NOTE: Occasionally I get a site mail with questions about the Wishbone or 4-4. I've saved up most of my answers and compiled them into a sorta guide to playing the 4-4 the way I do. Haven't got around to putting the Wishbone posts together yet, but wanted to get his one pushed out. It's really long and detailed; please feel free to ignore the entire thing. By posting it I can just link folks to it when they have questions in the future. Thx.
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Play the 4-4!
Basics
The 4-4 is a defensive formation consisting of four linemen, four linebackers, and three defensive backs. The benefits include the ability to commit eight big bodies against the run and the flexibility of having four LBs who can rush or drop into coverage. The primary drawback is that with only three DBs on the field, the formation is theoretically weak against the pass.
The 4-4 is far less popular than the 3-4 defensive formation. The 3-4 also benefits from the flexibility of four LBs, but by also having four DBs on the field it is potentially less susceptible to passing attacks.
Roster Construction & Recruiting
The more resources you commit to a position group, the more return you can expect. I build my 4-4 around the LB’s and commit significant resources there: by drafting two LBs every season and redshirting one of them, I carry nine LBs almost all the time.
Defensive Line (8): Recruit 2/season; carry eight total. I focus on DE / pass rush attributes, and I am willing to give up STR for SPD/TECH. I am willing to take one STR/TKL prototypical DT every other season but prefer to field all DEs. This line is designed to minimize QB pocket time, not stop the run.
Linebackers (9): Recruit 2/season; RS best OLB prospect; carry nine total. I go into recruiting planning to take the two best OLBs I can get. This is my #2 recruiting priority (after QB). My top LB prospect has elite SPD, good ELU, solid WE, and is either H or VH potential. I am willing to sacrifice STR and/or TKL to get as close to this model as possible. Ideally, SPD is in the mid-60s; I consider 55 SPD the absolute floor for this recruit, but he would need impressive WE/potential for me to take him with less than 60. The second LB recruit can be more varied in his contributions: SPD is still critical, but enough STR/TKL/GI/ELU and WE/potential can get him on the team. Every other season I am willing to take a pure ILB with average speed (in lieu of a second OLB). I can play him on the line to avoid him hurting my coverage team, and this keeps me from missing out when a stud ILB with elite cores/WE/potential falls in my lap.
Defensive Backs (6): Alternate recruiting one or two DBs; carry six total. I only recruit cornerbacks, no safeties. I am willing to sacrifice STR/TKL for SPD/ELU/TECH – with only three DBs, coverage skills are paramount. STA is more important at DB than at DL/LB; the goal is to minimize how many snaps your underclassmen take – the drop-off in talent and FIQ is an absolute killer at this position in the 4-4.
Preference note: I use a RS every season on RB and LB; every other year I use a RS on my QB. This leaves an open RS every other season. My preference is to use it on a DB. If recruiting a QB every season, this will not be an option for you; but I do think it is a significant benefit in this defensive scheme. If I could land a “RS-worthy” DB every other season, this is exactly how I would use my RS in my non-QB recruiting seasons.
This strategy ensures my starters are:
Four upperclassmen DL: SR, SR, JR, JR
Four upperclassmen LBs: SR*, SR, JR*, JR (generally three OLBs, one ILB)
Three upperclassmen DBs: SR*, SR, JR -or- SR, JR*, JR
Total defensive roster: 23.5 scholarships (leaves 26.5 scholarships for Offense & Kicker/s)
Recruiting Notes & Potential Deviations
I have experimented with just about every alternative set-up; mostly in the hopes of freeing up roster spots to give to the offense. Also, because recruiting does not always go how I hoped.
DL:
- You can get away with occasionally only taking one DL. This will result in two seasons where you must start a Sophomore. Compensate by investing more recruiting capital the following season to ensure you get a DL with high cores/WE/potential/GPA so the drop off is not too damaging when he is starting playoff games at the end of his Sophomore season.
- I do not think using a RS on the DL gives enough return on investment. At this point I would only RS a DL to fix a recruiting shortfall.
LB:
- Don’t try to win the GUESS recruiting championship. The parameters for what will be a successful 4-4 OLB means you will often be ignoring many very nice LBs in the top 25 who lack the right SPD/ELU/WE/potential combination. Even at max vision, I will often end up with LB recruits outside the GUESS top 20. You can’t chase the best LB prospects, it is too important to get the right LB prospect for your scheme.
