An example would be teams that went up against Christian Ponder and the Minnesota Vikings last season. I saw this on muthead and thought people here might be able to find it useful, since its a question thats asked multiple times a week. Most Defenses talk about personnel from the line back. 10 Best Flag Football Cleats Our Top Picks. Unlike other defenses named depending on the number of players at each level, the 46 defense takes a different route. Your RE in the 46 Bear (the front that was made famous by Buddy Ryan when he was defensive coordinator for Ditka) will be an edge rusher, so he needs to have pass rushing ability -- more like a 4-3 defensive end like Peppers than a 3-4 DE. But the new 5-2 has seen the Monster player disappear in favor of a 2nd free safety. It has for me. The 1985 Bears were arguably the greatest team of all time. A common defensive formation youll likely see in, Read More The Ultimate Guide: 3-4 Defense in FootballContinue. It's too much of passing league these days. Other teams who tend to run the more traditional set must find a happy medium between staying true to the history of the scheme and adapting to the changing landscape of the NFL. He was sending six defenders on almost every play, except when he was sending seven or eight. This is the only gap along the line of scrimmage that isnt occupied by a defensive lineman in a 46 defense. First, it's susceptible to crossing routes. The defense put a defender directly in front of every lineman, making it difficult to execute second level blocking. The key to a successful 46 defense is having a strong safety and Sam linebacker who can take the every-down punishment of playing close to the line of scrimmage, and the adjustment ability and awareness of a really good free safety. Still, the emphasis on stopping the run and preventing deep passing plays through overwhelming numbers made the 46 a highly effective response to the vertical offenses that were in vogue in the 80s and whose variations are still seen today. The 46 defense was created by former Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan in the 1980s. The personnel is the same as in a 4-3 defense, possessing four down lineman, three linebackers, two corners and two safeties. This defense creates many turnovers and wears out the quarterback with big hits. While its definitely great against the run because of how many players stack the line of scrimmage, its also good against the pass. Numbers like that are in line with a defense that, even with its February dip, rated out as No. On the night before the Super Bowl in the Bears' team. How is that different from the Seahawks defense? This may be harder for inexperienced players to fully grasp and execute. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. They need a run-stuffing nose tackle, which is a rarity in the NFL. By this I mean, both quarterbacks and running backs. It focuses more on developing a point of attack in the box, usually with eight men, and drawing the offense into having to force the ball over the top.. The alignment features four down lineman, two linebackers, and five defensive backs. Death Eye HP: 360 (regenerates 18HP at the end of each round) Attack Power: 120 Defense Power: 60 Magic Defense: 160 Weakness: Fire, Dia spells Gil: 1 Resistance: Quake, Ice, Death, Confusion, Paralysis EXP: 1 Where fought: Temple of Chaos (Past) 3F (specific area) Purple Worm HP: 448 Attack Power: 65 Defense Power: 10 Magic Defense: 200 . 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. Because of this, the 46 defense has been used in many different iterations at the professional and collegiate levels by coaches who wish to replicate its success. That's the idea. 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. Defensive Tackles: Here, we have a weak-side tackle and a strong-side tackle. In addition, its easy to drop either the strong safety or Sam back into coverage, either to allow the Mike linebacker to blitz or to provide extra protection against passing plays. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The face off with the offensive guards who are on either side of the center. I use the 46 defense against the run, with Big Nickel 3-3-5 as my base defense (which is a whole other writeup in itself. Unlike the 3-4, this base set seems to be more widespread to the point that a defense can utilize a wide array of personnel in implementation of it. The 46 defense is ideal for youth and more advanced teams to defend against run plays. Its named a 46 defense because of the Bears team, Doug Plank. There are up to five players that will be defending against the pass. This defense was prominent in the National Football League from the late 1940s through the middle 1950s and was a precursor defense to Buddy Ryan's 46 defense. You could've run almost any scheme with that group and still been dominant. Gambling problem? The first is the defense created by Earle (Greasy) Neale. They also need beefier defensive ends to create pass-rushing lanes for linebackers. See Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen. The wide-nine asks defensive ends to pin their ears back and go after the quarterback, while linebackers fills the gaps against the run. They can spread the field to the outside and play more of a horizontal game. 