Instead of the normal 3Z, where there are 7 droppers, we will now just drop 6, with the Jack and Sam Spying the back. Creates Confusion - How often do offenses see 6 defenders at the line of scrimmage before the snap of the ball? Most 46 defense run man-to-man coverage against the pass. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright text 2022 by Football Advantage. Since the offense has the ball, they can choose how to run plays. The Jack becomes the rush end on the boundary side. The basic Spy Coverage would be using the Sam and Jack (weak side rush backer) to spy the back (Jesse). The Rover is an. Unlike the 4-3 and the 3-4, which get their names from the. The weak LB now aligned to the strong side, inside the Tight End with the Sam Backer aligning outside the Tight End. The entire basis behind the alignment is that different defenders will do different things every play. 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. One: the defense can get a two for one advantage on the offense by having an Offensive Tackle turn out to block the outside rusher, with the outside rusher being responsible for the back in coverage. This blitz notably used BJ Foster (lined up on the line) and Brandon Jones (out at nickel) to get a free run at Burrow for middle linebacker Jeff McCulloch, who couldnt get there in time. There are really only 2 ways to pass block vs. a 46 front concept. Youre on our 46 Defense in Football page. The charlie linebacker will step back to where the middle linebacker was in the normal alignment, the middle linebacker will move to where the strong safety was aligned and the strong safety will move out to cover the third receiver. Offenses are going no-huddle, hurry-up, and trying to keep the opposing team in a base defense, with base personnel. Even though Texas execution wasnt elite, the obvious question coming out of this game was whether the zone blitz can even work anymore. He was a mastermind at disguising coverages and creating havoc in the backfield. The free safety lines up about ten to twelve yards away from the line of scrimmage and will stand directly in front of the weak side guard. 56.2 x 46.04 x 1.78 cm; 199.58 Grams : Item model number 6946 : Exterior Painted : Manufacturer part number 6946 : Item Weight 200 g : Additional Information. cover receivers. 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. For example, the strong safety could assume either the charley or the jack linebacker role. Even when the Defense is playing coverage, they are going to be able to get one-on-one situations. https://matchquarters.com, PsalmOneTree (political/theology blog) No other Defensive alignment can do that. The 46 defense can quickly crumble if the personnel doesnt fit the scheme. You need big and physical players on the defensive line and a free safety that is quick and covers a lot of ground. So why is the 46 so uncommon now? The 1985 Bears were arguably the greatest team of all time. (Moving on) Umm, thats a solid question, I respect that. A talented crew can make many a defensive formation work well. Most defenses were based on strong and weak sides of the offensive formations. (Full Explanation). The free safety lines up more than 25 yards behind the line of scrimmage and is the last line of defense. They leaned a lot on Hercules shooting gaps, it might have been pretty 46-intensive, I dont recall. [], 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. No modern team has the talent to run this defense effectively. DIAGRAM 5: One Gap 3-4 Defense Cover 3 (Vs Spread). 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. Those kind of guys are hard to come by. No pressure out of a 46 alignment is often a nightmare for the defense, as the offense can now pick apart the team that has only three players in the secondary. Blitz at will without substitutional changes. Defensive tackles: The weak side defensive tackle lines up on the outside shoulder of the guard. His objective is to make sure that the offensive guard in front of him does not push him inside and does not get released to block the linebacker. In a sense theyve reached something close to what Matt Wells described, where they have an extensive blitz package with multiple concepts. 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. If you watch the coverage behind Wisconsins pressures you can tell that they regularly benefit from how effective that pressure is at confusing the QB and forcing him off his spots. The bottom line is, youre trying to defend the pass with only three defensive backs. In this instance, the linebackers will be responsible for covering running backs out of the backfield or a tight end. The 85 Bears defense set NFL records for most forced turnovers and the fewest yards, points, and first downs given up in a season. Quarters coverage can solve for that problem by getting more safeties in the deep field and putting the free safety on the hash mark. Is Good in Any Situation - A The 46 defense is not just a run-stopping defense. College footballs escape from trench warfare. It can still be helpful today if used in the right situation. (Full Explanation), What is 21 Personnel in Football? 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. [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? They come hard every play and have very little responsibility. Plank was a hybrid free safety/linebacker in Buddy Ryans 46 defense. One of the biggest factors in playing sound defense is getting lined up correctly. 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. West Virginia has been running a fair amount of fire zone this year, obviously it hasnt saved them. The alignment of the defenders on the line of scrimmage eliminates the potential for double team blocks. The Buckeyes dont bring a ton of blitzes, they dont have to because they have this guy named Chase Young on their team. Copyright 2009-2023 Michael & Gabriel, Inc. Privacy Policy Note: We earn an affiliate commission from some of the sites we link to. 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). 