- When I have the non-QB RS available and fail to land a DB to fill it, the second-best option is to use it on the second recruited LB. This will give you two RS LBs in the same class, but leave you short a LB in the prior class (where the non-RS LB would have landed). When the two RS LBs are JRs, you’ll only have one SR LB. That leaves you starting a SO LB, which should be mostly mitigated by the extra FIQ/skill of the JRs. If you are okay with that trade-off, there is more good news – it buys you back a roster position as you will only be carrying eight LBs, not the usual nine. My take: this is only warranted when the second LB is also a stud with H/VH potential; otherwise just keep to the plan and give the RS to the offense.
DB:
- If you decide to use the every-other-season non-QB RS at DB, I recommend this breakdown:
- Season 1) Recruit two DBs; RS the one with better potential/WE
- Season 2) Recruit one DB
- Repeat
- Otherwise, you will have to do the much less efficient:
- Season 1) Recruit three DBs; RS the one with the best potential/WE
- Season 2) Recruit no DBs
- Yeah, it’s obvious. I did it the wrong way for about 10 seasons before I realized it though, so thought I would include it.
Formations
While some details change periodically, these are pretty static for me. Other than some minor shuffling, the formation only answers two questions:
- Which LBs are rushing instead of dropping into coverage?
- Who will blitz? (Frequency is a game plan issue, not a formation issue, but will be discussed where I believe it’s relevant)
Each formation will be described by which LBs are rushing (set to ‘Line’) and which player is designated as the potential blitzer (assume 100% for that position unless indicated otherwise). A player being designated as the potential blitzer does not indicate the intent to blitz, just who will do it if the game plan warrants it. Every formation will be considered from both perspective: blitz and no blitz. I’ve included my names for the formations, but obviously use whatever makes sense to you.
1) “Cloud” - No LB Rush / Potential Blitzer: LB3
No blitz: Rush four; drop seven.
This is great against teams with mediocre OLs. Rarely will this formation work for long stretches against teams with equal talent and should be considered a change up, not an every down solution. It just gives the QB too much time. The four-man line holds up okay against the run, but you won’t see many negative/zero runs.
Blitz: Rush five; drop six.
(this is our BASE)
This is a core formation for the 4-4. This can be used with frequency against equal talent, when expecting either pass or run. Your worst/slowest “coverage” LB should be sitting at LB3 and blitzing him takes him out of the coverage numbers and reduces the QBs safe time in the pocket. Decent protection against inside runs, but a dedicated outside run game can make some plays against this set-up.
2) “Shazier” - LB3 Rush / Potential Blitzer: LB2
No blitz: Rush five; drop six.
(this is our BASE)
This is a core formation for the 4-4. This can be used with frequency against equal talent, when expecting either pass or run. Your worst/slowest “coverage” LB should be sitting at LB3 and blitzing him takes him out of the coverage numbers and reduces the QBs safe time in the pocket. Decent protection against inside runs, but a dedicated outside run game can make some plays against this set-up.
Blitz: Rush six; drop five.
This adds an outside LB pressure element to the inside pressure already coming from LB3. This leaves you a little light in coverage vs any equal talent passing game; I mostly use this to defend the run when the opposing coach runs both inside and outside. The only time I use this against equal talent passing is if I am confidant the other coach is keeping in a TE or FB to pass protect -or- if I am expecting a deep pass and think I can get to the QB in time with the extra pressure.
3) “Watt” – LB1 Rush / Potential Blitzer: LB2
Note: I move both ILBs to LB1 and LB2, and bring the OLBs to LB3 and LB4 for this formation
No blitz: Rush five; drop six.
Same as “Shazier” above; but provides better protection against outside runs; worse against inside runs.
Blitz: Rush six; drop five.
The four DLs plus both OLBs all trying to stop the outside run. Not super vs pass or inside runs. This is just for when you know that outside run is coming.
4) “ILB Blitz” – LB3 and LB4 Rush / Potential Blitzer: LB2
No blitz: Rush six; drop five.
The four DLs plus both ILBs all trying to stop the inside run. Not super vs pass or outside runs. This is just for when you know that inside run is coming.
Blitz: Rush seven; drop four.
I don’t generally blitz out of “ILB Blitz”; if the two ILBs can’t stop the inside run, then bringing an OLB probably won’t help much. A decent QB can be pretty effective vs four in coverage. I have experimented with blitzing the FS instead of LB2 here but there is no SS, so the risk is considerable.
5) “OLB Blitz” – LB1 and LB2 Rush / Potential Blitzer: CB2
Note: I move both ILBs to LB1 and LB2, and bring the OLBs to LB3 and LB4 for this formation
No blitz: Rush six; drop five.
The four DLs plus both OLBs all trying to stop the outside run. Not super vs pass or inside runs. This is just for when you know that outside run is coming.
Blitz: Rush seven; drop four.
