34 defense

  In honor of this years super bowl I will be going over a scheme that both super bowl teams run, the 3-4 defense. The 3-4 defense is generally accredited to Bud Wilkinson of the University of Oklahoma and is believed to have been created around 1940. The 3-4 is basically the old school "Fifty defense" which is a 5-2 alignment. I will also compare and contrast the differences between the 3-4 and the other most popular defense these days, the 4-3.


  The first main difference of the 34 and the 43 is the personnel on the field. Instead of having 4, smaller quicker defensive lineman such as in the 43 you have 3 quite large stronger defensive lineman. There is also more of a focus on strong tacklers in a 34 defense and your outside linebackers traditionally would be larger than in a 43 as they will be blitzing and regularly going up against offensive tackles. Also 43 defenses generally have linebackers who are quicker and better in coverage, all the way to the extreme Tampa 2 defense in which the Mike or Middle Linebacker would be essentially a third safety.


  Their are a few variations on the 34. I will be going over three in this article.You have the more classic 34 that the Patriots ran all the way to three super bowl victories which includes massive two gapping defensive lineman and oversized pass rushing outside linebackers. The defensive line concept is for the three lineman to each take on double teams with the Nose Guard lining up head up on the center and taking each A-Gap (the gap on either side of the center between the center and the guards), and the two Ends lining up over the tackles and taking the B(in between guard and tackle) and C-Gaps (in between tackle and tight end). The two outside linebackers, Sam (strong side) and Will (weak side) would have outside contain, taking anything outside of the tight end in the Patriots base defense. The inside linebackers were generally balanced linebackers who could tackle as well as drop into coverage. This is a very balanced defense that excels against the run and can get pressure on the QB with the right personnel.
Nose Guard Example: Ted Washington, Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love
Defensive End Example: Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork (He has played End recently with Kyle Love playing Nose Guard)
Outside Linebacker Example: Mike Vrabel, Willie McGinest
Inside Linebacker Example: Tedy Brushchi, Brandon Spikes
 

  The other older version is the one ran by Dick LeBeau in Pittsburgh. It is much closer to the old school 50 defense as the outside linebackers are more like stand up defensive ends than actual linebackers. Where the Patriots linebackers were bigger and better at blitzing the Steelers linebackers are basically defensive lineman. They will drop into coverage but they generally only do so on special Zone Blitzes where they drop into a zone vacated by another linebacker blitzing. The defensive line also runs a two gap technique just like the Patriots however in the base defense LeBeau lines up his end on the widest man on the line with Sam and Will lined up just outside of the Ends. The inside linebackers usually shift over a little to the weak side and the Strong Safety playing as a 5th linebacker. This is why LeBeau prefers run supporting safeties who are more focused on stopping the run than playing deep coverage. The defenses main strengths are it's ability to stop the run and get good pressure on the QB because of the misdirection caused by dropping linebackers and 300 lbs lineman into coverage while blitzing safeties and interior linebackers.
Nose Guard Example: Casey Hampton, Chris Hoke
Defensive End Example: Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood
Outside Linebacker Example: James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley
Inside Linebacker Example: Larry Foote, Lawrence Timmons
 

  The last variation is the variation of the 34 that is becoming more and more popular is the Phillips 34. This is the defense run by the Texans currently and is the pet project of Wade Phillips. I have a little bit of personal experience with this type of defense as my high school team ran this defense this past season. It's a one gapping 34 unlike the Steelers and Patriots two gap variations. Wade relies on much smaller defensive lineman with his Nose Guards being closer to 43 defensive tackles as they weigh in around 300 lbs, much less than your typical Nose Guards. His defensive ends are closer to pass rushing defensive tackles or 43 defensive ends. Because it is a one gap scheme the Nose Guard lines up in the strong side A-Gap and shuts down anything that comes through there. The strong side end lines up in the C-Gap and penetrates through their with weak end lining up in the B-Gap and penetrating there. The designated rush linebacker lines up on the weak side outside of the offensive tackle and the Sam linebacker will line up outside the tight end. Generally the Will linebacker is a stand up defensive end type while the Sam linebacker is more balanced and can cover a TE if he has too. This has proved as late to be the most successful of the three types I have gone over as it gets massive amounts of pass rush from the inside and outside and can also stuff the run effectively by swarming to the ball.
Nose Guard Example: Jay Ratliff, Shaun Cody
Defensive End Example: Antonio Smith, J.J. Watt
Sam Linebacker Example: Connor Barwin, Anthony Spencer
Will Linebacker Example: Whitney Mercilus, Demarcus Ware, Mario Williams

All in all the 34 defense is becoming better than the 43 because of it's versatility and the ability to find good outside linebackers easier than good defensive ends.