Just like with my offense, my defense will start up front and down the middle. We will control the middle of the field in both the run and pass game. Every one of my defensive players will play with super human effort. My defense will dictate the flow of the game to our opponents. We will be a defensive unit capable of lining up and winning our one-on-one battles as well as confusing opponents with our schemes. Offensive players will earn every yard they wish to gain against us. We will play with outstanding technique.
There are a lot of great defensive schemes available to choose from, and scheme isn't what determines the outcome of games, but I love the flexibility of the single gap 3-4 defense. Finding true 2-gap lineman is very difficult. Having a roster comprised more of linebackers than lineman will also help us in our special teams.
The 3-4 also offers more flexibility in terms of dealing with a single-back offense, disguise in our pass rush, and overall defensive athleticism and speed. I'll probably deal with some of these things from a schematic standpoint in a later post.
If I want to be the strongest up front and down the middle than you have to start with the nose tackle. My nose tackle will be a stump. His main goal on run downs will be to be that immovable object. When he's matched up one on one with only a center he must be able to push him straight back into the backfield. Few things devastate running plays more than penetration up the middle. My nose tackle must be able to at least hold the point of attack when facing double teams. His main goal will be to occupy blockers for as long as possible, allowing linebackers to flow freely to tackle running backs. His pass rushing skills will include a bull rush that can move a center back, collapsing the pocket on the quarterback.
The two defensive end positions in the 3-4 are a bit different. One of them will play the 5-technique, which is the strong-side end lined up outside of the offensive tackle. He must be a long and strong player. He must be athletic and fast enough to pass rush the offensive tackle effectively. He also must be strong enough to win one-on-one blocks and then athletic enough to get off that block and bring down the ball carrier. The second defensive end is the more traditional 3-technique pass rusher that we see in the 4-3. He will be lined up primarily on the outside shade of the offensive guard. In my mind, this players best attributes would be his athleticism and his quickness. He will find himself matched up one-on-one a lot by design in our base defense and because of that I think he should be the most dynamic of the 3 down lineman.
The 4 linebacker spots in the 3-4 are really broken down into 2 totally separate types of players, inside backers and outside backers. We'll start with the inside backers. The inside backer on the strong side of the defensive formation is also a 2 down player. He will be primarily a run down player. He is the thumper in the middle ready to attack running plays. He'll need to be strong enough to hold up against blockers, but instinctive enough to quickly diagnose what is going on. He must be a great tackler. He should be able to play effectively in man coverage against fullbacks. The inside backer on the weak side of the defense is a bit different type of player. He would be much more athletic than his counterpart. He will be more of a 'run and hit' backer, flowing freely through the middle to make tackles. He must be able to run. He must also be a great tackler. His athleticism and instincts will be very important because he will be protected by the lineman in front of him. He should be able to quickly diagnose plays and then attack them with great effort. He must be able to defend tight ends and running backs in man coverage. He must also be a decent blitzer.
The outside linebackers in my 3-4 must be able to rush the passer. That will be their primary job, especially the outside backer on the weak side. He will be our teams primary pass rusher. My ideal pass rusher would be long, explosive, and strong. He must not only be explosive enough to threaten the edge when rushing the passer, but he must be strong enough to bull rush a tackle right back into the QB. Strength is an underrated character of pass rushers I think. Finding yourself behind the quarterback is the worst place you can be on a football field. Too many rushers try to win only with their speed and when that works they aren't strong enough to execute any other moves. My rusher will be able to win with his speed, his athleticism, his strength, and his super human effort.
The outside backer on the strong side of my defense will have the same basic skill set that our primary rusher has. He will need to be a little bit stronger at the point of attack so that he's capable to setting the edge in the running game, but he must also be a pass rusher. This backer must also have the ability to play a little zone pass defense as well as to play a bit in space.
I love big, physical corners. I want my corners to get up into a receivers face, jam them at the line of scrimmage, and keep them from getting into their route on time. The best way to limit a passing offenses ability to operate is to get pressure on the QB and throw off the timing of the QB and the wide receivers. Primary traits for my corners will be length, a physical style of play, great feet, and ball skills. My corners also need a certain level of swagger. When a corner makes a mistake, a touchdown is given up. He must be mentally tough enough to come back from that kind of mistake, because its not if that mistake is coming, it's when.
My safeties need a mix of a lot of different skills. They need great instincts, good range, man coverage skills, and ball skills. They must be versatile enough to cover slot receivers in man coverage while also playing the deep middle, or coming off of the numbers to make a play on the ball. They must be sure tacklers in the run game and they must understand leverage and pursuit angles.
Finally, my nickel corner will be a smaller corner whose best physical attributes are his quickness and his speed. He must have excellent feet and movement skills. He'll be matched up in man coverage against some of the most dynamic players on the league and he must be able to limit their run after catch ability. Most of these players get their hands on the ball in the easiest of ways, so making sure that they are sure tacklers and have a great competitive spirit is important.
I hope you guys enjoyed this post. Please feel free to give me some feedback. I think my next post will be a more general view on personnel.
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