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A 4–3 base defense. In American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). However, defenses will readily switch to other defensive alignments (such as a nickel ...
American football positions. A diagram showing an I formation on offense and a 4-3 formation on defense. In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players [ 1] on the field at one time and have "unlimited ...
In some 4–3 defenses, the nose tackle is one of two defensive tackles. Some teams, especially in the National Football League, have a nose tackle in the 4–3 defense, who lines up against the opposing center and very likely the weak-side or pulling guard. In a 4–3 defense, nose tackles are rather quick and supposed to "shoot the 'A gap ...
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
The defensive ends are fast for players of their size, often the fastest and smallest players on the defensive line. They must be able to shed blockers to get to the ball. Defensive ends are also often used to cover the outside area of the line of scrimmage, to tackle ball carriers running to the far right or left side, and to defend against ...
3–4 defense. In American football, the 3–4 defense is a common defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen and four linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it will readily switch to other defensive alignments (such as a nickel defense or a dime defense) as circumstances change. Alternatively, some defenses use a 4–3 ...
A diagram of a standard 4-3 defense set. The defensive backs include two cornerbacks (labeled CB on the diagram), a free safety (labeled FS) and a strong safety (labeled SS). In gridiron football , defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary , are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage.
The 4-3 defense has 2 tackles and 2 ends; the 3-4 defense has 2 ends and 1 tackle, who is sometimes called a nose tackle (NT) to indicate the 3-4. Tackles line up inside and rely on power to stop the run, while ends line up outside and are faster and more athletic to allow them to pursue the quarterback.