3-4 Defense

[FROGG]

I'm looking for opinions on what you guys think about the 3-4 defense. I'm thinking about switching to it. It has to be of some value when you consider there are 6 different formations of it. Also I feel it could be useful VS. 4 or 5WR formations. It's the scheme. There's nothing like a zone blitz. Then there is the Nickel 2-4-5. Also the NE PB has the the 1-5-5 and prowl.

[Michura]

I am a big fan of the 3-4 but unless you know what plays are good against the run, you can get exploited. I also like it better than the 4-3 now because it is easier for me to disguise blitzes.

[titanfreak15]

What are some good run stopping plays for 3-4??

[Stingray]

It depends really on your peeps. You need good LB's and strong DL. If you don't have those, a good scheme gets blown away. The 3-4 is about pressure and hitting the QB or forcing bad throws before he's ready. It is not about coverage! Pick the right team and it's a blast.

[jmiller786]

What are some good run stopping plays for 3-4??

I started out with the 3-4. I tried learning 4-3, 46, etc. but I can never duplicate the same success I have with the 3-4. I use the Chargers. The Chargers have one of the best front sevens in the game for 3-4. There are a few 4-3 teams that work well with the 3-4 too like the Broncos, Raiders, etc. The thing you must have is speed at the LB position. The Chargers all have mid to upper 80s speed. This is the first thing I look for. The second thing I look for is awareness at MLB. Donnie Edwards, Al Wilson (Denver) have good awarness. These guys are good at picking off passes over the middle when you blitz.

As far as stopping the run, its a little tricky. Some people act like since you only have three down linemen then that means you will get ran on. The linemen play a different role in the 3-4 than they do in 4-3. The sole purpose of the linemen are to stuff gaps and to protect the LBs from the Offensive linemen so they can get to the QB/Ball carrier. As long as you make sure your LBs are protected you will stop the run.

Which brings me to the next thing; the fronts. The 3-4 has six fronts. Certain fronts are good against certain formations:

Against the singleback, you'd wanna go with the Solid Front. The Under Front is good against the Singleback too but mainly against the pass. The run can blow you up they go to the other side.

Against the I Form you can go with the Normal because the LBs spread out really wide or you can go with the Over or Even front based on where the TE is or closest back.

I use 3-4 Stack when I really need to blitz hard up the middle and can risk it. It brings serious pressure and mimicks 4-3 Normal. The 3-4 allows for a lot of creativity.

I would not use 3-4 against 4WR, 5WR sets unless its a 3 Deep Zone blitz that you know works really well. Man coverage will get picked apart like a turkey on thanksgiving day. The reason i say this is because of 2 Man Under. 2 Man Under out of the 3-4 has good coverage but almost no pass rush at all except out of 3-4 Stack. 3-4 Stack has one LB on the line acting as a DE. Flip the 2 Man Under, Cover 2, and Cover 3 and they work even better. You come out in 3-4 and your opponent comes out in a 4-5WR set, I recommend audibling to the 2-4-5, Nickel Strong, or Dime 2 Man Under or Cover 2/3/4 or whatever where you will have a decent pass rush with good coverage out back. I strongly suggest not using 2 Man Under or any of the Cover 2/3 Zones unless its against a 2 Back/Big formation. Anything with 3 or more recievers go to the nickel or dime. Thats just me.

Stopping the Run:

3-4 Normal OLB Dogs Fire:
Pinch the line and crash in
Spread the LBs
Note: Forces the run back inside, but the inside is stuffed. Good against I Form

3-4 Under Pinch (Flipped):
Call the play flipped in the huddle.
Pinch the line and show blitz
Works well against singleback. I don't recommend against anything else

3-4 Stack Thunder Smoke:
Spread the line or shift left
Pinch the LBs
Note: Good against the run up the middle

Nickel 2-4-5 June Blitz:
Shift line left
Pinch LBs
Note: One of my favorites against the run because I can also use it against the pass as well by tweaking it differently

3-4 Even Engage Eight:
Shift LBs to the weak side
Show blitz
Note: Really good run stuffer against 2 Back and Singleback

[BOOBOOSD]

^^^^^^Nice post, I love the 3-4 as well. The Chargers are awesome for it. :D



BTW, I don't have NG madden, so I was wondering, what is this 3-4-Stack? How does the alignment look? You said it mimmicks a 4-3-Normal, so are the linebackers shifted over towards one side, so it puts 3LBs over the middle and basically the OLB that's on the edge becomes a DE? How about that 3-4-Even?