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. Weakness: The enemy's weakness, which is either from Jump attacks, Fire attacks, or both. The 46 defense is designed to apply pressure on the offensive line at the line of scrimmage. While the 4-3 and 3-4 remain the two main schemes in the NFL today, there are other defenses that are making their way around the league, mostly as variations of those two schemes. Without this, a defense may struggle getting to the quarterback on a consistent basis. Ryan was the defensive coordinator at the time for the Bears. It can still be helpful today if used in the right situation. The reason why the system is largely dead now (concepts and individual plays remain in several NFL playbooks, even if the whole system isn't being run) is because timing based offenses have spread throughout the league and if your QB is competent enough to make a hot read and get the ball out quickly (something most NFL QB's today are capable of), the 46 Defense can't stop it. Currently, the defense wont work as teams dont line with just two wide receivers and two backs. It quickly flamed out as the scheme was very vulnerable without a defensive front seven full of stars, with only the Eagles. This is only magnified if said defense doesn't have above-average personnel in the secondary, which would have normally been masked by a strong front seven. As soon as the offense set, and the protections were set, Polamalu's shifting was a credible threat to force the QB to adjust, often giving away critical details about the signal calls for that game. Ryan named the defense after the jersey number of one of his players. With the linebackers so close to the line of scrimmage, if a running back gets past the first level of the defense, he will have a decent chunk of open field ahead of him before the down-field defensive backs can rally. Looking to run a 46 defense for your team? Vincent Frank is an NFL featured columnist at Bleacher Report. THE 46 DEFENSIVE EBOOK - SHUT DOWN EVERY OFFENSE IN MADDEN 18 45,104 views Jan 16, 2018 714 Dislike Share Save GutFoxx 83.6K subscribers Today we go through the 46 alternate defense and I. The answer is probably not very often. These players are the second layer of support in the 46 and can blitz. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. At its most basic, Cover 4 plays as a four deep, three under defense; and at its most aggressive, it plays almost identically to a tight Cover 0. 1 in the league during Big 12 play. The 46 defense was originally developed and popularized by Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, who later became head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals. Flick your right stick towards whatever direction you want to use shade coverage for. In that time period, a lot of passes developed out of play action which allowed the rushers time to overwhelm the line. An aggressive defense puts pressure on the opposing QB to make quick decisions. Cover 1 Cover 2 Invert Cover 3 Match Cover 3 Crash 3 Engage Eight FS Blitz LB Fire Monster Green Zone Blitz All Playbooks with 4-4 Split. The offense needs to find a sure way to counter the 46 defense. A lot of that has to do with being able to control passing offenses from the front seven, which can throw off the timing of the quarterbacks and receivers. Different teams that use a 4-3 defense can easily use a 46 defense. Teams used to utilize this defense all the time, but it has become a bit of a rarity in the NFL today. Ryan called it the "46" because that was Plank's jersey number, and it would challenge evolving NFL offenses like as no defense had before. Detroit Lions. It's descended from the 3-3-5 but uses more 3-4 alignments while bringing a similar philosophy of . The corners would play bump and run coverage, in order to disrupt the quick, "West Coast-type" patterns that were so dangerous to this defense. The 46 defense is a hybrid of the 4-3. this is one thing that's overlooked, that team was mega talented and could have run almost any scheme. Thats because its associated with possibly the greatest defense in the history of the National Football League the 1985 Chicago Bears. Sports quotes, stories, team names, and slogans. This was how Dan Marino was able to beat the Bears in '85 - lots of dink-and-dunk passes into the flats and over the top of the line. A large part of the pass coverage scheme is about putting pressure on the Quarterback so that you aren't in coverage for long. Dallas Cowboys. So for the purposes of this breakdown, well be dealing with six defensive linemen. The 46 defense is rarely used in the current NFL, Gregg Williams used it on occasion in Tennessee and Rex Ryan will experiment with the formation in Baltimore from time to time. maybe one day) and Dollar as my primary passing defensive formation, and I have had a good bit of success on the D side of the ball. This causes issues for less athletic offensive tackles in pass protection and will enable the defense to put consistent pressure on the quarterback. Here is a prime example of giving a running back too much green field, which happens all too often in this scheme. But the true 46, where you show the offense that you have 8 in the box from the get-go, is rarely run, as offenses are very capable of scheming around it if they know it is coming. These two could either pin their ears back and rush the passer or they could drop back in coverage. A total of six players at the line of scrimmage block the offense and prevent them from double-teaming. Los Angeles Rams . 