking about a Nickel is really not in describing a 4-2-5 Defense. As I’ve pointed out many times, the 4-2-5 Defense that we’re running is really the same as a