Thats because the alignment is really just a wrinkle on the 4-3 base defense, and so it uses many of the same principles and all the same personnel. Offenses are putting more athletes on the field, and the defense has to adapt and match-up. Spread Option - In a different way than the heavy passing of the air raid offense, the spread option looks to run the ball first. Five defenders will always be defending the pass, and one of the extra defensive linemen can always drop back into coverage, too. The fact is, the 4-3 Defense also turns into a 4-2-5 look when you start spreading . Is that what the direct question was? Editors note: Things broke down there at the end when I didnt phrase my question well. This gives the illusion of Single Coverage. That obviously helps against some of the problems that occur when your defense relies on cover 3 against offenses when they see the blitz coming. By drop back and try to defend him Gundy meant the various drop eight schemes like the inverted Tampa 2 scheme introduced by Iowa State. Not only did he have to protect the middle of the field against the deep pass, he also had to assist the two corner backs in pass coverage. Regardless of whether or not a Tight End is part of the formation, we will have one defender to defend each gap presented by the offense. Hard to Fully Grasp - While the 46 defense can be implemented in a base formation without a lot of wrinkles, it is most effective when those wrinkles are implemented. On the topic of the fire zone blitz, Gundy had this to say: You know the fire zone was a good scheme for a couple of years and then offenses, uhh, found ways to determine when it was going to happen prior to the snap. A 46 defense is a type of defense used by the Chicago Bears in the 1980s to stop the run and create a dominant pass rush. https://matchquarters.com, PsalmOneTree (political/theology blog) (Full Explanation). We must start putting more athletes on the field who are versatile as far as run-stoppers, and cover-guys. These concepts apply against all offenses, but are magnified against the spread because of spacing. You either gotta defend the quarterback, width and length, or you gotta go get him. Buddy Ryan had great success with this system not only in Chicago, but also in Philadelphia. By running the ball effectively, you can open up your passing game against the 46 defense. Unlike other defensive alignments out there, the 46 defense is not named for the number of players at each level of the defense. The 46 essentially put a steel wall of defenders in front of opposing offenses, forcing them to throw the football. There are four defensive linemen, three linebackers, and four players in the secondary in a 46 defense - but the difference lies in where they line up. The Bears' run defense was top two in both run and overall defense every year from 1984-1988. 5.0 out of 5 stars : Best Sellers Rank The 46 defense is most effective against compressed offenses but vulnerable on spread offenses since there are just three defensive backs guarding against the pass. That leaves two cornerbacks and a free safety to cover the rest of the field. And I respect that coming in, cause I already know it. The run game was sweetness. Heres how their four starting linebackers are doing this season through six games: Jack: Noah Burks, 6-2, 241. The reason being, is that the 46 defense was designed to work against teams who use a lot of I formations and other sets where the defense is condensed. Line up with two defensive tackles and two defensive ends. Pressure the QB relentlessly on every pass play. I mean that your blitz package needs to have every type of blitz if you wanted to rely on it in your philosophy, because it seemed that Wells was suggesting that bringing only one, or a few, types of blitz means youre going to get caught and killed. The Mike will be in the 40-Tech to the field, and the Will now aligns in the 40-Tech to the boundary. Box; Defending Trips with Quarter Quarter Half Coverage in the 4-2-5; Hybridizing 3-3 Stack Defense with 4 Man front Concepts; Simple Adjustable 3-4 Blitz vs. The "mike" backer lines up directly across from the strong-side tackle and two yards back. This player is the last player you want to have to make a play. There are four defensive linemen that are shifted more towards the right. Wasnt the 46 what Virginia Tech used to beat Ohio state in 2014? 