Originally posted by stellspalfie
i was wondering if a specific player is given the job sticking to the wide receiver like glue, or do players decide whos going with him after the snap? i can understand how teams gain the yards with running games but shouldnt passing games be easy to block. i should watch some games.
To further explain passing plays and defense, let's put it this way:
On offense, you have on quarterback and 5 offensive lineman. That means on each play you have 5 eligible receivers. You can allocate them any way you like. You have have 2 running backs, 3 tight ends and no wide outs (this is a power or goal line formation) or 5 wide receivers and no RBs or TEs or anything in between. Fairly typical is 2 running backs (a HB and a FB), 1 TE and 2 wide outs.
On defense, the typical pass rush is 4 defenders, though the defense can theoretically choose to rush nobody or all 11 if they choose. Typically, no fewer than 3 (or once in a while, 2) actually rush and it's very rare to have more than 7 rush.
So, in a standard play, 7 defenders have to cover 5 eligible receivers. It is common for at least one receive to stay back and block the pass rush, so it's often more like 4 receivers against 7 defenders. In this situation, it is expected that receivers will get open eventually, but a good secondary should be able to hold its ground for a solid 3 or 4 seconds.
Take the other extreme. If the offense lines up with 5 wide receivers and the defense brings 6, simple math indicates that someone will get a free shot at the QB. But it also means that all the receivers will be defended by man to man coverage. This means that while you should get to the QB, you'd better get there quickly, because if you don't odds are that someone will get open... and fast! Plus, the QB can take a 5 step drop (or even a 3) instead of the normal 7 to make the throw more quickly and minimize the chance of being reached by a defender.
At the other end, the offense can max protect, which usually means sending only 2 receivers into the patterns and the defense may drop as many as 8 into coverage. In such a case, the receiver is going to have a devil of a time getting open, but he may have upwards of 10 seconds to do it.
And, of course, this all assumes you know it's going to be a passing play. When you don't (which is most often), you have to decide not only how many men to put up close to the line to stop the run, but also the kind of personnel you want in the game. Do you want the smaller, faster defensive backs to cover the receivers, but who can be easily blocked by the offensive lineman and the backs or do you want the big linebackers who are hard to block, but won't be able to cover the tight end or running backs very well in their patterns.