6-2 defense

In American football, the 6–2 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of six down linemen and two linebackers.

This defense is generally considered to be the best balanced arrangement against a well balanced attack, Dana X Bible,Championship Football, 1947, p. 154

The 6-2 is a defense that became popular in the 1930s due to the demands of the improving passing attacks of the time. In the early 1930s, pro football's passing rules were liberalized. By the late 1930s, the two standard defenses in college and the NFL were the 6-2 and the 5-3. The 5-3 was regarded as a pass defense, and the 6-2, for most teams, was the base defense.

By the 1940s, you could see this defense overshifted or undershifted. Pass defenses were man-to-man, zone, or a combination, the three man secondary lending itself to a Cover 3. Players would pull out of the line, to fall into short zones, as zone blitz teams do today, rushing four and having four players in short zones. Secondary rotations were common as an adjustment to a "man in motion" from the T.

The usage of the 6–2 defense waned as the T formation became more popular and more effective. By 1950, the base defenses in the NFL were all five man line defenses, either the 5-3 or the 5-2 Eagle. 8 man front defenses were still popular in the college ranks, and the six man line evolved. The defensive lines grew tighter, to gain numerical advantages over the five interior linemen. Gap control concepts were introduced, and to defend against the original option offense, the Split-T, rotating backfields were introduced.

The wide tackle six was and remains today a favorite of many., Bill Arnsparger,Arnsparger's Coaching Defensive Football, 1999, p. 56

Belichick differentiates between three fundamental forms of the 6-2, based on the position of the linebackers. If the linebackers are in the interior of the formation, with three defensive linemen to either side of them, then the formation is called the Split 6. If two guards are found between the two linebackers, then the formation is called the Wide 6 or the Wide Tackle 6. A formation where the linebackers are over the ends, in a fashion akin to the 5-2 Eagle, then the formation is referred to as the Tight 6.

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