This piece of football analysis was first published in Buccaneers Review, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ ground-breaking answer to the traditional game program. Buccaneers Review is sold at every Tampa Bay home game and it includes entirely new material, cover to cover, every issue. The magazine-style publication includes exclusive interviews with Buccaneer players and their opponents; in-depth feature stories; technical explanations of the game’s fundamentals by Buccaneers coaches, a close look at the opponent and their key players; cheerleader features; columns by Jon Gruden and long-time Buc standout Dave Moore; trivia quizzes; rosters, depth charts and much more. It is edited by Bucs UK Hall of Fame member Scott Smith. Feature- The Nickel Back Defensive Backs Coach Raheem Morris discusses the “nickel back” position and explains why this positions duties are often misunderstood. Defenses often bring in an extra cornerback – called the nickel because he is the fifth defensive back on the field – when the opposing offense has added a third receiver to its set. The nickel back has to have the coverage skills of a cornerback but also must excel at many of the duties often associated with the linebacker position. “Many people don’t really know what we mean when we say 'nickel corner.' When we bring in a third corner, or nickel corner, he is really just a linebacker in a defensive back’s body. He has coverage responsibilities, but when you are playing a zone defense he is really just like a linebacker in regard to what we need him to do. For that position, we need a guy who is tough enough to tackle and a guy who also has the ability to play in space. That’s what we have had for years here in Ronde Barber. He has the ability to tackle, he’s tough and he has all of the physical attributes you want for that position. When he slides inside to play the nickel, he gets credit for “corner blitzes,” but he is really in a linebacker position. “You would like to put the nickel on the field when you think the opponent is going to pass, but you can’t be right 100 percent of the time. Thus, the nickel back is going to be in there sometimes when the other team is running the ball. If they don’t throw, then the nickel has to do the things that Derrick Brooks does on first down, as far as keying, gap-fill, tackling and making plays down in the box. “There are many different ways to play defense, but around here we play a one-gap system. Everybody is responsible for a gap. If we give up a big play, we know who missed their gap assignment as we are coming off the field. The offense’s goal is to try to get us out of our gaps. If they can do that, they will have a successful play, and if they can’t, we will have a successful play. “That’s important here because the nickel corner is responsible for certain gaps depending upon the defense we’re running. That’s why he has to think and act like a linebacker, as far as reading offenses and knowing his keys. He has to really focus on the running backs, he has to feel linemen pull and he has to see the quarterback. There are just so many things you have to do in that position. “For example, if we are playing our Over front, we have our Mike [middle] and Will [weakside] linebackers on the field. Then we take a linebacker out, insert Ronde at that position and bring in another guy to play Ronde’s cornerback position. The nickel then has coverage duties on the wide receiver, but he also has run-gap responsibilities. He has to key the running back and also feel the quarterback. If a running play flows away from his side, he is a D-Gap player, which means if the ballcarrier cuts back he has to make that tackle. If his receiver goes in motion, then he has to change sides of the field and play the other side. Glossary: In space – Away from other players; often describes a situation where a tackler meets a ballcarrier one-on-one. Keys, keying – Certain actions by the offensive players at the beginning of a play that give the defensive player an idea of what sort of play it will be; seeing and interpreting those actions. One-gap system – A style of defense in which each space, or running lane, between the players on offense is defined as a specific gap and each player on defense is responsible for one of those gaps. Gap fill – Finding and getting into the specific gap that is the player’s responsibility in a one-gap system so that there is no open lane for a ballcarrier to run through. B-Gap – The space between the guard and the tackle on either side of the line. D-Gap – The space outside of the tight end. In the box – On defense, lined up between the tackles and within a few yards of the line of scrimmage; commonly occupied by defensive linemen and linebackers. Over front – An alignment in the 4-3 defense in which the team shifts more defenders to the suspected point of attack by sliding the defensive tackles to the offense’s strong side and lining a linebacker up over the tight end. If the ballcarrier runs his way, he is now in the box and he becomes a B-Gap hitter. He has to make that tackle in the B-Gap, no matter who it is or what size he is – Jerome Bettis, Warrick Dunn or LaDainian Tomlinson. He has to make that play in that hole, and that’s the value of having a player like Ronde Barber in the nickel position. “How does the nickel know whether he is going to be in coverage or stopping the run on any given play? He has certain keys to look for to decipher if the play is a run or pass. Those keys dictate what he is going to do. Is he stepping up to play the run, or dropping back and playing the pass? A lot is determined by the action of the quarterback and the action of the running back, and also on how the receivers respond to those movements. He has to digest a lot of information quickly, and he has to be right. It’s a tough position. The linebackers read keys like that on every snap, but now you’re asking a guy who’s used to just focusing on receivers to do the same thing. His whole mentality has to change and he basically has to become a linebacker.