EPISODE 11: WHERE IS MY FRIEND STEM?

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Big Dawg, I was sitting there thinking, right? Thinking about the trenches as I always do. Got my mind on the trenches and the trenches on my mind. You know what I'm saying, and I started thinking about how much defensive line play has changed over the years. I started going all the way back to about maybe 15, 20, 25 years. I started saying to myself, man in some ways not much has changed at all, but in others, gosh it's changed quite a bid. Then, big dawg it hit me like Law and Order. Close enough. When is the last time I've seen a defensive lineman stem. No, not swim. Stem. Oh, so you've never heard of a defensive lineman stemming at the line of scrimmage? Some of my older coaches know what I'm talking about. Episode number 11.

Hello? Hello? Has anybody seen my friend stem? Anyone? Tell him Big Dawg's looking for him. Big dawg, I haven't seen a defensive lineman stem at the line of scrimmage for years. You know what, unc? Help me take it back, all the way back, down memory lane. Listen up here young buck. When I played back in the 80s, back when they had the afro, Big Dawg had one. I made sure mine was combed and picked. On the football field, see, we did something called stem. Now, let me school you here, young fellow. You know, I played nose tackle and my defensive line coach used to tell me, "Make sure you stem. You know, move. Don't just stand in one spot young blood. You gotta move around." My D line coach would say, "When you stem (or when you move around), you confuse the offensive linemen." We get in our stance and our D line coach Ray, coach Ray would stand over there with his big old stomach and his gold tooth and a Jerri curl talking about, "Stem! Hey, stem!" That was the cue. You know what I'm saying young blood? It meant move around.

If you were lined up on the right shade at the center, you moved to the left shade of the center and right when that ball snapped, you'd be sure to snap back full speed back to the right shade of the center, hitting that A gap. That offensive lineman was always confused. Worked every time. Every single time. Exactly, appreciate that, unc. You're welcome. Oh, man it's too much fun. Have you seen my friend stem? I haven't. I haven't seen a defensive line stem in the trenches for several years. The stem, for me, is a technique that is used to confuse the offensive lineman's blocking scheme. By shifting or stemming your alignment, it confuses that offensive lineman's assignment. Let's talk trenches. Let's say we're in the 43 defense. We've got four down defensive linemen in the trenches. What's that offensive lineman gonna call, "Even! Even! Even!" What does even mean for the most part? It means you have four down defensive linemen. Why is that offensive lineman making that call? Most of the time that indicates to the offensive linemen or to the offensive line what their assignment is for that particular run play.

Let's say I'm a defensive tackle and a wide three. Now, I know that my assignment as a defensive tackle is that B gap. That B gap is my responsibility. Most 4-3 defenses is gap defenses. They're our gap control defense. I know my assignment. My assignment is to make sure that nothing comes through that B gap. Lined up in my three technique or a wide three or wide B, and I know that anything that comes through there is mine. I know as a three technique that as soon as that ball snaps, I'm attacking that three and I got anything coming through the B. Let's say I want to stem. I want to confuse that offensive guard a little bit, so I'm gonna stem, shift or I'm going to move my alignment to head up over that guard. As long as I stem my alignment, it might alter the offensive lineman's assignment. Let's say it was a power and the play called for a double team. Being that I was in a three technique or the B gap, the guard and the tackle were gonna double team me and climb to the second level. The second level where the linebackers are.

That was the case when I was in my three technique or when I was in my YB, but do you think that changes when I shift or I stemmed my alignment to head up over that guard. Now, the guard is fully covered and that offensive tackle is uncovered. For lots of offensive linemen, when that happens that offensive tackle is just gonna climb to the second level. Yes, now obviously there are a lot of different variables that come into play, but most of the time if that guy's not in that gap, that guard's gonna take that defensive tackle on his own because he's covered and that tackle is gonna climb and try to seal that linebacker. You u