None of them have to pass the spread test all that often and Michigan in particular failed it in spectacular fashion on a number of occasions in 2018. 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. The nose tackle will have A gap responsibilities, most of the time to the strong side of the offense. Its all or nothing if youre going to bring any kind of blitz? The two cornerbacks are in isolated man-to-man coverage. Using a five-man front against Spread teams allows the defense to create one-on-one blocking, especially versus Zone-centric offenses. (Full Explanation). http://psalmonetree.blogspot.com. On the strong side, the defensive end is head up on the strong-side guard and the tackle is lined up over the center. But even though its a defense that was designed for the most skilled players at the most advanced level of the game, the 46 defense can still be used by youth football teams. On the weak side, the other defensive tackle will line up on the outside shoulder of the offensive guard and the defensive end will line up on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle. It was designed to leave the cornerbacks in man coverage 90 percent of the time, while the FS was left on an island playing a deep zone. Orlando has tended to make up for that by using fire zones that overload the edge with safeties, like the one you can see Burrow beating above. It's like a "positionless 46" that moves the pieces around to create the same defense, much like some of the zone blitz schemes mentioned above. This is also a great front to run vs. the Zone Read teams, as the stack backer can sit for cut-back on flow away. Rub or mesh our DBS when we are in man. The primary tactic is to rush between five and eight players on each play, either to get to the quarterback quickly or disrupt running plays, although dropping some players back into pass coverage after seemingly indicating that they will blitz (see zone blitzing) is another method of creating confusion. The defense started off as a simple blitz package, but by 1981, it was Chicago's base defense. Its very difficult, as you tend to see play out in the Big 12 on a weekly basis. Covering up both guards and the center limits your ability to use double teams to get that strong vertical push up front. There are four defensive linemen that are shifted more towards the right. The 1985 Bears were particularly well-suited to play this defense. 4-2-5 Defense vs Spread - 22 Formations. One the weak side, the defensive end lines up outside of the tackle. Ryan also used the 46 defense as the head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles and as defensive coordinator with the Houston Oilers. One of the big challenges though is simply that spread formations, tempo, and smart QB play tied to smart coordination make it hard for defenses to both disguise where a blitz is coming from and also to cover up all of the outlets the QB has in response. Many a Big 12 QB will see single-high and just fire off a fade route to whichever of his receivers have the best matchup, or whichever one is furthest from the deep safety. Creates Pressure - 6 players will rush the line of scrimmage on just about every play, and that doesnt even count times when the defense might decide to blitz another defender. He was adept at designing defenses that fit his team's strengths and hid their weaknesses. Offenses are putting more athletes on the field, and the defense has to adapt and match-up. On top of that, for the 46 defense to really be successful, you need a Dan Hampton or Reggie White type lined up over the center. We must start putting more athletes on the field who are versatile as far as run-stoppers, and cover-guys. Sam: Zack Baun, 6-3, 230. Buddy Ryan had great success with this system not only in Chicago, but also in Philadelphia. If you play Single Coverage, you get a 5-man rush, again with the one-on-one match-ups up front. 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. 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. First off, the 80's Bears had one of the best front sevens of all time, including Hall of Famers Mike Singletary and Dan Hampton and All-Pro selections Wilber Marshall and Richard Dent. "Some say the 46 defense is just an eight-man front. In a sense theyve reached something close to what Matt Wells described, where they have an extensive blitz package with multiple concepts. The advantages spy coverage give you are two fold. As the league became more and more pass happy, and the rules changed to favor theoffense and the passing game, this system became less and less effective. 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 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright text 2022 by Football Advantage. The 4-6 defense was created by Buddy Ryan to stop the ground game in the 1980's as well as provide a pass rush that couldn't be stopped. The Free Safety will make a Tracy call, telling the SS to now move inside of #2, instead of on top or outside of #2. 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. 