5-3 Defense Roles and Positions. It was the basic playbook of what is commonly referred to as the West Coast Offense. In reality, it is meant to help the back end of the defense by creating what can be called a "three-safety set" with the middle linebacker dropping further back than in the traditional Cover 2. Copyright 2009-2023 Michael & Gabriel, Inc. Privacy Policy Note: We earn an affiliate commission from some of the sites we link to. Buddy Ryan used the formation to create mismatches, overload gaps, and make life miserable for offensive linemen. Versatility and complex alignments are two big benefits for a 3-4 defense. 4-3. Additionally, you would want to exploit the dual responsibilities of several players in the 46 defense. Secondary: In the secondary, we have the safeties and cornerbacks. Where the 3-4 might focus on pushing the line against the pass and pressuring the quarterback from the middle three, the 4-3 will rely more on acquiring pressure from the front four. Aerospace & Defense Spotlight, which updates Deloitte's September 2014 . In addition, the defense creates pressure on the line of scrimmage. Its a defense formation created in the 1980s by the Bears and one that led them to a historic 15-1 win in the Super Bowl Championship. The 1985 Bears were particularly well-suited to play this defense. Three of the "schemes" explained in this article will be variations that run off the 4-3 or 3-4 concept. The formation comprises four down linemen, three linebackers, and four defensive backs. They provide man-to-man coverage against the receivers. The 46 was, and still is the most feared defense ever, but like all defenses this one had a short coming, and its short coming was its death. Both his son, Rex (especially with the Jets) and his former player, Jeff Fisher run some form of variation where Rex was more controlled with the pressure while Fisher applied zone concepts to emphasize covering the pass. As we have seen in recent history, prospects attempting to make the transition from defense end to linebacker don't pan out a majority of the time. Wiles Palms Robber. By 1985, Ryan had finished tweaking and perfecting his brainchild, and by then it was nearly unstoppable. The corners line up on their receivers. Consistent pressure from outside the tackle. He will drop back into coverage on pass plays or attack the ball carrier in run support. He may be required to run all over the field, too, so he should have a lot of speed and lateral adjustment ability. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. The 46 defense stacks at the scrimmage line. You can run a simpler iteration that could still make your team famous for its ferocious defense. In the original 46 Bear defense Richard Dent manned this spot and terrorized Quarterbacks for the Chicago Bears. It relies on an aggressive Cover 1 defense to both free up the manpower to keep eight defenders in the box and . Despite running a base 3-4, the Houston Texans utilized this philosophy against Jacksonville last season. With two extra players at the line of scrimmage, space can open for quarterbacks to find wide receivers. One of the best adjustments I've made was changing to a Quarterback read. As we discussed earlier, cover 3 can be vulnerable if the offense runs four verticals, and cover 2 is weak against deep passes in general, but with four defenders deep it's very difficult for the offense to complete deep passes. 8-men in the box solved one problem and opened up another. Weaknesses Susceptible to Crossing Routes - Since the amount of time quarterbacks have to get rid of the ball is less against the 46 defense, offenses often counteract that by running short passing routes. The 46 defense in football is dubbed the most famous defense alignment. In essence, the wide nine might be more of a technique than a defense, but some teams utilize the formation as its base defense. It will also enable the Lions to mask perceived weaknesses in the secondary. It would literally get picked apart in every conceivable way. Marino's short, timed routes were a surprisingly good way to counter overwhelming numbers on the line of scrimmage - if you can't run past them and you can't block them, just quickly throw it over them. Defensive Fronts There are two cornerbacks and free safety. Kam plays inside the box very often. This leaves the secondary vulnerable to deep passes, as there are fewer players to defend against them. They cover short routes and runs that get past the defensive line. Defensive ends: On the defensive line, you need two defensive ends. But why is the 46 so effective against a big-play passing offense? It works extremely well against offenses who rely a great deal on the draw or go to their tight end on a consistent basis. This means that front offices of teams who employ this scheme tend to focus less on upgrading the secondary. Sack or flush the quarterback, and it won't matter what your down-the-field coverage looks like: the quarterback won't be able to deliver the ball even if his receiver is wide open. Sam linebacker lines at the line of scrimmage, leaving only two linebackers. And therefore, would only be a good fit for youth football teams who defend the run more often, or for more advanced teams against run-heavy offensive formations. American football is played in different defensive and offensive formations. 