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. The run game was sweetness. To avoid confusion, the strong and weak side linebackers (who are no longer lined up on opposite sides) are often renamed the 'Jack' and 'Charlie' linebackers, respectively. Another problem with the 46 defense is that most teams do not have enough impact players to run the 46 as effectively as the Bears and Ryan's other two major successes, the late 1980s Philadelphia Eagles for which he was head coach and the 1993 Houston Oilers for whom he was defensive coordinator, did. Today's emphasis on passing makes it to too risky to field an eight-man front as a base defense. He designed the 46 to essentially be an ultra-aggressive version of the 4-3 defense. The 46 defensive front. The Lions bring more but less so because their linebackers are brilliant finishers in the pass-rush but more because their involvement creates 1-on-1 matchups for their DL, who are all quite good. 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. 1 INT. If the offense uses a fourth receiver, the middle linebacker lines up in front of the center and the charlie linebacker would cover the fourth receiver. The nose tackle will have A gap responsibilities, most of the time to the strong side of the offense. Have a coach stand behind the DBs, and signal to the WRs what routes he wants them to run. It is played out of a base 4-3. The 46 defense is a generic playbook, but that doesn't make it any less capable. 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 free safety, is placed to the outside shoulder of the right tackle. Defensive coaches are often very aggressive in temperament, and TO as Wells affectionately refers to his former assistant Todd Orlando, is certainly an energetic and aggressive figure. The 46 was named after Go through the route concepts you believe you are going to see that week, and work them. Strong side, the defense has a 3-2 Mix with the Strong Safety, Mike and CB taking the 2 WRs. How do you create a safe pressure blitz for the Big 12? The 46 essentially put a steel wall of defenders in front of opposing offenses, forcing them to throw the football. The 46 is eight men in the box defense with six players lining up on the line of scrimmage. The evenness of the four-down is why many spread teams attack 4-2-5 and 4-3 defenses from 20 pers., utilizing an H-back. No part of this site may be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner. 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. This attack package to 1-Back sets allows the Defensive Coordinator certain advantages, as outlined in Coach Ryans book. 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. 6 TFL, 3 sacks. 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. These two could either pin their ears back and rush the passer or they could drop back in coverage. 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. They cover short routes and runs that get past the defensive line. Enter your email below to get access for free: 100% Privacy Guarantee. So for the purposes of this breakdown, well be dealing with six defensive linemen. Title: 46 Bear Defense Author: jteed Created Date: The Linebacker system will be defined as a Mike Backer, who is a basic 4-3 Mike LB type player, and a Jack Backer, who will be primarily used as an edge rusher, but can be used in coverage on occasion, and needs to be heavy enough to defend run game vs. an Offensive Tackle. Texas is ostensibly a positionless quarters defense but theyve been running more single high this season for whatever reason. -Designed by Thrive Themes| Powered by WordPress. 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. But you have to run on it. "The Ultimate Guide to Football Defense" Booklet (254 pages), Based on the alignment alone, one might think that the 46 defense is only good at stopping the running game. 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. Unlike most other defenses, the 46 is not named for the alignment of the DL and LBs. The difference was in the lineup. The nose tackle will line up directly opposite the center or shaded slightly to the strong side of the defense. (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). Vs. a 3 x 1 set, the Nickel Back will now go over and play over #3 strong. The linebackers line up behind the linemen somewhere between one and three yards from the line of scrimmage. Pulls and traps were also limited by the formation, as each lineman had to account for the defender immediately in front of him. The main responsibilities for all the defensive linemen are to primarily attack, attack, and attack some more. There are three things we talk to our defensive players about in regards to the spread and defense in general - numbers, leverage, and matchups. That way, the quarterback finds themself in a situation where the pass is the best option. In terms of approach, not personnel or results. 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 . These players are the second layer of support in the 46 and can blitz. A 2-4-5 team that plays quarters and alternates which linebackers are involved in the pressure would be interesting to observe in the Big 12. 46 Bear Defense This is Coach P's detailed version of the 46(Bear) style of Defense, in his terminology it is the Maniac Defense and he has many adjustments and stunts off this alignment . Uncertain. Most other defenses get their names from the number of defensive linemen and linebackers, but the 46 defense gets its name elsewhere. With Wisconsin that flexibility comes from always having four linebackers on the field, the linebackers are versatile and can blitz into any gap or drop into any (or most any) of the underneath zone roles. This defense creates many turnovers and wears out the quarterback with big hits. Again, you could play Swipe (White), Exchange, or lock the 2 WRs, with the F$over the top (Yellow). There has also been a fundamental change in personnel. In fact, I don't know whether we're good enough to put it on with a four-man rush. The 46 defense is perhaps the most famous alignment around. 