38-811: Mayes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Adrian Mayes (born 1980), American football player Alan Mayes (born 1953), English footballer Bernard Mayes (1929–2014), British-American lecturer and author Clifford Mayes (born 1953), American professor of education Clyde Mayes (born 1953), American professional basketball player Colin Mayes (born 1948), Canadian politician Derrick Mayes (born 1974), American football player Frances Mayes (born 1940), American university professor, poet, memoirist, essayist, and novelist Ian Mayes , British journalist and editor Jeff Mayes (born 1971), American politician Joel B. Mayes (died 1891), Chief of
76-419: A 3–4 defense . In a 3–4 defense, the larger, more run-stopping-oriented linebacker is usually still called "Mike", while the smaller, more pass protection/route coverage-oriented player is called "Will". "Mikes" usually line up towards the strong side or on the side the offense is more likely to run on (based on personnel matchups) while "Wills" may line up on the other side or even a little further back between
114-415: A blitz . Since the strong side of the offensive team is the side on which the tight end lines up, or whichever side contains the most personnel, the strongside linebacker usually lines up across from the tight end. Often the strongside linebacker will be called upon to tackle the running back on a play because the back will be following the tight end's block. He is most often the strongest linebacker; at
152-406: A hybrid role and are often the most versatile players on the defensive side of the ball; they can be asked to play roles similar to either a defensive lineman (such as stopping the runner on a running play) or a defensive back (such as dropping back into pass coverage). How linebackers play their positions depends on the defensive alignment, the philosophy of the coaching staff, and the particular play
190-430: A more complex read for the quarterback. Many 3–4 defenses have the ability to quickly morph into a 4–3 on the field. In the 46 defense, there are four linemen, three linebackers and a safety who is moved up behind the line of scrimmage. Thus, it appears as if there are four linebackers, but it is really three linebackers with one safety playing up with the other linebackers. Three of the defensive linemen are over both of
228-430: A normal safety would do. The 46 is used in heavy run situations to stop the run, when a team wants to apply much pressure, or merely to confuse the quarterback and offensive line. This defense is effective at run-stopping but is weaker than a 4–3 defense at pass coverage because it uses only three defensive backs. This defensive scheme is often played with two inside line backers and two outside line backers. The names of
266-560: A position to blitz , a defensive maneuver where the player rushes into the offensive backfield to disrupt a running play or sack the quarterback on passing plays. Besides "Mike", other nicknames such as "Sam", "Will", or "Jack", are commonly used to refer to various linebacking roles. Historically, some of the most impactful defensive players, such as Pro Football Hall of Fame members Chuck Bednarik , Dick Butkus , Jack Lambert , Ray Lewis , Ray Nitschke , Mike Singletary , Brian Urlacher , and Lawrence Taylor , were linebackers. Before
304-400: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Linebacker Linebacker ( LB ) is a playing position in gridiron football . Linebackers are members of the defensive team , and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen , playing closer to the line of scrimmage than the defensive backs (secondary). As such, linebackers play
342-583: Is another center with a claim to the title "first linebacker," supposedly standing up behind the line well before Schulz in a game against Navy in 1902. Other sources have the first linebacker in the South as Frank Juhan , who played at Sewanee during 1908–1910. In the East, Ernest Cozens of Penn was "one of the first of the roving centers," another archaic term for the position, supposedly coined by Hank Ketcham of Yale . Walter E. Bachman of Lafayette
380-533: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Adrian Mayes Adrian Anthony Mayes (born November 17, 1980) is a former NFL and CFL linebacker . Mayes was born in Houston, Texas , where he attended Forest Brook High School . Mayes played college football as a linebacker and safety at LSU from 2000 to 2003. Mayes played in the National Football League with
418-421: Is generally a run-stuffer who is better able to handle offensive linemen and stop running backs, while the other is often a smaller, faster player who excels in pass coverage. However, the smaller or cover LB should also be able to scrape and plug running lanes decently. The design concept of the 3–4 defense is to confuse the offensive line in their blocking assignments, particularly in pass blocking, and to create
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#1732773313929456-407: Is having a defensive front of three large defensive linemen who command constant double teams. In particular, the nose tackle, who plays over the offensive center, must be able to hold ground and to occupy several offensive blockers to allow the linebackers to make plays. The focus of the 3–4 defensive line is to occupy offensive linemen thus freeing the linebackers to tackle the running back or to rush
