In football, what is the role of the nose tackle. Does the NT just battles with the center?

Question

In football, what is the role of the nose tackle. Does the NT just battles with the center?

Answer 1

The Nose Tackle is very important in the 3-4 defense in the NFL. In order to run a good 3-4 defense your NT has to be able to do a number of things well. Lets break it down in run and pass situations.

NT technique in 3-4 versus the run:

A NT needs to take up space and blockers. His primary job versus the run is to not give up ground and to get penetration. In the case of a NT being blocked by one person, he needs to get penetration and funnel the Running Back towards help, or make the tackle himself. The ideal scenario is for two or more blockers to take on the NT. This allows the LBs to roam free and make the tackle themselves. A NT is key in stuffing the run out of a 3-4 because there is one less lineman than a 4-3 and the offensive line can push the 3-4 linemen off the ball easier. Good NT in the NFL include, but are not limited to, Vince Wilfork of New England and Casey Hampton of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Great NT like Hampton and Wilfork are hard to come by and is the reason most NFL teams run a 4-3. Running a 3-4 defense requires different personnel than a 4-3.

NT technique in a 3-4 versus the pass:

Like I mentioned above, you need a big strong NT to help stuff the run, but your NT also has to be agile and quick enough to rush the QB versus the pass. The main reasons teams use a 3-4 is to disguise where the fourth rusher will come from (the four being the 3 down linemen and one of the four linebackers). Many teams use this to great succes like the Steelers and Patriots just to name a couple. In some obvious pass situations, a team can bring in a usually more agile player in as a NT such as a back-up NT or a back-up DE to play the NT.

The 3-4 defense is very complex and requires many different players doing different jobs. Just like an offense has many plays out of different formations, defenses do the same. The reason is to disguise what the defense is trying to take away from the offense. In some situations the defensive line may slant towards a certain direction, while the linebackers slant an opposite directions. The point being that every defensive player usually has his own assignment and if one man "misses" his assignment, it usually means a big play for the offense. To sum it up a NT will battle the C the Guards and sometimes even the Tackle, it just depends on the defensive scheme and offensive playcall, it all depends. Hope that helps.

Answer 2

The job of the NT is to plug-up the middle. The more people committed to block him(double, or triple), the more likely someone else on the Defense can make a play!

Answer 3

It depends on the defense.  On aggressive or "offensive" defenses, the nose tackle sometimes goes heads-up, and sometimes he "shoots" the gap, and sometimes he "slants" left or right off of a live call from the LB.  This can be incredibly effective, as it keeps the offensive guards and center off balance, and ties up their heads-up blocking schemes.  Example:  NT lines up on center, but slants left, essentially neutralizing the Right Guard.  Since the center was assigned to block the NT, he goes with him, and the NT has now neutralized two blockers, which frees up the Middle Linebacker from double coverage, or frees up one of two Inside Linebackers completely.  This scheme is particularly effective with two inside linebackers, and against the right offenses can be deadly if not overdone.

In a traditional "read and react" defense, the NT makes hard contact with the Center, then "plays off the block" to dominate both sides of the Center (or what many call the "9" holes - the running lanes between the Center and the Guards.  He is successful in three ways:

1.  Disrupting the play and "stuffing" the running back behind the line by congesting the blockers.

2.  Neutralizing the blockers as described above.

3.  Sacrificing himself to take the blockers out of the play, so the linebackers can make the tackle.  This is the mark of an outstanding Nose Tackle.  Exceptional Nose Tackles have such a distracting impact on the Center, they can actually disrupt the offense.  That should be the goal.

In my experience speed and quickness are far more impactful for the NT than sheer weight/size.  

The NY Giants nose tackle demonstrated the ideal example of controlling the center of the line of scrimmage in the Super Bowl, and overcoming double teams to disrupt/sack the QB. This was a textbook game for all prospective NTs to watch.

Answer 4

On run plays their main role is NOT to get driven back into the Linebackers, which will take them out of the play.  Hold their ground, even if it means to fall to the ground and cause a pile.  Just don't get driven backwards.  

On pass plays their main role is pierce the pocket.  Provide pressure up the middle so the QB can't step up into the pocket.  

Answer 5

Pretty much........sometimes they are supposed to plug up the cap on the run. But in a 3-4 that is mainly the LBs jobs. If you watch the Patriots play you will see how a 3-4 is supposed to be ran and what a does tackle does.

Answer 6

His role is to tackle the nose of the opposing player, in this case the Center, lol. But year his job is to take down the Center position player and rip his nose out.