Defensive lineman
From Free net encyclopedia
A defensive lineman is any of the down positions on the defensive side of American football. Although alignments vary, the most popular consist of either 3 or 4 down linemen. On a 3 lineman set, there are 2 Defensive Ends which bookend an often large Nose Tackle. In a 4 lineman set, the Ends bookend 2 Defensive Tackles. The primary job of a defensive lineman is to gain penetration past the line of scrimmage to disrupt an offensive play. The best results are a sack on the quarterback or tackling a ball carrier for a loss of yardage.
There are several variations of defensive lineman:
Bruce Smith, a defensive lineman, is the NFL's all time sack leader. He came to fame as a Buffalo Bill but ended his career as a Washington Redskin in 2002. Other notable defensive linemen throughout NFL history include Reggie White (DE), Elvin Bethea (DE), Art Donovan (DT), Joe Greene (DT), David Jones (DE), Bob Lilly (DT), Howie Long (DE), Gino Marchetti (DE), Merlin Olsen (DT), Alan Page (DT) & Randy White (DT).