I love how you design the defense around the body types you have available! Believe it or not, there are still way too many programs married to defensive (and offensive) systems without consideration of the players going in it.

Thanks for sharing coach! This is a great video. A couple of thoughts: from someone who has run a two-gap 3-4 and rushed three, I would strongly suggest not doing it. Any coverage advantage gained is negated by time in the pocket for the QB to throw. In addition, with 4i DEs there is no passing contain. We have run that very defense and gotten beaten downfield on broken plays and QB scrambles. We did well on initial concepts but our guys struggled to get any pass rush. I now run a 3-4 single gap, (mostly two-gapping the nose only) and I love how easy it is to adjust formations and bring a fourth rusher from multiple places. I always rush four to get a more consistent pass rush and it helps. I typically play single high coverage but would love to add a Cover 6 or split safety coverage. And I think you are right on, it is difficult to do divorced front/secondary stuff, especially when you rush four, because your rusher may be needed as your hook/curl guy in your palms coverage. Lastly, I think the absolute best guy on 3-4 is Hunter Hughes. He is the head coach at West Texas A&M and he sells his defense as a Championship System. His is "The Total Defense System". It is a 3-4, and the main thing they do is rush four, but work on bringing that reduction based on a formation call. So they can do it to the run strength/weak, pass strength/weak, to the back/away from the back or the field/boundary. Once they have those formation calls in place, they can run everything else easily. They run fire zone, trap coverage and all kinds of good stuff but it is all predicated on bringing a fourth rusher with a formation call. It is great stuff and I highly recommend you check it out if you want to transition to 3-4. Anyway, great video coach, I love the 3-4!

I enjoy your videos and think that they are informative and educational ! You do a great job and appreciate them Mac !

My understanding of 3-4 is that you must have Coordination with the Secondary...Great topic for a Future Post!

I think it's great to mix it up. I like the 3-4 because of the agile defensive ends that would be outside linebackers in the 4-3, usually. I think the 4-3 is better against the run though. Way better. Especially on draw plays. You have the 4th rusher dropping back in coverage instead of pass rushing, then you have one less guy to block in the trenches and that can lead to big holes and first downs. Ultimately that opens things for option plays and play action passes later ingame. . But you can bring that 4th pass rusher from anywhere without worrying about losing a man in coverage. This can be a great defensive scheme if you have players that really want to work at it.

3-4 "divorced" front and coverage is attainable by picking one guy outside the 5 spoke secondary to learn a couple different alignments. For us our WOLB in odd fronts is also our strong end in our 425 package. The Hughes stuff is basic slant/angle stuff running cover 3 if coming from the field and quarters can be ran if coming from the boundary. IMO, all is lost in an odd front if a guy cannot true 2 gap.

Ive always understood the 3-4 is great if you have the people to pull it off and that if you run the 3-4 your front 7, particularly the 3 down lineman, need to be animals for a lack of a better term. It was really nice to hear another perspective on it.

I literally have used ur videos to help mold what Defense I wanna run. I’m a 2nd yr DC of a team that goes 8-2,9-1 each year before I got there. Monroe Woodbury, NY

I think the 3-3-5 may start to become more prominent with more teams going to spread offense's. West Virginia currently plays it now and it's seems very effective.

Coach, what is the diference for you between 2 read and palms cover? and whats your opinion about play 2 read with the Cornerbaks playing inside leverage 5x1?

Have you done a video on how you run your split field coverage? If not that would awesome!

Great take on the 3-4 defense. I’m currently completing my degree to teach and be a coach. Any advice on advancement? I want to coach high school and as a defensive coordinator but I know I’ll be an assistant or a position coach for a good bit. Open to any input and thanks for the video.

Stand still, yo!! God damn.

3-4 defense is the way to go. Love the 3-4 defense. 👍

Hi coach, excelent youtube channel you have there, congrants, i´m a highschool coach from Mexico, this year we are moving our defensive sistem to 3-4 slant-angle defense, i been watching your 3-4 defense( great videos by the way) and they have been very helpful, i wonder if you have more info about 3-4 slant-angle defense that you can share to help us to install it in our program, thanks for your time coach, Greetings from Mexico

The wing T only works if you have an athletic QB and an Athletic O line, when you have that it creates alot of confusion.

Coach..hope you are still checking posts on this older video...big fan of your split field coverage stuff. 4-2-5 here and use some stack as the season goes. In the 3-4 concept how do you coach a 4 or a 4i to get into edge rush lane?

Its funny I new you were a coach before you said anything about being a coach or seeing your name because of how you talk good video

Can’t wait to see Auburn run this in the upcoming year.

Can u do wide9 defense system

Also vs 10 dbls and trips trying to get our weak safety more involved in run game without calling cover 3. we get a lot of run against 10 personnel and in our 4-2-5 he is our dude.

The idea is, we can put more athletes on the field by taking away a very powerful rusher up front, putting less pressure on their offensive line, we can put more speed on the field by having one less defensive lineman and replacing him with a Line backer who can get shoved around by a good offensive lineman.. I would like to simply speak on a fact that has been shown to be true for many decades of football in the NFL.. and that is, the best defenses we have seen over the history of the NFL since we have had a super bowl.. is that of the 4-3 defense.. and many of the greatest defenses were all named as well.. so let me name some of them.. as a kid growing up I lived in Minnesota.. where their defense was called the Purple people eaters.. was a 4-3 defense.. then there was the fearsome foursome.. called the foursome because it was again, four down linemen.. then there was the NO name defense, which also was a 4-3 defense..and then we have the steel curtain, and it was also a 4-3 defense.. we also had the Orange Crush back in the day, and it was 4-3 as well, and then we have the Bears defense.. perhaps the best defense of all time.. it was a 4-6 defense, but it also had 4 down lineman and 3 linebackers as well.. they simply played one high safety and walked the strong safety up to the line of scrimmage.. and then there was Seattle's defense, and it was again a 4-3, then there is Sacksonville's defense, it was also 4-3.. and then this last year here in 2019, the best defense in the NFL was that of SF and it again was? That is right, a 4-3 defense.. So with all of the best defenses of all time named.. where are all the 3-4 named defenses?? Non existent.. and so.. I am resting my case of what is better.. 3-4 vs 4-3...

Unfortunately divorced front/ split-field coverage just doesn't jive with 3-4 personnel, which is my dilemma.......

How was the Pittsburgh Steelers 3-4 defense look in 2018 when they have so many defensive backs and not being very strong or fast enough to cover the field with your strong safety or roaming safety, and inside linebackers not fast enough to cover the pass and the run with the same linebacker. The biggest problem with the Steelers are they not going fast enough for inside linebackers to cover the run and a pass or a strong safety like Troy Polamalu that can cover the entire field!! what is your thinking on how they will play defense in 2018 with the roster they have right now today. 6/20/18

Can you not play Quarters in Under?

Coach Mac - playfastffootball dot blogspot dot com - really miss the old intro!

It would be better to JUST MAKE THE VIDEO rather than vent for 10min at beginning of video. Make a Vent video separate from content videos. Boutta get a thumbs down on this one

Tried that 3-4 defense, but it's more difficult with all that movement. Ideally as coaches we loved it, but the kids struggled with it presnap.