Quick Adjustment to Wilson's 3-3-5 Helped Lions' Defense Thrive During 5-5 Campaign

Columbia football's defense was the heart of the 2006 team. Running a brand-new 3-3-5 formation designed to match the strengths of the team's personnel, the Lions successfully confused every offense they faced. The defense was able to create turnovers and convert them into scoring opportunities when they needed to in order to keep their offense in every game.

"The defense played well all year," head coach Norries Wilson said. "They played together, and they overcame being undersized and not being very fast. They all tried to play as a full unit. They kept us in every game."

The 3-3-5 defense relied on constant motion that continually confused its opponents. On any given play, the Lions would shift from a three-man front to a four-man front and call audibles that caused many disciplined teams, Harvard in particular, to jump offside. The Lions led the league in opponent penalties, largely thanks to the play of their defense.

"The fact that people didn't have an answer for what we did defensively kind of struck me as odd," Wilson said.

Few teams were able to find an answer to the Lions' defensive game plan, which earned the defense a laundry list of superlatives for the 2006 season. The Light Blue finished the year with the best scoring defense in the league, allowing an average of 16.3 points per game, and the best pass defense, giving up less than 150 yards per game in the air. Columbia was ranked second in both total defense and in turnover margin at +10. The Lions finished third in the league in sacks, with 20, and third in red-zone defense, allowing 18 touchdowns in 32 opponent red-zone appearances.

The defense prided itself all season on its turnover margin, and, despite a lull against league heavyweights Yale and Harvard, finished the season strong with a +3 margin against Brown. The defense scored six touchdowns over the course of the season, three on interception returns and three on fumble recoveries, all of which helped jump-start the offense. Every game in which the defense scored a touchdown resulted in a Light Blue victory.

Freshman defensive back Andy Shalbrack led the team in interceptions, tallying five of the team's 15, including two in the season finale at Brown. For his efforts, Shalbrack earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors twice during the course of the season. Senior nose tackle Todd Abrams recorded three of the Lions' nine fumble recoveries and returned two of them for touchdowns.

Senior free safety Tad Crawford led the team in tackles for the second straight year, finishing with 101, including three for a loss of eight yards, an interception, and two fumble recoveries. Sophomore linebacker Drew Quinn was second in the tackles department, racking up 82 on the season, including nine tackles for a loss, two interceptions, two broken-up passes, and two forced fumbles. Senior co-captain and linebacker Adam Brekke rounded out the top three tacklers, finishing the season with 81 tackles, including six for a loss, four sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble. Senior defensive end Darren Schmidt, starting at defensive line for the first time in his career, led the team in sacks, with seven, and in tackles for a loss, recording 16 for a total of 80 yards.

The Lions made significant progress on the defensive side of the football in 2006 by cutting their points allowed by over 50 percent, a drastic improvement for any program. Should Columbia continue running the 3-3-5 while adding in new blitzing schemes? It is certainly possible to expect a repeat performance next season.