2.5 TFL, 1 INT, Will: Jack Sanborn, 6-2, 228. In the case of a zone-blocking scheme, this makes it difficult for the offensive linemen to reach any of the linebackers on the second level. 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. 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. This blocks the vision of offensive linemen and prohibits them from double teaming anybody. 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 is a peculiar alignment that has two linebackers stacked over one tight end. Since the spread offense is so common, it would be challenging for a 46 defense to succeed. This allows him to cover the tight end and make it difficult for the tight end to achieve a quick release. The corners line up on their receivers. The eight-man front made it extremely difficult to run against the 46, but it was vulnerable to short passing routes. Thats the term I developed for Tony Gibsons 3-3-5 at West Virginia, which eventually moved away from that style when they ran out of good transfer cornerbacks. The D-Line can be defined as a Defensive End, a 3-Tech and a Nose. The "mike" backer lines up directly across from the strong-side tackle and two yards back. ManI think its a mix of bringing four, bringing five, bringing six. The FS helps if either cornerback gets beat. The formation was very effective in the 1980s NFL because it often negated a team's running game and forced them to throw the ball. Whether playing 3-deep/3-under coverage, even with zone match rules and dime personnel, can adequately defend a high level passing attack. the 43 defense has 4 linemen and 3 linebackers), the name "46" originally came from the jersey number of Doug Plank, who was a starting strong safety for the Bears when Ryan developed the defense, a role typically played in the formation as a surrogate linebacker. It is a simple defense to learn and teach, and also allows your players to play fast and . No I dont think it needs to be all or nothing, I just mean in the package, not on one play. Covering up both guards and the center limits your ability to use double teams to get that strong vertical push up front. The Bears' defense coordinator, Buddy Ryan, designed the 46 defense when he arrived in Chicago in 1978. In the case of 3 x 1, the secondary will roll to a Load concept. This player is the last player you want to have to make a play. If he stays in to block, they will continue their rush. The key is to get the one-on-one pass protection on the 3 inside guys, trying to get the QB. No, I dont agree with that. 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. As hard as it is to pressure a spread offense normally, its extra hard when theyve seen your gameplan blitzes for three quarters and your big men have been chasing them around for 50+ snaps. Both players will line up about five yards off the line of scrimmage, directly over the offensive tackles. There are a few Big 10 defenses executing a lot of zone blitz scheme with much better results than Texas, albeit against Big 10 offenses. 4.Hard penetrating ends. DIAGRAM 4: One Gap 3-4 Defense Cover 3 (Vs Pro Set). Again, Texas execution hasnt been exceptional this season but the results are still plenty bad enough to wonder. ", This page was last edited on 26 December 2022, at 02:00. Who won week 8 in the Big 12? Buddy Ryan had great success with this system not only in Chicago, but also in Philadelphia. Force major adjustments in run and pass-blocking schemes. That leaves two cornerbacks and a free safety to cover the rest of the field. The Mike would work off #3, and the Will would thumbs drop to #1 weak. On running plays, the Will be responsible for covering the A gap on his side of the field. 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. It hasnt borne the same kind of results that it does in B1G country. Similar, Im not sure how often they built bear fronts at Wazzu. Get us thinking pass and bust us with the run. This also plays to the particular strengths of the 2019 Sooner roster. OUs safeties and weak side LBs arent even all that great at playing clean up behind this look so the teams upside in future seasons as those positions improve is a scary thing to contemplate. The state of Texas doesnt produce linebackers quite like the state of Wisconsin does. The charley linebacker also lines up slightly behind the line of scrimmage, but on the inside (rather than outside) shoulder of the tight end. 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. 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 defense is named after the jersey number that Doug Plank wore when the defense was created. This formation offers us a true Cover 2 shell, and happens to be very effective against an opponent that is very pass heavy. This would be the Wisconsin method but backed by quarters coverage rather than cover 3. Ryan also used the 46 defense as the head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles and as defensive coordinator with the Houston Oilers. 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. 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 []. Mike: Chris Orr, 6-0, 232. As the no-huddle has become more and more popular, Field and Boundary based defenses are becoming the norm, allowing the defense to make a pre-determined strength call, and get lined up quicker, to be ready at the snap. The Sooners play some quarters and some cover 3, they aim to win games with their play up front like Wisconsin and they rely in particular on having athletic linebackers around the box all the time. This is another reason Buddy was an innovator. When the Miami Dolphins gave the Bears their only loss of the 1985 season, Miami exploited these weaknesses with quarterback Dan Marino's quick release of the ball, and their receivers' ability to beat the one-on-one coverage of Chicago's cornerbacks.