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. (Complete Position Guide), Flag Football Rules (Easy Beginners Guide), Pro Set Formation Football Coaching Guide (Includes Images), How to Do a Rip Move in Football (5-Step Guide). When we move into our 46 Concepts, the DE can be the Field 3-Tech, and the normal Tackle can be the Away 3-Tech. And so, I dont think that would do much for what goes on in our league. The obvious key to pressuring modern spread offenses is to do so as efficiently as possible and without having to involve the guys on the back end in transparent fashions. And I respect that coming in, cause I already know it. The Bears' defense coordinator, Buddy Ryan, designed the 46 defense when he arrived in Chicago in 1978. Kenneth Murray wasnt great at diagnosing and filling in Mike Stoops two-gap defense, but hes hell on wheels in this scheme where hes turned into an attacking piece that regularly stunts and blitzes. The linebackers line up behind the linemen somewhere between one and three yards from the line of scrimmage. With the ability to rush as many as eight players to the quarterback, it was overwhelming to teams that didnt know how to guard against it. The Mike will be in the 40-Tech to the field, and the Will now aligns in the 40-Tech to the boundary. Most of their best defensive performances in the last three years under Orlando have come either from playing more inverted Tampa 2 and not being as aggressive (Oklahoma State in 2016 and 2018), or going up against run-centric spread teams that couldnt protect very well (Iowa State and Georgia in 2018). Another major key to the 46 is the ability of the cornerbacks to play man free and bump and run coverage. Inside the Virginia Tech Defense - Shakin The Southland When three or more receivers are used by the offense, the defense makes what is called a jayhawk adjustment. Even when the Defense is playing coverage, they are going to be able to get one-on-one situations. If he releases, they will go hug him. With 7 defenders in the box, and only 5 blockers, this play should become invalid. The main responsibilities for all the defensive linemen are to primarily attack, attack, and attack some more. The defensive ends line up at each end of the defensive line. [10], Coaching Football's 46 Defense (The Art & Science of Coaching Series) (Paperback) by Rex Ryan, Last edited on 26 December 2022, at 02:00, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Maynard proud of record for most punts in Super Bowl", "One & Done: Thirty years ago, Dolphins ruined Bears' perfect season", A blast from the past: remember Chicago's 46 defense? Its just not meant to be a base defense in todays game, where more and more teams use some version of the spread offense. Though many coaches perceive the 46 as a great vehicle against spread and other pass-type formations, they tend to short-change it as a weapon against power or three-back type offenses. When we talk about the defensive line in a 46 defense, we need to talk about the strong safety and Sam linebacker, too. At the same time, defensive coaches can get very, very creative with the 46 defense to keep offenses off balance even more. The Modern 46 still allows for the Defense to play the way the Defense was designed by Buddy Ryan. This defense is named after the jersey number that Doug Plank wore when the defense was created. The strong side defensive tackle ( SDT), also known at nose tackle (NT) lines head up over the center. This allowed the rest of the defense to come crashing in on the the QB so quickly that he had no time to get the ball off. This is the standard alignment for the defense when facing a balanced formation on the hash, and it's worth noting that the calls are split into two separate pieces. The 46 or Bear Defense | mgoblog [2][3], The 46 defense is most effective against the two back, two wide receiver sets that many teams commonly used in the 1980s. All rights reserved. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); [] like the 46 Defense was named after the stout defense of the 1985 Chicago Bears, the Tampa 2 defense was named after []. Compared to a 43 base defense, the 46 dramatically shifts the defensive line to the weak side (the opposite end from the offense's tight end), with both guards and the center "covered" by the left defensive end and both defensive tackles. defending Trey - MatchQuarters // #ArtofX Offensive formations must have seven players on the line of scrimmage and four in the . I think you gotta keep offenses off balance, you gotta bring em (blitzes) to the back, away from the back, to the strength of the passing formation, away from the strength, from the boundary, from the field, you cant beas soon as an offensive coordinator in this league dials you in? Force major adjustments in run and pass-blocking schemes. The underneath droppers need to understand they can be late to coverage, as that puts them in great underneath trail position. 46 Defense. Defensive tackles: The weak side defensive tackle lines up on the outside shoulder of the guard. You can actually observe a similar dimension to Iowa State this season, who began to mix in more zone blitzes into their package last year and this year regularly dial up big pressures. How do you pressure modern spread offenses? - Concerning Sports Signing free-agent strong safety LaRon Landry and drafting Josh Bush and Antonio Allen gives the Jets some options, but they could still have a hard time manning up against Aaron Hernandez and Rob . So for the purposes of this breakdown, well be dealing with six defensive linemen. The cornerbacks will line up over the wide receivers, with the free safety as the only man lined up deep. A few years later, the 46 Alignment changed by keeping the SS to the TE side, putting him in the 9-tech, moving the Sam Backer to the 7-Tech, and keeping the Will backer to the weak side in the 40-tech. You can run a simpler iteration that could still make your team famous for its ferocious defense. The coverage run vs. a 2 x 2 set would be White, Exchange or Yellow. The 46 defense is just a 4-3 defense with a major wrinkle, and as such, it has many of the same strengths as the 4-3 defense does. But you have to run on it. throw. PDF 46 Bear Defense - Playbook Exchange All rights reserved. They cannot get beat, or the offense could have an easy touchdown. We will have EXTREME versatility with our defense while only really dealing with one play. 