For example, the strong safety could assume either the charley or the jack linebacker role. 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. He. 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. This could wear these players down over the entire stretch of the game if theyre not prepared for the extra physicality. That's like saying Marilyn Monroe's just a girl. Moreover, the weak side defensive end would be aligned one to two yards outside the left offensive tackle, leaving the opposing tackle man-on-man when trying to block the pass rush. The 46 is eight men in the box defense with six players lining up on the line of scrimmage. Safeties: The strong safety lines up four to four and a half yards off the line of scrimmage and stands directly in front of the weak side tackle. 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. 1 INT. 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. He was a mastermind at disguising coverages and creating havoc in the backfield. A basic principle of football is that the team on offense largely has control over the game. Blitz at will without substitutional changes. You need big and physical players on the defensive line and a free safety that is quick and covers a lot of ground. However, with the players who have the necessary . Bring the heat and see how well the offense can handle it! The 46 Defense was made famous by Buddy Ryan and the Super Bowl XX champion 1985 Chicago Bears. 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. The free safety lines up more than 25 yards behind the line of scrimmage and is the last line of defense. On the strong side, the defensive end is head up on the strong-side guard and the tackle is lined up over the center. The 46 defense is a generic playbook, but that doesn't make it any less capable. 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. 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. All you need is your three defenders, and two WRs. Contrar-Ian says passing wins championships. Football Offensive Formations - rookieroad.com We must start putting more athletes on the field who are versatile as far as run-stoppers, and cover-guys. Get us thinking pass and bust us with the run. College footballs escape from trench warfare. The 46 defense keeps offenses on their toes and makes them adjust their game to an alignment they probably havent seen too often. This allowed the defense to keep all of the coverages in tact, without changing a lot of rules for the players. So why is the 46 so uncommon now? I dont think theres going to be many teams go all or nothing with any kind of frequency. The attacking 8-3 defense, flipping the script on the spread Lined up on the outside of the defensive end, and the 46, you have two outside linebackers, giving you a seven man front, with the middle linebacker lined up right behind the defensive tackle, who is playing a 0 technique -- meaning he is lined up directly in front of the center. If a cornerback cant keep up to speed with the wide receiver or the pass rush isnt strong enough, the defense will get beat routinely. For the last decade Eugene, Oregon, has been known mostly for its role in forming offensive storm systems that have indiscriminately brutalized Western U.S. college towns from late-summer through the early-winter. After Buddy Ryan designed this play in 1978, the Chicago Bears went on to win the NFC Central in 1984 and 1985 and the Super Bowl in 1985. So the Sooners arent exactly blitzing, really theyre using the 46 defense as a starting point on passing downs and an ending point on standard downs. That year, he was a finalist for the Broyles Award (best. throw. But what made the 15-1 Bears so dominant? 5.0 out of 5 stars : Best Sellers Rank 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. Football Gameplan Coaching VideoDefending the Spread with the 46 Defense The weak-side defensive end will have C gap and outside contain responsibilities. They cover short routes and runs that get past the defensive line. This attack package to 1-Back sets allows the Defensive Coordinator certain advantages, as outlined in Coach Ryans book. It is played out of a base 4-3. 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. 5.The 46 is hard to trap against. But the Sooners arent really doing it with the blitz so much as they are creating the bear front from a variety of angles. The Rover is an. The 5 Defensive Schemes that Dominate - Joe Daniel Football You can rotate the F$strong, Red coverage, and swipe the backside, or you can rotate the F$weak Yellow, and swipe the strong side. He was adept at designing defenses that fit his team's strengths and hid their weaknesses. 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. 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. Here is a bit of trivia before we get into how the 46 defense worked, and why we dont see it much anymore: The name "46" Defense didnt come from the alignment of the players on defense; it came from free safety Doug Plank, who wore jersey number 46, and was a hybrid free safety slash linebacker in Buddy Ryans system. The 46 essentially put a steel wall of defenders in front of opposing offenses, forcing them to throw the football. 5 TFL, 5 sacks, 3 PBU. One is that their cover 3 schemes are rarely tested by proficient, spread passing attacks. The difference was in the lineup. The bottom line is, youre trying to defend the pass with only three defensive backs. Texas is ostensibly a positionless quarters defense but theyve been running more single high this season for whatever reason. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It's back againthis time in Baltimore, where Ray Lewis is trying to make it hum, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=46_defense&oldid=1129558954. No modern team has the talent to run this defense effectively. The personnel is the same as in a 4-3 defense, possessing four down lineman, three linebackers, two corners and two safeties. Advantages of using the 46 Defense 1.Center and guard are BOTH covered (different from 44, 50 looks) 2.Extra LB that runs like a safety (WILL/the adjuster) 3.TE side of the offense is totally out manned. 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. 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. spread try to do. Whether playing 3-deep/3-under coverage, even with zone match rules and dime personnel, can adequately defend a high level passing attack. TOs gonna bring 7, were gonna bring 7 at times, which means there aint no free safety back there, my man. 2. But you have to run on it. The defense, most importantly, was monstrous. 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. Instead, Ryan coined the term 46 defense because his strong safety on that Bears team, Doug Plank, wore number 46. Enter your email below to get access for free: 100% Privacy Guarantee. Line up the strongest pass rusher against the center. 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. And the Sam and strong safety will have C gap and outside contain responsibilities, respectively, but that is done in tandem since they line up so close to one another. 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. 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. Its all or nothing if youre going to bring any kind of blitz? Sure, you can drop one or two linebackers into zone coverage, but this usually leads to mismatches when teams spread the defense out with more than two wide receivers, or match up a tight end against a linebacker. 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. This is another reason Buddy was an innovator. This is a great time to substitute a Nickel CB for the Will. And thats a major challenge not for Keith Patterson, not for Todd Orlando, but for every D-coordinator in this league every Saturday, which makes it a big challenge to play defense in this league. Also, their corners were extraordinary at pressing receivers, making them the perfect fit for the 46. (Full Explanation). Because the talent level at quarterback and receiver in this league is second to none in my opinion. The "charlie" linebacker, or the weak-side backer, lines up on the tight-end's inside shoulder. http://psalmonetree.blogspot.com. The FS helps if either cornerback gets beat. Thats because in addition to the nose tackle, defensive tackle and two defensive ends, the strong safety and Sam will align themselves at the line of scrimmage on every play. In a sense theyve reached something close to what Matt Wells described, where they have an extensive blitz package with multiple concepts. Not adjusted to the offensive formation. These two could either pin their ears back and rush the passer or they could drop back in coverage. 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. There are really only 2 ways to pass block vs. a 46 front concept. Most 46 defense run man-to-man coverage against the pass. The 46 defense was originally developed and popularized with the Chicago Bears by their defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, who later became head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals. In 20 pers., the offense can use the "H" to attack either side of the defense, reading the overhangs to determine . As you can imagine with this alignment, thats a whole lot of bodies up front. It's ultimately a 3-4 defense in terms of positions on the field and pre-snap alignment . Free the second level to run to the football. Grinchs version is more disguised, has more counters, and is more conservative in general.