6 TFL, 3 sacks. Linebackers: The jack linebacker lines up on the outside shoulder of the strong tight end and just slightly behind the line of scrimmage. The free safety lines up 12 yards back and over the weak-side guard. So that wasnt good for defenses. Texas ran a similar scheme well get to in a moment against LSU, regularly got pressure, and Joe Burrow was able to get the ball out before that pressure landed. As a result, offensive lineman must possess the ability to pull outside, receivers must be willing to block, and the quarterback should be able to tuck it and run in certain situations. But the fact that the 1985 Chicago Bears team is the one that made the 46 defense famous would suggest that one would be wrong if one made that assumption. Weve seen a lot of teams try this in the Big 12, including teams with talent levels like Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State can field (Texas and Oklahoma). Using a five-man front against Spread teams allows the defense to create one-on-one blocking, especially versus Zone-centric offenses. Army runs quite a bit of fire zone AND zone blitzing from quarters, with their own 3-4 defense that has a 2-4-5 nickel sub-package. Those teams fielded some of the best front-seven defenses ever, and included such players as Jerome Brown, Mike Singletary, Steve McMichael, Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Clyde Simmons, Reggie White, Otis Wilson, Seth Joyner, William Fuller, and Wilber Marshall. And so, I dont think that would do much for what goes on in our league. The 46 defense is an American football defensive formation, an eight men in the box defense, with six players along the line of scrimmage. He was adept at designing defenses that fit his team's strengths and hid their weaknesses. Ryan inherited a team that was atrocious at stopping the run and rushing the passer. 46 Defense Run Fits for 1-Back Offenses The run fits versus 1-back formations are pretty straightforward. "Some say the 46 defense is just an eight-man front. Don't let the fact that the Double Eagle Flex turns into a 4-2-5 Defense when you face Spread opponents. If he releases, they will go hug him. Concerning Sports, [] Patterson is in better shape. It is a simple defense to learn and teach, and also allows your players to play fast and . If we have to send eight, we'll send eight, but we're not going to let you sit back there and pick us apart. Pronounced forty-six (not four-six), the 46 defense overloads the weak side of the offense and brings up the strong safety as if he were a fourth linebacker. (Full Explanation), What is 21 Personnel in Football? The Sam linebacker and the strong safety will each line up on one of the shoulders of the tight end the Sam on the inside shoulder and the strong safety on the outside shoulder. So for the purposes of this breakdown, well be dealing with six defensive linemen. Up front, teams still use the concept of the "T-N-T" alignment, where two defensive ends are covering (lined up directly across from) the guards, and a nose tackle is covering the center. The 46 was named after The middle linebacker lines up about four to four and a half yards behind the line of scrimmage and directly in front of the strong offensive tackle. If you can beat the pressure up front and get a good ballcarrier to the second level, as Texas did on one notable occasion, then the Sooners are vulnerable. The basic idea of the 46 defense is that the defensive tackle lines up over the center, the other defensive tackle lines up over the right guard, and a defensive end lines up over the left guard. In a sense theyve reached something close to what Matt Wells described, where they have an extensive blitz package with multiple concepts. And then defenses started to disguise that a little bit, but because youre taking and giving up a certain area on the field when youre fire zoning, if offensive quarterbacks know that they can wear you out. Very aggressive approach oriented around the belief that JT Barrett couldnt beat their guys in man coverage. If its all or nothing someones fixing to score. ", This page was last edited on 26 December 2022, at 02:00. Responsibilities for all players in the secondary are pretty simple and similar to what they are in other defensive alignments. As I started to reply to him, I thought that this would make for an interesting article for everyone to read. Field G front. We now want to match-up personnel wise with the offenses, and move to a 3-down, 2-LB, 6-DB personnel group. 46 Defense Keys and 2-Back Run Fits Versus 2-Back formations, where the fullback inserts into the line of scrimmage is extremely important. Stop the Run, and Hit the QB! It can still be helpful today if used in the right situation. No defenders are placed over the offensive tackles, instead a defensive end is placed to the outside shoulder of the left tackle and old number "46", who is a cross between a linebacker and a. Too many defensive coaches these days move into a front where they cover both guards and center, and say we are in the 46, but they are not. The extra two players at the line of scrimmage can open up space for receivers to find. Either its going to be the offenses school song or youre gonna bounce the quarterbacks head off the turf and youre gonna pick that football up and run in and its going to be the other guys (school song). This may be harder for inexperienced players to fully grasp and execute. Ryan inherited a team that was atrocious at stopping the run and rushing the passer. But what made the 15-1 Bears so dominant? The Ryan bros still use the 46 defense and the bear front, but they tend to mix it in alongside zone blitzes, quarters coverages, multiple DB sub-packages, etc. Below are diagrams of Cover 3 against a pro