Also you said you hardly ever use the 2Man Under plays because they bring no rush. Well what I like to use instead on current gen are the Double-X/Z/TE plays and modify those into 2Man under setups by playmakering the safety in double man coverage to a deep zone or just control that safety and shift the other safety's deep zone over. Those plays bring a total 4 man rush, with the addition of an OLB blitzing. Good heat if you spread or slide the line towards the blitzing OLB and good solid coverage. I usually flip the play so the OLB rushes off the widest side of the field. I also usually playmaker the DE on the opposite side of the OLB rush to a QB contain, that way if the QB rolls out away from the OLB rush, he has the potential of rolling out into the hands of the waiting DE. So pretty much a QB Trap type setup. That's the way I setup some of my vanilla plays. Much better heat/containtment than your basic 4-3 four man rush IMO, yet the same coverage.

[jmiller786]

^^^^^^Nice post, I love the 3-4 as well. The Chargers are awesome for it. :D



BTW, I don't have NG madden, so I was wondering, what is this 3-4-Stack? How does the alignment look? You said it mimmicks a 4-3-Normal, so are the linebackers shifted over towards one side, so it puts 3LBs over the middle and basically the OLB that's on the edge becomes a DE? How about that 3-4-Even?

Also you said you hardly ever use the 2Man Under plays because they bring no rush. Well what I like to use instead on current gen are the Double-X/Z/TE plays and modify those into 2Man under setups by playmakering the safety in double man coverage to a deep zone or just control that safety and shift the other safety's deep zone over. Those plays bring a total 4 man rush, with the addition of an OLB blitzing. Good heat if you spread or slide the line towards the blitzing OLB and good solid coverage. I usually flip the play so the OLB rushes off the widest side of the field. I also usually playmaker the DE on the opposite side of the OLB rush to a QB contain, that way if the QB rolls out away from the OLB rush, he has the potential of rolling out into the hands of the waiting DE. So pretty much a QB Trap type setup. That's the way I setup some of my vanilla plays. Much better heat/containtment than your basic 4-3 four man rush IMO, yet the same coverage.

Yes. For those who feel like the 3-4 is missing something by only having three down linemen, the 3-4 Stack will shut their mouths. The Linebackers are shifted over so that one LB is down on the line and the other three are 'stacked' behing the three linemen. This formation is the realest one i've worked with out of all of the 3-4.

Last night i played out of the Cover 2 zone for almost an entire game but I flipped the play. It brings so much heat its not even funny. I'm only a skill level 11, but I was playing a skill level 17. He got on the mic and asked me to get on. He said 'you're shutting me down cold. I usually have no problem running and you stopped me dead and I cant pass either. What are you doing?' I said 'Cover 2 zone out of the 3-4 Stack but flipped'. The best part about it is that I have all this pressure coming on the QB and i'm not sacrificing any coverage at all. I also used it against the run, but what I did was pinch or spread the line, then pinch the LBs. If i'm pretty certain its a run coming i'll audible the LBs to blitz. The inside run will be totally stuffed. It worked against goal line too. You can take the Cover 3, or any other zone play out of it and flip it and it will bring a lot of pressure from the backside.

As far as 2 Man Under, the 3-4 Stack is the one i'd most likely use if my oppenent as a tendency to run on third or first down. The main difference is that instead of having a LB playing a hook zone, you'll have an extra guy down on the line for a pass rush or run stop support. I usually switch to the OLB swap package to have Merriman on the line and the other LB guarding a back or TE. Unfortunately NG Madden doesn't have defensive hot routes so I have no idea what you're talking about. That's something i'll have to learn in 08.

3-4 Even is another great formation, especially against the 2 Back Set. The nose tackle shades the left gaurd. The LE shades the right gaurd and the RE shades the left tackle, I think. The two OLBs are down on the line giving you a total of five down on the line and the two ILB's are stacked directly behind the NT and the RE for protection. I like the Weak Blitz/Blitz 3, Pinch, MLB Crossfire, and Engage Eight out of this formation.

[BOOBOOSD]

Good stuff. I don't have Next Gen madden yet, but eventually I will and I'll see what your talking about.

As far as that 3-4-Stack formation, that sounds really convenient because on current gen madden, I do like to setup a lot of my 4 man rush plays like that by having one OLB blitz off the edge and have the 3 remaining LBs stacked over top of the 3linemen. But if this formation already does this by default, it saves me from doing all those shifts and playmaker. It's basically like a 4-3, but the heat is so much better IMO because you can create a clean overload rush off the edge for that blitzing OLB. The D-line will tie up the O-line good enough for that OLB to rush off the edge, especially if you spread or shift the D-line in the direction of that blitzing OLB. ;) And like you said, the coverage is still great because your only rushing 4. The 3-4 definitely kicks @ss. Good thing SD runs it.

[ChiSoxFan95]

This is great stuff guys. Would you recommend the 3-4 pb over other popular pb's in NG like patriots or 4-6?

[getting awn]

I would choose NE Playbook of the 3-4. More variety. Especially the 1-5-5. Good all around defense..