494-495: Is often a hybrid DE/LB. Usually, teams that run a 3–4 defense look for college defensive ends that are too small to play the position in the pros and not quite fluid enough to play outside linebacker in a 4–3 defense as their "Jack" linebacker. The idea behind the 3–4 defense is to disguise where the fourth rusher will come from. Instead of the standard four down-linemen in the 4–3, only three players are clearly attacking nearly every play. A key for running this defense successfully
532-897: The Arizona Cardinals , in NFL Europe with the Berlin Thunder , in the Arena Football League with the Columbus Destroyers and in the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts . This biographical article relating to an American football linebacker born in the 1980s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This biographical article relating to a Canadian football linebacker
570-407: The surname Mayes . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mayes&oldid=1160761646 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
608-463: The "Mike" or "Mac", is often referred to as the " quarterback of the defense". Often it is the middle linebacker who receives the defensive play calls from the sideline and relays that play to the rest of the team, and in the NFL he is usually the defensive player with the electronic sideline communicator. A jack-of-all-trades , the middle linebacker can be asked to blitz (though they often blitz less than
646-403: The 3–4 defense three linemen play the line of scrimmage and four linebackers back them up, typically two outside linebackers and two inside linebackers. The weakside inside linebacker is typically called the "Will", while the strong side or middle inside linebacker is called the "Mike". "Sam" is a common designation for strong outside linebacker, while the other position is usually called "Jack" and
684-668: The Cherokee Nation Johnny Mayes (born 1947), Australian rugby league player Pete Mayes (1938–2008), American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter Richard Mayes (1922–2006), English stage and television actor Robert Burns Mayes (1867–1921), justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi Ron Mayes (born 1954), American educator and author Rueben Mayes (born 1963), Canadian football player Rufus Mayes (1947–1990), American football player Samuel Houston Mayes (1845–1927), Chief of
722-631: The Cherokee Nation from 1895 to 1899 Sean Mayes (1949–1995), English rock musician and author Wendell Wise Mayes Jr. (1924–2021), American radio and cable television executive William Mayes Jr. , prominent pirate , proprietor of White Horse Tavern (Rhode Island) William Edward Mayes (1861–1952), English painter See also [ edit ] Mays (disambiguation) Maze (disambiguation) Maize (disambiguation) Mais (disambiguation) Maye (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
760-455: The advent of the two-platoon system with separate units for offense and defense, the player who was the team's center on offense was often, though not always, the team's linebacker on defense. Hence, in contemporary football, one usually sees four defensive linemen to the offense's five or more. Most sources claim coach Fielding H. Yost and center Germany Schulz of the Michigan invented
798-408: The back field to make a play as fast as possible. Outside line backers sometimes are considered to be pass players before they are run players. But that depends on where they are lined up, if they are outside of the box of the defense then they will be pass first players, but if they play inside the box lined up behind the defensive end then they are typically a run player. One of the outside linebackers
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#1732773313929836-454: The backside linebacker, or "Buck", as well as other names like Jack or Bandit, must be the fastest of the three, because he is often the one called into pass coverage. He is also usually chasing the play from the backside, so the ability to maneuver through traffic is a necessity for the Will. The Will usually aligns off the line of scrimmage at the same depth as Mike. Because of his position on
874-506: The defensive line and the secondary. The outside linebacker ( OLB ), sometimes called the "Buck, Sam, and Rebel", is usually responsible for outside containment. This includes the strongside and weakside designations below. They are also responsible for blitzing the quarterback. Not only is the OLB responsible for outside containment and blitzing the QB, but they also have to perform pass coverage in
912-407: The flats – sometimes called a drop. Outside linebackers pass coverages covers quick slants outside, in curls in the flats. The "flats" are the edge of the field closest to the sideline, from the line of scrimmage down about ten yards. John Alexander is the first person to have played outside linebacker in the NFL. The strongside linebacker (SLB) is often nicknamed the "Sam" for purposes of calling
950-441: The least he possesses the ability to withstand, shed, and fight off blocks from a tight end or fullback blocking the backside of a pass play. The linebacker should also have strong safety abilities in pass situation to cover the tight end in man on man situations. He should also have considerable quickness to read and get into coverage in zone situations. The weakside linebacker (WLB), or the "Will" in 4–3 defense, sometimes called
988-416: The line backers know to get into their zone in order to cover the pass. If the guard come out for a run play they know that they need to fill the gap that they are supposed to so that they can make a play if it comes to them. Also, these inside line backers are often called on a blitz which is when no matter what the offense does, as soon as that ball is snapped they are shooting their gap and trying to get into