4-1-6 Dime Defense - Free download as Word Doc (.doc), PDF File (.pdf) or read online for free. Buddy's son, Rex Ryan, and the New York Jets ran it occasionally in 2009, but its not their base defense and they have a very gifted secondary. The "charlie" linebacker, or the weak-side backer, lines up on the tight-end's inside shoulder. The defensive ends are also larger than those used in a 4-3 defense. The 3-5-3 defense helps you play small players that happen to be often speedier and speedier. Creates Confusion - How often do offenses see 6 defenders at the line of scrimmage before the snap of the ball? Because only having 3 DBs leave a defense vulnerable to any 3+ receiver formation and any spread formation. Do you know how to answer what are your weaknesses? In the original 46 Bear defense Richard Dent manned this spot and terrorized Quarterbacks for the Chicago Bears. This defense was so successful because the pressure was so difficult to stop. Ryan inherited a team that was atrocious at stopping the run and rushing the passer. 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. Its quite effective at stopping the running plays. 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. So, his CB's needed to be able to hold their own in one-on-one man coverage with no safety help over top. Jacksonville Jaguars. By virtue of selecting Ziggy Ansah in the first round of April's draft, Detroit answered criticism of it utilizing this scheme by acquiring a youngster that seems to fit it to a T. Ansah will be lined up wide, far off the tackle, and be asked to get to the quarterback on a consistent basis. To the average fan, Cover 4 may sound like a passive, prevent-type defense, while to the more nuanced fan, it may seem like an aggressive coverage . Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Pretty much every defense uses variations of it from time to time. The 46 is a peculiar alignment that has two linebackers stacked over one tight end. There are various, Read More Ultimate Guide For Pistol Formation Offense In FootballContinue. But that tackle has quite the blocking task, as he could see intense pressure from either the defensive end or the Sam on any given play. There are a few different 46 alignments, but the 46 Bear is the one that put this defense on the map. There are as of right now 3 teams that use a system . Lastly, you need to set up the secondary, which is a down man in the 46 defense. It can confuse the offense while remaining strong. This allows the Arizona defense to use a multitude of looks, when combined with their bigger linebackers. It is a strategic battle, back and forth, throughout the contest. Cookie Notice If you have ever played football, the first defense formation you just learned is the cover 1 defense. Dent was the weak side rusher in the Bears defense and dominated the league in 1985 with 17 sacks. Thanks. Let's find your TOP 3 Personal WEAKNESSES together below! The Seattle Seahawks run a hybrid scheme, that seems to take a lot of fine points from the 3-4 defense. 2 READ Coverage. "The 46 uses 4-3 personnel, but the players' roles are different between the two defenses. Love at First Flight - S7 | Episode 6. The combinations provide wrinkles to the defense keeping the offense guessing. Required fields are marked *. Footballguys.com explained exactly what this type of scheme is meant to do. (Full Explanation), What is a Lateral Pass in Football? A defense that possesses ultra-athletic players will normally be successful running this scheme. This player is the last player you want to have to make a play. Flag Football Positions: A Detailed Guide. To better understand this, the best place to start is at the beginning, or at the defensive Front, as it were.. Join me as I break down the 46 defenses in football and teams that should use them. But there's one. The 5-3 front allows for many options in terms of . MOJO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtcRmKnRcsA Scribd is the world's largest social reading and publishing site. In addition, asking a linebacker to cover this new formation might be an unenviable task for said linebacker. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Historically, there are two significant variations of the 5-2 defense in professional and college football. Greg Poulin. It's not surprising that while many run plays against the '85 Bears went for minimal yardage, there were more 5-to-10 yard runs against it than one might suspect based on their reputation. The idea here is to send more pass rushers than the offense can handle. The free safety lines up 12 yards back and over the weak-side guard. The three linebackers usually line up inside of the defensive ends with one high safety behind them and the two corners out wide on the wide receivers. its a passing league now. Furthermore, responsibilities in the 46 defense are simple and easy to master. The 46 Defense was basically ten men in the box rushing the ball carrier or quarterback; it worked because the players executed it superbly and other teams didn't adjust. The defense was predicated on putting 8 men in the box, and bringing a wide variety of unique blitzes to confuse and outman the offensive line, while in the secondary attempting to hide coverages and trick the defense into throwing into their quick blitz read, where a Hokie defensive back sat waiting to take the ball the other way. (RB Position Guide), Slot T Offense Football Coaching Guide (Includes Images), How to Do a Rip Move in Football (5-Step Guide). In this diary I hope to go over the strengths, weaknesses and a little history of the Bear Defense. The Weak Safety is 5 yards off, 5 yards outside of the end man on the line of scrimmage with no #2 receiver split out. Alternate 46 is frequently the most popular and most commonly used defensive playbook for the most competitive Madden players, and you can join those