I love the 3-4. In year 2 with UGA I have went to it. I have a different outlook. You will not find the proper 3-4 Ends, DT's and OLB's so here is what I do and it has worked for me (Top 10 D).
1) 260lbs + for ends
2) DT's over 290
3) Fast OLBs & MLB's
I control a fast MLB and make sure I pick blitz's with him on what should be running downs. At the snap I wait to see where the back goes before I move then I attack. I can hit holes and get to the corner to stop the run. On 3, 4 & 5 receiver sets I like nickle and dime packages because I have the middle of the field covered in zone coverage.
[Reply]
jdrhammer 05:51 PM 10-05-2009
Originally Posted by rudyjuly2:
The first time I tried it I sucked at it too. You need to have good LBs but most of all, you need to learn to slant your DL and shift your LBs to help in the run game. The variety of blitzes are great for pass rush and more fun to use than a 4-3 imo. You have to give yourself time to learn the playbook though. After awhile you will get very comfortable and always want to use it.
Trust me, just use the 3-4 (or Multiple D) against the gimmies on your schedule until you get used to it. Eventually you will use it full time.
Sweet. Thanks for the tips. I like the 4-3 but I am just so bored with it. It's basically either man or zone with very few confusing blitzes. I'm really comfortable with it because I've used it so much. Personel-wise, I think I have everything but the huge DT but I have some very good ones. I have the DE's and the LB's for it, easily.
I'll be glad to listen to any other strategy or tips you have to offer. Thanks again.
[Reply]
rudyjuly2 09:26 AM 10-06-2009
I usually like to take a LB, particularly the weak ILB in a 3-4. I always shift the LBs towards the strong side of the formation (and flip the formation if I have to). I don’t slant my DL too often because a backside run could really hurt if you shift your LBs AND slant the DL unless it’s a short yardage situation. Pinching the DL can help if you are getting gouged against the inside run.
For the 3-4 base defense against base offensive looks, I usually like to run a lot of man coverage and use the ILB with a cover 1 type of look so I can roam in coverage. I usually send 1 or 2 LBs after the QB and sometimes will hot blitz one of them depending on my play call. The double OLB rush is good to get after the QB and you might want to pinch or slant your DL in to protect yourself on the inside run. You also have weak side and strong side LB blitzes where two LBs will blitz together. Again, you might want to slant the DL away from this area to allow more blitz lanes. You can usually generate good pressure this way. I always like to rush 4 or 5 players but rarely six.
I don’t like running a lot of Cover 2 or Cover 3 zones out of the 3-4 since those plays usually involve just sending 3 players. If I do call some zones, I usually hot route a LB to blitz on the short side of the field. Or I simply call a zone defense with a blitz option. Since I usually play as a LB, calling zone plays can really hurt me as I’m typically fooled badly by play-action so I usually stick to man. You do have variations in the 3-4 under and over but I usually stick to the base and just shift my LBs around. Playing as a strong side LB, especially the OLB, is really tough against the run so I try to stick to the weak side LBs.
For the nickel defense, you can run the 4-2 DL look as well (and use the package to put your LBs as pass rushers if you want) but I do like the 3-3-5. There is a 3 LB blitz play that I use but I never send all three. I’ll hot route one of the LBs into coverage and try to sit in a zone to help out over the middle. Sometimes I really wonder if the cpu AI knows how to handle defenses that give unconventional looks through hot routes where you blitz an unexpected player or drop a player into coverage that they don’t expect.
There is also a good Cover 1 3-3-5 call where it’s strictly man-to-man and I think two LBs have zone coverage over the middle. This will help against short passes over the middle. But I often hot route one LB to blitz or use one of the LBs and manually blitz based on the play call. That way I can cover screen passes effectively, drop into coverage or get after the QB if I want. With 3 LBs in the nickel, you can play around with how many you send, keep in zone, etc. It also has a good play where you can double both outside WRs and still have a LB sit in zone over the middle (this only rushes 3 though but can be good if the opposing team has good outside WRs and you can still help out on crossing routes).
For the Dime defense, the 3-2 look can be OK but this doesn’t give you any options to double team WRs (maybe NCAA 10 does but I know 09 doesn’t) and I don’t always like to use it. There are a couple calls I like where you can blitz one or both LBs (sometimes with hot routes) or blitz the FS. I really do mix up the 3-2 with the 4-1 dime look though. And if you want to double WRs, I do think the conventional Dime is better.
[Reply]
acts238shaun 10:04 AM 10-08-2009
3-4 is the way to go if you can, it's so versatile. The main thing is to mix up where you blitz from and keep the line tied up to keep them from getting to your backers. If you have three or four fast backers the 3-4 can destroy most running teams without losing pass coverage.
[Reply]
DerkontheOS 10:36 AM 10-08-2009
Can anyone give me any tips to stop passing? I get burned most of the time by lesser teams in pass coverage.....
[Reply]
sbird91939 04:48 PM 10-08-2009
Originally Posted by DerkontheOS:
Can anyone give me any tips to stop passing? I get burned most of the time by lesser teams in pass coverage.....
in passing situations, don't man up your LB's with receivers. run a zone or bring in extra DB's. That's really it. Unless your LB's are super fast and can keep up with 85+ spd WR's, you'll get burned every time in man coverage
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