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INTRODUCTIONThis installation guide represents a labor of love -- an attempt to pass on myknowledge of the 2-Level <strong>Defense</strong> (<strong>2LD</strong>) to other coaches. Since I firstpurchased the <strong>2LD</strong> textbook, Football <strong>Defense</strong> of the Future: The 2-Level Modelby John M. Thomson and Bill Arnsparger (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall,Inc., 1988), I have tried to share this fascinating defense with others. The textand Teaching Supplement have been so hard to come by, however, that untilfairly recently, my efforts have been limited to a small handful of coaches.In recent years, the Internet has given a new lease on life to a number ofobscure football concepts from the Yale Formation direct-snap offense to theGap-Air-Mirror (GAM) defense. This new medium for exchanging ideas has alsorevealed a <strong>2LD</strong> "underground" -- a small but dedicated group of coaches whohave kept Coach Thomson's concepts alive since the beginning.(I should note here that I mean no disrespect at all to Coach Arnsparger, one ofthe great defensive minds in football, but -- the <strong>2LD</strong> is John Thomson's baby.You won’t find reference to the <strong>2LD</strong> in any of Arnsparger's other publications,and for good reason: as John Thomson relates it, Coach Arnsparger called himshortly after publication of the <strong>2LD</strong> text to say that coaches from all over werebugging him to death about the <strong>2LD</strong>. Since he was still coaching at LSU, andattempting to recruit, he basically washed his hands of the whole thing and leftthe <strong>2LD</strong> where it belonged, with its creator, John Thomson.)(On a related note, there are ridiculous rumors making their way around theInternet regarding why the <strong>2LD</strong> is so little known. The most popular version isthat a hit by a <strong>2LD</strong> Deep Safety left a receiver paralyzed or dead, and asubsequent lawsuit forced the recall of the textbook and its destruction by thepublisher. This is pure hogwash -- but it says a great deal about the reputationthe <strong>2LD</strong> developed in a very short time for ferocious hits by the deep safety.Prentice-Hall only ever published about 2,000 copies, according to DoctorThomson, and most of those were snapped up by institutional buyers -- librariesand universities. I happened to receive a mailing from Prentice-Hall in 1988offering a number of football texts, and the <strong>2LD</strong> book immediately caught myeye. For those coaches interested in obtaining a copy, I suggest you try aninter-library loan and a trip to your local photocopy shop.)My intent with this installation guide is to pass on my version -- a simplified"subset" -- of the John Thomson 2-Level <strong>Defense</strong>. I outline the requirements foreach position, then lay out key drills and an installation sequence. One word ofwarning, however: if you aren’t willing to line up your deep safety at a depth of+28 yards from the LOS, you should find another defense.3