Dime defense

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title: "Dime defense" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-football-strategy", "american-football-formations"] description: "American football defensive formation" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dime_defense" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American football defensive formation ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Adams_State_vs.Texas_A&M–Commerce_football_2015_16(A&M–Commerce_on_offense).jpg" caption="The [[Adams State Grizzlies]] in a dime defense against the [[Texas A&M–Commerce Lions]] in 2015"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Dimeback.svg" caption="language=en-US}} but a conventional dime formation would have 4 linemen and only one linebacker."] ::

In American football, the dime defense is a defensive alignment that uses six defensive backs. It is usually employed in obvious passing situations. The formation usually consists of six defensive backs, usually two safeties and four cornerbacks, and has either four down linemen and one linebacker, or three down linemen and two linebackers. This formation is used to prevent the offense from completing a medium- to long-range pass play. This may be because the offense's running game is inefficient, time is an issue, or they need a long pass for a first down. It is also used against teams whose pass-to-run ratio predominantly favors pass. The formation, however, is vulnerable to running plays as the formation is missing two linebackers, or a linebacker and a down lineman.

A dime defense differs from the nickel defense – from which it derives its name – in that it adds a sixth defensive back to the secondary. This sixth defensive back is called a "dimeback" (D). The defense gets its name because a dime, worth ten cents, is the next step up in United States coin currency from a nickel, which is worth 5 cents.

There are also "quarter" and "half-dollar" formations, each protecting against progressively deeper and more likely pass attempts. In 2010, the New York Giants consistently added an extra safety instead of an extra cornerback, resulting in three safeties and three cornerbacks. This has been called a "giant dime".

References

References

1. PlayBook, FirstDown. (2024-07-23). "How to Find The 3-2-6 Defense".
2. (2002-11-16). "ESPN.com: NCF - Football 101: Defensive substitution packages". A.espncdn.com.
3. "Difference between nickel and dime positions on defense?".
4. "How the Chargers shut down Lamar Jackson and the Ravens".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::