1026-402: The linebackers' responsibilities vary based upon whether a man or zone coverage is called. In zone coverage, the linebackers will generally drop into hook zones across the middle of the field. However, some zones will send the outside linebackers into the flats (area directly to the left and right of the hash marks, extending 4–5 yards downfield). In a man-to-man call, the "Sam" will often cover
1064-473: The number of linemen, followed by the number of linebackers (with the 46 defense being an exception). For example, the 4–3 defense has four defensive linemen and three linebackers; conversely, the 3–4 defense has three linemen and four linebackers. In the 4–3 defense there are four down linemen and three linebackers. The middle linebacker is designated "Mike" (or "Mac") and two outside linebackers are designated "Sam" and "Will" according to how they line up against
1102-414: The offense may call. Linebackers are divided into middle linebackers, sometimes called inside linebackers, and outside linebackers. The middle linebacker, often called "Mike", is frequently the " quarterback of the defense". His central role on the field means he is in the best position to call defensive plays and direct shifts and changes based on what the offense is doing. Outside linebackers are often in
1140-416: The offensive formation. If there is a strong call, the linebacker on the strongside is called "Sam", while the linebacker on the weakside is called "Will". The outside linebacker's job is to cover the end to make sure a run does not escape and to watch the pass and protect from it. The middle linebacker's job is to stop runs between the tackles and watch the entire field to see the play develop. On pass plays,
1178-473: The offensive guards and the center, thereby making it difficult to double-team any one of the three interior defensive linemen. This can also take away the ability of the offense to pull the guards on a running play, because this would leave one of the defenders unblocked, or, at best, give another lineman a very difficult block to make on one of the defenders. The safety, like the linebacker, can blitz, play man-on-man, play zone, or drop back into deep coverage like
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1216-473: The outside linebacker), cover, spy the quarterback , or even have a deep middle-of-the-field responsibility in the Tampa 2 defense. In standard defenses, middle linebackers commonly lead the team in tackles. The terms middle and inside linebacker are often used interchangeably; they are also used to distinguish between a single middle linebacker playing in a 4–3 defense , and two inside linebackers playing in
1254-425: The passer or otherwise drop into pass coverage. The primary responsibilities for both outside linebackers are typically to stop the run and rush the quarterback in passing situations, where they line in front of the tackles like true defensive ends. The outside linebackers in a 3–4 defense must be very skilled at rushing the quarterback, and would be playing defensive end in a 4–3 defense. Among inside linebackers, one
1292-493: The position. Schulz was Yost's first linebacker in 1904 when he stood up from his usual position on the line. Yost was horrified at first, but came to see the wisdom in Schulz's innovation. William Dunn of Penn State was another Western Conference linebacker soon after Schulz. However, there are various historical claims tied to the linebacker position, including some before 1904. For example, Percy Given of Georgetown
1330-432: The tight end with help from a safety over the top, while at other times, the "Sam" and "Will" will be responsible for the first man out of the backfield on their side of the center, with the "Mike" covering if a second man exits on that side of the field. In the " Tampa 2 " zone defense, the middle linebacker is required to drop quickly into a deep middle zone pass coverage thus requiring a quick player at this position. In
1368-399: The two inside line backers are often called Sam and Mike and these two are lined up about four yards from the line of scrimmage and are lined up with the offensive guard. The inside line backers are often more of a run player so they will defend the run before they will the pass. These line backers will be reading the offensive guard so they know what to do, so if the guard sets up to pass block
1406-573: The weakside, the Will does not often have to face large interior linemen one on one unless one is pulling. In coverage, the Will often covers the back that attacks his side of the field first in man coverage, while covering the weak flat in Texas Loop or hooks/curl areas in zone coverage. The number of linebackers is dependent upon the formation called for in the play; formations can call for as few as none, or as many as seven. Most defensive schemes call for three or four, which are generally named for
1444-463: Was said to be "the developer of the 'roving center' concept". Edgar Garbisch of Army was credited with developing the "roving center method" of playing defensive football in 1921. In professional football, Cal Hubbard is credited with pioneering the linebacker position. He starred as a tackle and end , playing off the line in a style similar to that of a modern linebacker. The middle or inside linebacker ( MLB or ILB ), sometimes called
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