Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is played.

History

Early formations, with six- and seven-man lines, used the end as a containment player, whose job was first to prevent an "

end run In gridiron football, an end run is a running play in which the player carrying the ball tries to avoid being tackled by running outside the end (or flank) of the offensive line. It is distinct from a dive, which is a run "up the middle", or an ...

" around his position, then secondarily to force plays inside. When most teams adopted a five-man line, two different styles of end play developed: "crashing" ends, who rushed into the backfield to disrupt plays, and "stand-up" or "waiting" ends, who played the more traditional containment style. Some teams would use both styles of end play, depending on game situations. Traditionally, defensive ends are in a

three-point stance The three-point stance is a stance used by linemen and running backs in American football when ready for the start of a play. This stance requires one hand to touch the ground with the other arm cocked back to the thigh/hip region. The back s ...

, with their free hand cocked back ready to "punch" an offensive lineman, or in a

two-point stance Stance is the position an American football player adopts when a play begins. There are three common stances used by linemen: two-point, three-point, and four-point. The stance names reference the number of points where a player's body is touching ...

like a strong safety so they can keep containment. Some defensive ends play the position due to their size; they close down their gap so the running back has no hole to run through. Other ends play the position due to their speed and agility; they are used to rush the

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. These ends can time the snap of the ball in order to get a jump on the rush, and stop the play. Everson Griffen rushing Jay Cutler (cropped)

Most of the time it is the job of the defensive end in run defense to keep outside or containment, which means that no one should get to their outside; they must keep everything to the inside. If they have an outside linebacker besides them that is not in pass coverage, this gives the defensive end more freedom to rush the quarterback. The defensive ends are fast for players of their size, often the fastest and smallest players on the defensive line. They must be able to shed blockers to get to the ball. Defensive ends are also often used to cover the outside area of the

line of scrimmage In gridiron football, a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line (across the width of the field) beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun. Its location is based on the spot where the ball is placed after the end o ...

, to tackle ball carriers running to the far right or left side, and to defend against

screen pass A screen pass is a play in gridiron football consisting of a short pass to a receiver who is protected by a screen of blockers. During a screen pass, a number of things happen concurrently in order to fool the defense into thinking a long pass is b ...

es. Since the creation of

zone blitz In American football, a zone blitz is a defensive tactic that sends additional players to rush the opposing team's quarterback, whilst also unexpectedly redirecting a supposed pass rushing player into pass coverage instead. This tactic also likel ...

defenses in the late 1990s, defensive ends have sometimes been used in pass coverage, dropping back to cover routes run close to the line of scrimmage. In the

3–4 defense In American football, the 3–4 defense is a common defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen and four linebackers. It is a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs ...

, defensive ends are used primarily as run stoppers and are much larger than the normal size of a player at this position. Often, the position is played by a more agile or slightly undersized defensive tackle. Because of the increased popularity of the 3–4 defense, the value of a defensive tackle prospect that can possibly be used in this manner has increased. They are used to occupy an offensive lineman, on pass rushing plays to let the outside linebackers get a sack. They block screen passes and are put outside the offensive tackles to get a sack. Defensive ends in the 3–4 defense average a height of 6′3″–6′8″ and a weight of 285–315 lbs.

References

{{American football positions American football positions

History

See also

References