The saying goes, “Offense sells tickets, and defense wins games”. There are different philosophies at all levels in football on defensive formations based on the players they have, what they might expect from the opposing offense, and what defensive coaches may feel more comfortable with doing come game time. Defensive coaches continue to look for ways to slow down offenses. The big question is what type of defense is more effective football.
Types of Defense:
The 4-3 Defense is the most commonly used defense in football. 4-3 defense consists of four down linemen, three linebackers, two cornerbacks, and two safeties are the standards for this defense. The 4-3 defense is modified to be able to adjust to various offensive sets. Defensive coaches that run with four down linemen and three linebackers have made it difficult for offense teams to figure out because they don’t just sit back and rush four. The 4-3 defensive schemes are able to look to damage an offense with blitzes. Because of the 4-3 high flexibility, offense are not able to be as mobile as they could be against other defensive looks ran in football.
The 3-4 Defense consists of three down linemen and four linebackers. The 3-4 defense has become the NFL’s most popular front. There are a lot of advantages in defenses that run a 3-4 defensive scheme; the run and giving multiple looks are the two that stand out the most. Having an effective run game is very important for an offense to really be able to open up their playbook to the passing game. The 3-4 defense, is more effective against zone concepts teams running out of the backfield as compared to inside and outside run games, which are ran laterally to try and stretch out the defense and attack downhill. To attack these type of runs, the 3-4 defense is best to penetrate this run game. The nose guard of the 3-4 defense is the anchor and needs to be able to get downhill with speed and into the backfield and be able to cut off any cutback from the zone run game. This gives the ball carrier limited options running inside/outside zone. The 3-4 defense gives multiple looks having only three down line men and four backers that make it difficult for the offense to determine how many are blitzing. Overall the 3-4 defense in football is unpredictable and will force a quarterbacks to break down everything after the snap.
When looking at the 4-3 and 3-4 defense, pass coverage's should never make difference of how they are ran or set up in the defense. Cover 2, cover 3, cover 4 or man coverage's should all be the same in every defensive schemes. Overall, when comparing the two defensive schemes, it's not easy to determine which is has been more successful or more effective to run. Teams have to base the schemes they run based off the players they have. Teams with defensive players with a lot of speed and guys more athletic up front might focus more on a 3-4 scheme compared with a team up front built with power running a 4-3 scheme. It's all about the players you have on a team that should determine what scheme to run and to find your success on defense.
Is there an answer to the 3-4 vs 4-3 debate?. Adrian Nelson III. Aug. 27 2015
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/is-there-an-answer-to-the-3-4-vs-4-3-debate/
Which defensive schemes are most effective in the NFL?. Alen Dumonjic. July 4 2012
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1247172-which-defensive-schemes-are-most-effective-in-the-nfl
Which NFL defensive schemes are most effective? Joe Redemann. Feb. 15 2015
https://www.numberfire.com/nfl/news/4381/which-nfl-defensive-schemes-are-most-effective
Tarleton State Football
Cary Fowler ( Defensive Coordinator)
Good job breaking this down Devon. I think that many programs feel like there are more quality linebackers in the recruiting pool than quality defensive lineman and choose to go the 3-4 route for this reason. I agree that one of the biggest advantages of the 3-4 is that it helps disguise who the fourth rusher will be which can disrupt pass protection. One disadvantage of the 3-4 is that it's difficult to cover every gap along the line of scrimmage, meaning that one or more defensive lineman will be required to two-gap (be responsible for two gaps along the front). A two-gap player is generally more passive than a single-gap player because he has to read and adjust to the play post-snap. An offensive run game can be aided by identifying and exploiting this two-gap player.
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