Colspartan
November 30th, 2007, 01:27 PM
The Deceptive Face Of The 3-4
Without a doubt the 3-4 defense is the poster boy for flexibility. The strength of this defense rests in the number of quick footed athletes you can place on the field at the same time.
The 3-4 is also particularly quick moving laterally. This was a primary reason why we have seen teams in the AFC West switch to the 3-4 defense in recent years, they had no answer for the stretch plays of the Kansas City Chiefs. The idea was to become light footed with additional linebackers in order to cut off the edges of the field on a more consistent basis.
Its is so versatile of a defense that you could be in what appears to be a 5-2 defense on one play and then drop back in to a 4-2-5 zone on the next. Zone blitzing is especially effective from the 3-4 because you have so many players who can do similar things. You almost have endless combinations of the zone blitzes you can call. This is what has made Bill Belichick and Romeo Crennel so successful over the past four seasons, they were completely unpredictable and nobody had any idea what they are going to do next. They did so many different things every week that at times it seemed like they were drawing defensive calls out of a hat.
So how do you stop such a versatile and unpredictable monster? Well, if you watched the Chiefs play the Ravens on Monday Night Football in 2004 there is your answer. Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders put on a clinic that night on how to run right over the top of a 3-4. Control the nose guard and block down on the inside
Without a doubt the 3-4 defense is the poster boy for flexibility. The strength of this defense rests in the number of quick footed athletes you can place on the field at the same time.
The 3-4 is also particularly quick moving laterally. This was a primary reason why we have seen teams in the AFC West switch to the 3-4 defense in recent years, they had no answer for the stretch plays of the Kansas City Chiefs. The idea was to become light footed with additional linebackers in order to cut off the edges of the field on a more consistent basis.
Its is so versatile of a defense that you could be in what appears to be a 5-2 defense on one play and then drop back in to a 4-2-5 zone on the next. Zone blitzing is especially effective from the 3-4 because you have so many players who can do similar things. You almost have endless combinations of the zone blitzes you can call. This is what has made Bill Belichick and Romeo Crennel so successful over the past four seasons, they were completely unpredictable and nobody had any idea what they are going to do next. They did so many different things every week that at times it seemed like they were drawing defensive calls out of a hat.
So how do you stop such a versatile and unpredictable monster? Well, if you watched the Chiefs play the Ravens on Monday Night Football in 2004 there is your answer. Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders put on a clinic that night on how to run right over the top of a 3-4. Control the nose guard and block down on the inside