[6]. Old becomes new with the inverted Tampa 2. Another major key to the 46 is the ability of the cornerbacks to play man free and bump and run coverage. You can run a simpler iteration that could still make your team famous for its ferocious defense. Line up with two defensive tackles and two defensive ends. Space force enlistment: My new metric for evaluating Big 12 recruiting. Overall I feel confident that Wisconsins defense would run into diminishing returns with their style in the Big 12 as teams worked out where the release valves were on the back end. All rights reserved. The 46 itself has three. Instead, it just requires the normal stable of players to have slightly different responsibilities. Linebackers: The jack linebacker lines up on the outside shoulder of the strong tight end and just slightly behind the line of scrimmage. Football 101 - Spill vs. This could wear these players down over the entire stretch of the game if theyre not prepared for the extra physicality. 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. 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. 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. What Alex Grinch is doing this season is more akin to recreating old Buddy Ryans bear front as a way to maintain pressure across the front. 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. Content copyright 2021. real46defense. 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. 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. We will have EXTREME versatility with our defense while only really dealing with one play. The 46 Defense was derived from the old Double Eagle Defense of the 1940's and early-to mid 1950's. As Paul Brown innovated the passing game, the evolution of defense moved to a 6-1 alignment by Steve Owens, to the 4-3 Flex by Tom Landry, to the Miami 4-3. Very aggressive approach oriented around the belief that JT Barrett couldnt beat their guys in man coverage. 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. 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 Free Safety will make a Tracy call, telling the SS to now move inside of #2, instead of on top or outside of #2. They keep things in the middle. The weak-side defensive end will have C gap and outside contain responsibilities. 2. The 46 was specially tuned to the personnel of the '80s Bears, which is why few teams use the 46 nowadays, and why no one uses it as a base defense. This concept allows the Defensive Coordinator to put pass-rushers in a position to be successful in one-on-one pass situations. http://psalmonetree.blogspot.com. The advantages spy coverage give you are two fold. http://breakdownsports.blogspot.com, Football Study Hall Currently, the 46 is rarely used in professional and college football. 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. We can also Nickel package a CB for the Will Backer. The Modern 46 still allows for the Defense to play the way the Defense was designed by Buddy Ryan. As Mississippi State's defensive coordinator from 1996-2002, his defenses went from 47th to 35th to 20th to leading the nation in 1999. This allowed the defense to keep all of the coverages in tact, without changing a lot of rules for the players. This may be harder for inexperienced players to fully grasp and execute. This is a great alignment, as it allows for so many possibilities from the Defense. 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. If its all or nothing someones fixing to score. This makes the defense react and adjust their game plan accordingly. One of the great things about Buddys 46 is that he found a way to implement it into his base 4-3 Defense, and keep things simple. The Badgers have a pretty extensive playbook of blitzes, but a lot of the time theyre bringing four and dropping seven into cover 3: Either from their base 3-4 or the 2-4-5 that they regularly mix in, the Badgers like to keep four linebackers on the field at all times. 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. ESPN SportsCentury, "Bears' 46 Defense" (2004) [TV]. As the defense needs to change with the times, we are now using field calls to help the defenders get into position faster. On the strong side, the defensive end is head up on the strong-side guard and the tackle is lined up over the center. In most 2 x 2 sets, we will play Exchange, which is a 1-High Safety look, playing exchange concept on the boundary side with the Will and CB underneath, and the F$over the top . Pressure the QB relentlessly on every pass play. Heres a hint for Tom Herman, its not the zone blitz. This defense paved the way to their winning Super Bowl XX. The 46 defense was known to be most successful with the 85 Bears. Buddy Ryan was ever the innovator. The goal of this defense is to attack the quarterback with overwhelming numbers. During 7 on 7 time, be sure to throw in some speed-option by the offense, to make sure that the underneath run-stop defenders are getting their reads. The Jack and Sam would still be responsible for the back. Free the second level to run to the football. Because their aggressive blitzes are paired with the ultra-conservative inverted Tampa 2 structure and style, it tends to work out pretty well. The innovation of the Strong Safety now lining up to the weak side allowed for the defense to be more flexible, and adjust to different formations. Ryan inherited a team that was atrocious at stopping the run and rushing the passer. I had to use every bit of knowledge and experience and wisdom I had to come up with game plans to attack this defense. 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. We havent seen the full capability of what this style could do. 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. Sam: Zack Baun, 6-3, 230. The 46 defense moves quickly and wears out the offensive line with many pass rushers. The 46 defense works with four down linemen, three linebackers, two corners, and two safeties on the field. The offense is either going to have to go Big on Big man protection, or some sort of full-slide protection, using the back to one side. They have hand-cuffed themselves by putting normal cover guys into un-natural positions, and either drastically reduced what they can do in the back end, or have to do more coaching and teaching to keep the integrity of the defense.
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46 defense vs spread
46 defense vs spread
46 defense vs spread