ranks if you really master it. The FS helps if either cornerback gets beat. It also helps keep those interior linemen from being able to get to the 2nd level and get onto the Linebackers. He is only weak against Blizzard and Lightning attacks at certain times. The 46 defense is a hybrid of the 4-3. Buddy Ryan was ever the innovator. Before I start to look at concepts from the Tampa 2, however, I wanted to look back into Bears history a bit. It looked to me like the Broncos used a version of the 46 to keep the pressure on Cam Newton during the SB. The extra man coupled with a Linebacker or two with good lateral quickness (and Chicago had that) covered up any holes in the run game caused by the odd D-Line placement. Here, the defense uses only two linebackers, Mike and Will. A defensive on the weak side positions on the weak side offense, while the defensive end on the strong lines on the strong guards shoulder. If a defense doesn't have more athletic defensive ends or cover inside linebackers, it will be exposed. Because the goal of the 3-2 is to take away the wings and high post, the corners are glaring weak spots. He lined up directly in front of the weak-side tackle and a couple yards back. In order to succeed in the National Football League, teams simply need to understand when its time to transition from the past to an ever-changing landscape of the future. Sometimes, though, you end up paying by giving up big plays or get chipped away at until there is no field behind you left to defend. They keep things in the middle. In addition, teams that utilize the Tampa-2 will have a hard time going up against more athletic backfields. The 46 was designed for a running league, and it's no longer such. You're really sacrificing an outside pass rush in that setup. The increased usage of 3-4 defensive scheme is a prime example of teams finally finding out how to go up against new offenses in the passing era. While its the professional teams that made the defense famous, it can work for all levels of football. A talented crew can make many a defensive formation work well. The main responsibilities for all the defensive linemen are to primarily attack, attack, and attack some more. This blocks the vision of offensive linemen and prohibits them from double teaming anybody. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). In the alignment, there are a total of six players with the main responsibility of attacking the line of scrimmage. Your DT1 needs to be a big tree-trunk with high STR and BSHD, like a 3-4 NT. 5-2 Defense (6%) Gap 8 (5%)G GAM (5%) 4-3 Defense (5%) 5-4 Defense (3.5%) 70 Defense (2%) 46 Defense (2%) So what is the best youth football defensive formation? 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 linebackers are responsible for covering the gaps in running plays. ET, and a fantasy writer for Pro Football Focus. Responsibilities for all players in the secondary are pretty simple and similar to what they are in other defensive alignments. The offensive line gets it difficult adjusting their game to match the 46 defense. There are four defensive linemen at the line of scrimmage. Now, first of all let me begin by saying that Rex's defense is perhaps one of the most complex in the NFL. The Bears' defense coordinator, Buddy Ryan, designed the 46 defense when he arrived in Chicago in 1978. The cornerbacks will defend the receivers in man-to-man coverage or drop back and cover an area of the field in zone coverage. To succeed against a 3-2 zone defense means you have to target and attack the vulnerable areas. Green in the offseason, but given his recent struggles, there's a strong argument that the Bengals' weapons are even better in 2021. Youre on our 46 Defense in Football page. Is that accurate? Chicago Bears Schedule, News, Roster and Stats | Windy City Gridiron, 2023 NFL Combine: Winners from Day 2 of DB workouts. The two linebackers were positioned 5 yards away from the line of scrimmage. Its a defensive formation thats effective against offenses with two wide receivers and two backs, which was common in the 1980s. 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. If you're going to have 8 men in the box anyway, you might as well blitz them. Stroud Shares Praise for Justin Fields. It puts an emphasis on pressuring the quarterback, but tends to ignore the run game. You will see defenses force max protection at the line, which could throw off what an offense is trying to do during a game. A defense is a package of adjustments, attacks, stunts, fronts and concepts used to dismantle and offense. The Giants had a defense that seemed to consistently play above the level of expectations in 2020, but it might be time to just give them the credit they deserve this year. Watch the video below for more details. One half runs the over 2 defense while the other half runs the cover 4 defense. The 46 defense in football does have some significant weaknesses. Well start with the alignment of all the players. While teams may utilize the 46 as a subpackage of sorts in the NFL today, it isn't used as a primary scheme. First, its susceptible to crossing routes. This doesn't even take into account that defenses are limited in terms of what types of alignments they can run prior to the snap. weakness: not willing to take chanches in the ring. The naming of the defense formation is a little different, taking a different numbering. Zone coverage could be deployed as well, and in many of these cases, the strong safety might drop back into coverage to help out.