formation and a spread formation. We've had a lot of success over the years with the one-gap 3-4 defense. The 46 defense has not been lost, nor forgotten, just modified, and used more judiciously now, than it was 23 years ago. The driving force of the Wisconsin method is their linebacker corps, they always have four 220+ pound dudes hanging around the box that can quickly involve themselves in the pressure or the zone coverage. [], K-State and West Virginia, winning with four on defense Concerning Sports, [] tell you that theyre a better overall tackling team than K-State or Texas. Bump and run can allow the defense to take away the quarterback's immediate decision-making ability, by disrupting the timing of short routes needed to make a quick throw to beat the 46 defense.[5]. Zone coverage could be deployed as well, and in many of these cases, the strong safety might drop back into coverage to help out. The Badgers draw Ohio State in the coming weeks and if they pass that test and reach the playoffs theyll eventually face Alabama, LSU, Clemson, someone that can really test whether their coverages are going to hold up or not. Instead, it just requires the normal stable of players to have slightly different responsibilities. The TCU defense will be better in another year after a chance to get some linebackers up to speed in the defense and with another year for most of the more impactful DL up front to get better. No part of this site may be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner. If you dont have someone like that on your team, then your ability to collapse the pocket, before the quarterback can get the pass off, is greatly diminished. The integrity and overall view of the defense did not change. Requires a Lot of Strength - The 46 defense asks a lot out of the two extra defenders who line up at the line of scrimmage. The 46 is a peculiar alignment that has two linebackers stacked over one tight end. The problem in the Big 12 is that solving your problems with aggression often just turns into the Somme when your players bravely try to go chase the QB only to watch the ball sail out to someone on the perimeter who then runs free. With so many defensive linemen so close to each other, the 46 defense easily allows for defensive coaches to work in curls or stunts that would switch up the gap responsibilities and confuse offensive linemen even more. If the D-line is dominant, and Georgia's was, the defense can use the depth of the Safeties in a two-high shell to counter play-action, pre-snap motion, or RPO passes. Weak side, the F$, Will and CB would have a 3-2 Mix over the two offensive WRs. That's like saying Marilyn Monroe's just a girl. Could Be Thrown Against - The 46 defense was designed to create pressure, but if the offense is able to withstand that pressure, it could be a long game ahead for the defense. This was difficult for many teams at the time because most offensive passing games centered on the play-action pass, a situation that often favored the defense even further with the quarterback lined up to receive the snap from directly behind the center. Unlike most other defenses, the 46 is not named for the alignment of the DL and LBs. But they typically do a very good job of pressuring up front so that its very hard to clear the first level cleanly. 2.5 TFL, 1 INT, Will: Jack Sanborn, 6-2, 228. With the pre-determined 3-0-3 down linemen, getting lined up should not be a problem. If you play Single Coverage, you get a 5-man rush, again with the one-on-one match-ups up front. In the case of 3 x 1, the secondary will roll to a Load concept. The "charlie" linebacker, or the weak-side backer, lines up on the tight-end's inside shoulder. Also, their corners were extraordinary at pressing receivers, making them the perfect fit for the 46. This is a really sensible way of doing things. I also had a brief back and forth with Matt Wells on this topic: Besides your berserker (Wells term of endearment) friend Todd Orlando, theres been a lot of coaches known for being on the cutting edge of blitzing. While this was a great alignment to stop the run and pressure the QB, it was tough to keep all the coverage rules in tact as now the Will and SS were in un-natural spots on the field in reference to strong and weak sides, and had to learn more. The 46 Defense was derived from the old Double Eagle Defense of the 1940s and early-to mid 1950s. Two: it allows the defense to keep seven defenders in the box vs. a one back set, if the defense needs to defend the run, or bluff a blitz. It's ultimately a 3-4 defense in terms of positions on the field and pre-snap alignment . While the spread looks to use space and options to attack their opponent rather than size up front, the 8-3 defense eschews trying to "line up sound and make 'em beat us" and instead looks to win on a mental level through disguise, dictation, and disruption. Cover all possible pass patterns while continuing to pressure the QB. The 46 defense in football does have some significant weaknesses.
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