Nose guard

Encyclopedia : N : NO : NOS : Nose guard

Nose Guard, or NT, is a defensive position in American football. In five-lineman situations, such as a goal-line formation, the nose guard is the innermost lineman, flanked on either side by a defensive tackle. More often, the nose guard will be employed as the interior defender in the 3-4 defense. The nose guard lines up directly opposite the offensive center, or over the center's "nose". Nose guards tend to be shorter than most other defensive linemen. They are very strong, but usually not very fast.

The primary mission of the Nose Guard is not to tackle the ball carrier. The primary function of the NT is to occupy as many blockers as possible to allow the inside linebackers to proceed to tackle the ballcarrier without being blocked. The nose tackle's secondary responsibility is to maintain his position and not allow himself to be moved away from his original spot. This is why many NT's are short and stocky — they are difficult to move.

Current NT's of note include Ted Washington (6'-4" 365 lb) of the Cleveland Browns and Casey Hampton (6'-1" 338 lb) of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"Nose Guard" is often a term incorrectly applied to the defensive tackle in a 3-4 defensive scheme. This position is known as a Nose tackle. Nose guards are sometimes also referred to as Middle guards.

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