Unlike “ILB Blitz”, I do frequently add the corner blitz to “OLB Blitz”, probably sending CB2 roughly 50% of the time. I’m only sending both OLBs when I am confidant the outside run is coming
6) “1-3-DB Blitz” – LB1 and LB3 Rush / Potential Blitzer CB2
Note: I switch out LBs 1 and 4 for this formation
No blitz: Rush six, drop five.
A balanced pressure formation; with an ILB and an OLB bringing the rush. This is a good option to use against balanced rushing attacks. Against the pass: when the base defense (rush five) is not working at all and you think need to bring one more guy - this is my first choice.
Blitz: Rush seven; drop four.
Adding the corner blitz to this formation is more effective than it should be. Very solid against all but the most powerful run games. Somehow, the four-man coverage usually holds up okay. Great passing games are going get you, sure, but they’ll get you anyway. Try mixing this in against opponents running Pro-Set all pass, all medium attacks. It won’t hold up every time, but you will learn where it’s limits are, and it could be fun.
Game Planning
I don’t have an organized, regimented system to game plan. But I do have a bunch of random opinions that I think are useful or interesting.
To Blitz or Not to Blitz?
Our base formation is sending four DLs and LB3 after the QB and dropping 3 LBs and 3 DBs into coverage. So, should you run “Shazier” with LB3 set to “Line” and blitz no one, or should you run “Cloud” and send LB3 on a blitz? Same rush/coverage numbers, so does it matter? I don’t know. Here is my take: If I think the opposing OL is good, then I like “Shazier” with no one blitzing. If I think I see a weakness (starting underclassman, starters with low GI, low FIQ) then I prefer “Cloud” with the LB3 blitz. Most of the time I will try it both ways in the first half to see which is getting better results.
How Deep is Your Love?
PsS, PsM, PsL? Who knows man; if you figure it out then please let me know. My take: The 4-4 is not going to coach the defense for you – you are going to have to get in there and work it. I use all three depths and not always in the expected down/distance. I love PsS. I have won NCs just running PsS, even against aggressive all-pass teams. It pairs really well with our base formation (rush five). I have also gotten my lunch taken. Repeatedly. I’ve had my shoes, coat, and my hat tooken. PsM is fine, I usually need a little extra pressure to make it work though. Combining PsL with “OLB Blitz” or “1-3-DB Blitz” (plus bringing CB2 100% of the time) can be an awesome pressure play; especially if they keep a blocker in so you are only covering four receivers.
We can dance if we want to
I usually put my best DB at safety. The 4-4 only has one safety, so it should be a dude who can cover some ground. However: If you are playing a team that attacks with all-medium passes (and depending on what depth you are playing), then you may notice the FS is almost never involved in the play. He’s rarely in coverage, and rarely the tackler on completions. In that case, consider moving him (your best DB) up to CB1 to help out on defending medium passes. This can be an easy way to get some extra math on your side in a close game. It feels dangerous having your #2 or #3 DB back at safety, but this is mitigated by how infrequently the position is impacting plays.
Necessary Roughness
Do you need to account for the offensive formation? Probably, yeah. Here is a completely unscientific rundown of how I think the 4-4 holds up against different offenses:
- Pro Set: Equal; no advantage to either side. The 4-4 holds up pretty well against the Pro Set run game and holds up just barely enough against the pass game.
- I Formation: Equal; no advantage to either side.
- Shotgun: Not enough information. I just don’t see it enough in equal talent match-ups.
- Trips: The 4-4 has the advantage. It’s not intuitive, or sensible even, but the 4-4 holds up really well against Trips. PsS and PsM work okay. If your DL is good enough, try “Cloud” with no blitz and hang back in PsS.
- Wishbone: Equal; no advantage to either side. In a very limited sample size, I have seen Wishbone L/D passes connect vs 4-4 with greater accuracy/distance than normal. I think it’s worth further exploration; but how many WB deep passing attacks are out there with NC level talent?
- NDB: Man…the NDB gets its own paragraph…
F the Box
I hate the NDB. I look forward to playing it someday, but I hate facing it. Seriously, this formation is the worst. I think the 4-4 comes in with a disadvantage against the NDB. “ILB Blitz” does not slow down the inside run. “OLB Blitz” does not slow down the outside run (even when I bring CB2). The TEs are open too often and make a lot of catches even when they are covered. When I beat a good NDB team, either I have a talent edge or get some random luck (ex: kick return TDs). Now, I will admit that isolating variables is hard and that maybe the NDBs I see most often are just coached by better coaches than me and I am conflating the two things. Maybe. But when I see a NDB team in my playoff bracket, I start hoping my offense is ready for a shootout.
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Caveats
- All I know is D2. That’s it. I can’t speak to using the 4-4 at any other level.
- I have won some games with this formation. Lost a bunch too. Mileage may vary.