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. The one-high look to 2 x 2 can also be played as straight man, with the F$dropping to #2 weak, freeing up the Mike and Will to become pass rushers, and take advantage of one-on-one match-ups in pass protection. The attacking 8-3 defense, flipping the script on the spread For example, the strong safety could assume either the charley or the jack linebacker role. 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. X's and O's: The 46 Defense, What it Was and Where it Went Don't let the fact that the Double Eagle Flex turns into a 4-2-5 Defense when you face Spread opponents. Lets go back to the beginning: the Double Eagle look of Earle Greasy Neale. Breaking down the football in Friday Night Lights, Breaking down the football in Remember the Titans, 95 Nebraska and the myth of championship recruiting, Breakdown Sports (B1G Xs and Os) This made it impossible for offensive linemen to double team any defender and caused all sorts of havoc in the backfield. How do you create a safe pressure blitz for the Big 12? DIAGRAM 5: One Gap 3-4 Defense Cover 3 (Vs Spread). The 46 defense is perhaps the most famous alignment around. These concepts apply against all offenses, but are magnified against the spread because of spacing. You can get extremely creative with your Cover 1 or Cover 0 blitzes, just like in any defense. The 46 defense in football does have some significant weaknesses. However, with the players who have the necessary . Buddy Ryan was ever the innovator. The run game was sweetness. It is a simple defense to learn and teach, and also allows your players to play fast and . The goal of this defense is to attack the quarterback with overwhelming numbers. The FS helps if either cornerback gets beat. Here are some of the favored modern solutions for still trying to orient a defense around putting pressure on the offense rather than adopting something more passive, like Gundys just drop everyone and make em earn it suggestion. Different than a Zone Blitz where the Defense is dropping six and playing a zone concept, Spy Concept allows the Defense to play 2-Man, and still bring 5 Pass Rushers. The fact is, the 4-3 Defense also turns into a 4-2-5 look when you start spreading . The difference was in the lineup. 46 Defense Keys and 2-Back Run Fits Versus 2-Back formations, where the fullback inserts into the line of scrimmage is extremely important. 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. Oklahomas remake of the 46 defense is an intriguing new way to arrive at that outcome, itll be interesting to see how it holds up over the rest of the season as teams start to figure it out and adjust. Creates Confusion - How often do offenses see 6 defenders at the line of scrimmage before the snap of the ball? The 46 defense is one of the most famous defensive alignments around, as it was employed by what is considered one of the best professional defenses in history - the 1985 Chicago Bears. 4.Hard penetrating ends. 6 TFL, 3 sacks. Stacks the Line of Scrimmage - In addition to the four normal down defensive linemen, two other players a strong safety and linebacker will start each play at the line of scrimmage. The Sam Safety needs to be a bigger Safety type, that can drop down in the box, and play a #3 WR man-to-man. The defense will spy the back with its two outside rushers (Jack and Sam). Heres one of many fire zones from dime that Texas brought against LSU without yielding a positive result: Texas did sack Burrow four times, but he also threw four touchdown passes and averaged 12.1 ypa while throwing for 471 yards. Hey, ask TO (Todd Orlando) that question. In today's game, the 46 defense is often simplified to its main component of walking the strong safety up to the line of scrimmage as an eighth man in the box to help contain the run. Have a coach stand behind the DBs, and signal to the WRs what routes he wants them to run. The basic Spy Coverage would be using the Sam and Jack (weak side rush backer) to spy the back (Jesse). 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. As the defense needs to change with the times, we are now using field calls to help the defenders get into position faster. Meanwhile, Oklahoma has a bunch of talented athletes up front that they love to bring on different twists and s, so Baylor better have Connor Galvin healthy and everyone well repped on picking this stuff up or []. No part of this site may be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner. I had to use every bit of knowledge and experience and wisdom I had to come up with game plans to attack this defense. Get it FREE with a Video Set purchase, find it on Amazon, or buy it from our Order Page. In other words, the "field" side of the secondary gets a separate call from the "boundary" side of the secondary. No longer is the game played from Tackle to Tackle. Again, Texas execution hasnt been exceptional this season but the results are still plenty bad enough to wonder.