Defensive leaders....

There is some debate about who should be the leader of a defense. ( Does audibles: like QB of defense) because there are advantages and disadvantages to each. I believe it would be the safety because they seem to understand the offense and are the 'extra players'. but there is only one way to find out for sure.


 linebacker:

Advantages:

• In the center of the field where he can get everyones ears on him
• The majority of the players can see him.
• They are usually big and can make themselves the authority
• Is used to being in coverage, playing Man on Man or blitzing.

Disadvantages:

• Can't be seen by  DE's and DT's .
• Is too much of a leader, and when a mistake comes hes the center  of the center of attention.
• He can make mistakes when it comes to the passing games.

 Defensive End and Defensive Tackle:

Advantages:

• They are infront of everyone, allowing them to be seen.
• They figure out the snap count allowing them to know how much time is left to do an audible.
• They usually do only one thing on defense which doesn't let them like make fulls of themselves and lose momentum.
• They are usually not the most well-known position on the field, so they would have less pressure on them.

Disadvantages:

• They may get confused between the snap count the quarterback does and the signals needed for the audibles.
• Signals screamed are not heard by most of the other teams
• A strong offensive team may be able to pinpoint some of the basic moves or audibles of a defense
• A good quarterback will learn to change the snap count often to disable the second advantage written above.
• They are close to the line of scrimmage making it hard to get a view of the whole field and it's players

                    Cornerback

Advantages:

• They are usually not the center of attention on the field and have less pressure on their shoulders
• Usually only have one task at hand and that is to stop the WR from getting open

Disadvantages:

• Do not have a full view of the entier field.
• They can't yell audibles well from one side of the field to the other
• They can't do signals using the body because most of the players can't see them.
• They can't do the audibles any how because in some cases they are in Man on Man defense. they have to keep their mind on the WR
• They usually don't know the snap count so they don't know how much time there is to do an audible

Safety

Advantages:

• Have a clear view of the entier field allowing them to make reads
• They can be heard easily as they are usually in the center of the field.
• a good Safety can do anything giving him an air of authority and little room for weakness
• They are the extra players and can be used for basicly anything the defense asks of them
• They can be the center of the media, depending on the player that can end up badly or end up good
• They have free hands (don't have to get into a pre-snap posture) allowing them to pass on signals

Disadvantages:

• They can't be seen by his teammates
• They usually don't know the snap count so they don't know how much time there is to do an audible

As you can see the Safety has more advantages and less disadvantages then basicly anyone

Next came the Line Backer position

Then came the DE's and DT's

And last and least the Cornerback position

Of course, depending on the type of defense you would like to run, the intellectual capabilities and the leadership qualities may also add to the problem of choosing the captain on the field.