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Base 4–4 defense. In American football, the 4–4 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and four linebackers.. Originally seen as a passing defense against the spread, modern versions of the 4-4 are attacking defenses stocked with multiple blitz packages that can easily be concealed and altered.
The 3–4 defense incorporates three defensive linemen – two defensive ends and one nose tackle, who line up opposite the other team's offensive line.Those three players are responsible for engaging the other team's offensive line, allowing the four linebackers to either rush the quarterback or drop back into coverage, depending on the situation.
The two most common formations are the 3–4 defense and the 4–3 defense, where the first number refers to the number of defensive linemen, and the second number refers to the number of linebackers (the number of defensive backs can be inferred, since there must be eleven players on the field). Thus, a 3–4 defense consists of three ...
The middle or inside linebacker (MLB or ILB), sometimes called the "Mike" or "Mac", [15] is often referred to as the "quarterback of the defense". [16] Often it is the middle linebacker who receives the defensive play calls from the sideline and relays that play to the rest of the team, and in the NFL he is usually the defensive player with the electronic sideline communicator.
4–2–5 nickel defense 4–2–5. There are a couple paths to the 4–2–5. One is by removing a linebacker from the standard 4–3 to add the extra defensive back. The second is by converting the ends of a wide tackle six to safeties (the defensive ends of a wide tackle six already have pass defense responsibilities).
The 3–4 outside linebackers resemble "stand-up ends" in the older defense. It is sometimes pronounced thirty-four defense. The 3–4 also was spun off from the Miami Dolphins' "52 defense" named for the jersey number worn by linebacker Bob Matheson, who was often used by the Dolphins as a fourth linebacker in passing situations. 4–3 defense
Cover 4, or quarters, refers to 4 deep defenders each guarding one-fourth of the deep zone. Cover 4 schemes are almost always used to defend against deep passes. [10] (See also Prevent defense). The most basic Cover 4 scheme involves 3 CBs and 2 safeties. Upon snap, the CBs work for depth, backpedaling into their assigned zone.
Linebacker (LB): Linebackers are positioned 2 to 4 yards behind the defensive line. The 4-3 defense has 3 linebackers, who are categorized as strong, middle, and weak (SLB, MLB, WLB; also called Sam, Mike, and Will). This is not an indication of strength; it instead refers to the positioning of the linebackers relative to the offense.