Why 4-3 Defense?

Over the years we evolved to our version of the 4-3 defense because we had a need for a multiple defensive scheme that allowed us to defend the Double Wing one week and change fairly easily to shotgun no backs, pass happy offenses the next and be prepared for everything in between.

It took us a couple decades of coaching and seeing things change over the years on the other side of the ball to get where we are today. The scheme is designed to be multiple, but with the ability to change from one scheme to the next without losing the basic concepts that it is based on and that means that we are not changing the basic FUNdaMENTALS of the defense for each of the players.

We do this a number of ways. For example, our DEs have just two main responsibilities: (1) Defend the C-Gap, (2) Rush the QB from the outside in-contain him. That’s it. We do not ask him to shoulder other major responsibilities.

The same holds true for other positions on the defense. We do not want to give too many different responsibilities to the players because if you do, you limit their aggressiveness. They become tentative. They do not execute well.

Another example of simplifying responsibilities on defense is that we have 4 different positions in our secondary: Strong Safety, Halfback, Free Safety, and Cornerback. The SS and HB always play on the same side. The SS always has flat and force. The HB (along with the FS) always are to stay deep, keep your feet, keep everything in front of you. Likewise, the CB always has force to his side of the defense. He also, in certain coverages, has to cover deep outside third to his side requiring him to be the most talented athlete in the secondary.

Doing this means that the aggressor (SS) in the secondary is never asked to learn to play deep zone coverage as he would in “Sky and Cloud” schemes. Also, the HB who is the least likely player in the secondary to come up and contain is not asked to do so since the SS is always to his side and the SS is always asked to force.

Our run defense puts 9 guys near the LOS – 4 linemen, 3 LB’ers, 2 (SS & CB) secondary types. Our super pass defense (Nickel Cov 7) places 8 defenders on the pass; and the thing is we can go from one to the other and things in between without major difficulties because the defense is based on simple, sane, FUNdaMENTALS.

The video ‘Why 4-3?’ shows some of the basics of the defense and the way things change as we go from one to another. For example, we can go from a great run defense, 4-3 cover 2, to a great run/pass defense, 4-3 cover 5, and change just one defender, the WLB’er. We only have to teach one defender a new skill – defending players in the flat – everyone else plays their basic defensive responsibilities. And so it is as we move from one defensive scheme to another.

You can read about the defense online at www.jvm.com/coachfree and you can see more video on the defense at www.maxcast.com/equalizer.