| Editor’s note: In this weekly series, PFW contributing
editor Joel Buchsbaum explains the X’s and O’s of football. In Lesson 3, he
talks about how safeties are used, the difference between free and strong safeties and
what their responsibilities are. 
Q: Why is a free safety called a free safety? Is that the same as a weak safety?
Buchsbaum: The terms are similar, but they’re not synonymous.
A pure free safety is a safety who has no man-on-man responsibilities and is free to
roam. The old, traditional free safety was Paul Krause of the Minnesota Vikings, who
basically played what is known as center field. He could roam all over the place and go
for the ball. With the multiple-WR formations now, very few clubs can afford to play a
true free safety.
A weak safety is any safety who lines up on the weak side of the formation (see Lesson 2 for an explanation of weak and strong
sides). He may have man-on-man coverage responsibilities; he may in half zone; he may in
entire zone; he may be in a two-deep; he may be in a three-deep. He could be in virtually
any type of coverage; it just signifies that he’s lined up on the weak side.
A strong safety generally lines up on the side where the tight end is, and the free
safety is on the weak side. The free safety will generally play deeper than the strong
safety, who is generally more posed to stop the run and is lined up on the strong side of
the formation.
A left safety and a right safety are called such when a team keeps its safeties on
specific sides of the field. The left safety would always play on the left side of the
field, which is generally going to be the strong side. He will generally be the better run
defender and the more physical of the two. The right safety will generally play on the
weak side of the formation. He would more often have more freedom to run, would have to
cover more ground and would not have to be as physical as the left safety.
A team that always lines up its safeties as "weak" and "strong"
will always have a weak safety. A team that lines up its safeties left and right will not
always have a weak safety because it depends on how the offensive team deploys its
blockers and receivers.
If an offense balances things out by playing two tight ends, the free safety will
generally stay on the right side of the defense (left side of the offense), and the strong
safety will stay on the left side of the defense. Teams still tend to put their more
powerful run blockers on the right side of the offensive line.
Q: What is a safety’s responsibility nowadays in the NFL?
Buchsbaum: Many more clubs are asking their safeties to guard a slot receiver. Having a
free safety who is almost like a cornerback in his ability to handle man-on-man coverage
responsibilities, or a strong safety in that mold, can be very helpful in that area. The
priority of a safety now is more and more oriented to pass defense, as opposed to the old
days, when teams wanted the real hitters — the Gary Fenciks, the Doug Planks, the
Cliff Harrises — who really weren’t very skilled in terms of coverage ability
but were tremendous hitters and also had a nose for the ball.
Next week Buchsbaum will explain the West Coast offense and audibles. If you have any
technical football questions for Joel, e-mail them to editors@pfwa.com
and write "Football 101" in the subject line.
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