HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down
linemen Lineman or linesman may refer to: In personal roles: *Lineworker, one who installs and maintains electrical power, telephone, or telegraph lines * Lineman (gridiron football), a position in American football * Head linesman, the American football ...
and three
linebackers Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...
. 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 defense American football, a nickel defense (also known as a 4–2–5 or 3–3–5) is any defensive alignment that uses five defensive backs, of whom the fifth is known as a nickelback. The original and most common form of the nickel defense features ...
or a
dime defense In American football, the dime defense is a defensive alignment that uses six defensive backs. It is usually employed in obvious passing situations. The formation usually consists of six defensive backs, usually two safeties, and four cornerback ...
) as circumstances change. Alternatively, some defenses use a
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 a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs) ...
.


History

Early in the history of the NFL, teams stacked the defensive line of scrimmage with seven linemen, typically using a 7-diamond or the 7-box. With the liberalization of the forward passing rules in
1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
, the defenses began to evolve along with the offensive changes, and by the later 1930s, the standard defense in the NFL and college was the 6–2. The successes of the
T formation In American football, a T formation (frequently called the full house formation in modern usage, sometimes the Robust T) is a formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about five yards behind the quarterba ...
and the introduction of
free substitution Free substitution or rolling substitution is a rule in some sports that allows players to enter and leave the game for other players many times during the course of a game, generally during a time-out or other break in live play; and for coach ...
(abolishing the
one-platoon system The one-platoon system, also known as iron man football, is a platoon system in American football where players play on both offense and defense. It was the result of smaller roster sizes in the early days of the game and rules that limited player ...
) in the 1940s led to the almost universal adoption by 1950 of the five-man line.''Total Football II'', chapter 17. There were two versions popular in the NFL. The 5–3 was an older defense that remained popular through the 1940s and early 1950s. By the late 1940s,
Greasy Neale Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale (November 5, 1891 – November 2, 1973) was an American football and baseball player and coach. Early life and playing career Neale was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Although writers eventually assumed that Nea ...
's 5–2 Eagle defense was creating problems for offenses with a five-man line and four-man secondary. Roughly concurrently,
Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Clevela ...
had developed a vertical timing offense. The Browns won every championship of the rival
All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
from its inception in 1946 through its final season in 1949. In the first game of the 1950 season, NFL Commissioner
Bert Bell De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was the National Football League (NFL) commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's comme ...
had the newly admitted Browns play the champion Philadelphia Eagles on a Saturday ahead of the rest of the league's scheduled Sunday games. The Browns handily won the game in Philadelphia 35–10 and showed they were a force to be reckoned with. Defenses knew they had to find a way to stop the spread-out vertical offense of the Browns.
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
head coach Steve Owen came up with his umbrella defense which showed a 6–1–4 alignment before the snap but could flex (drop back) its two defensive ends into pass protection. The defense was successful, and the only two losses by the Browns in 1950 came at the hands of the Giants. While the concept belonged to Owen, the newly acquired defensive back,
Tom Landry Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football player and coach. He was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. Du ...
, explained and taught the defense. While the defense was a precursor to the traditional 4–3–4 of today, it was not yet evolved into what one would call a traditional 4–3 defense. That took an additional six years. Other NFL teams came to a version of the 4–3 via a different route. Despite the success of the Browns in the single game with the Eagles, the 5–2 Eagle became more popular, and more teams began to switch to it from the older 5–3 defense. Because the 5–2 lacks a middle linebacker, it was vulnerable to passes over the middle. As a consequence, 5–2 teams experimented with pulling their middle guards back, and many teams were trying this new approach by 1954.Zimmerman, p. 128 In 1956, Landry became the first defensive coordinator to switch to the 4–3 as a base defense. As the 1956 Giants won the NFL Championship, this gave the 4–3 enormous exposure, and just about the whole NFL converted to the new system the following season. In the original version of the 4–3, the tackles lined up over the offensive guards and the ends lined up on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackles, with the middle linebacker over the center and the other linebackers outside the ends. In the mid-1960s,
Hank Stram Henry Louis Stram (; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NF ...
developed a popular variation, the "Kansas City Stack", which shifted the strong-side defensive end over the tight end, stacked the strong-side linebacker over the tackle, and shifted the weak-side tackle over center. At about the same time, the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
frequently used a weak-side shift. Landry developed a "flex" variation, in order to take advantage of the quickness of his Hall of Fame tackle,
Bob Lilly Robert Lewis Lilly (born July 26, 1939), nicknamed "Mr. Cowboy", is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle. After playing college football for the TCU Horned Frogs, he played for the Dallas Cowboys of the Nat ...
. In Landry's original 4–3 defenses (4–3 inside and 4–3 outside), both defensive tackles were flexed. In the "flex", on a pro set right, with defensive keys showing a run to the right, the right defensive tackle would be flush on the line and was supposed to penetrate. The right defensive end and left defensive tackle were flexed two feet off the line of scrimmage, the right defensive end now head-on with the left offensive tackle (i.e. a 4–2–2–5 front instead of the more common 5–2–2–5 front). This gave the defense a "zig zag" look unlike any other of its day. The 'flex' was developed to counter option blocking by the offensive lines which had learned to move their heads up defensive linemen to either side to create holes. The running back would then patiently run to daylight. The Flex allowed two defensive linemen to read and react better to the option blocking. The other two linemen could either attack upfield or hold their single gap like the flexed linemen and wait for the ball to come to them. These concepts of shooting the gap and shoot and hold the gap are integral parts of today's more modern versions of the 4–3 which include the
Tampa 2 The Tampa 2 is an American football defensive scheme popularized by (and thus named after) the Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football League (NFL) team in the mid-1990s–early 2000s. The Tampa 2 is typically employed out of a 4–3 defensive alig ...
scheme, the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West, which they rejoined ...
shoot and hold defense and the 4–3 slide.


Defensive line

; Defensive tackles There are two defensive tackles in the 4–3 scheme. Teams whose base front is an "over" or "under" front will have a
nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...
in this scheme. In schemes whose base set is an even 4–3, there is no nose tackle. Instead, there is a left and right defensive tackle. When teams do not have a nose tackle, the tackles line up face on the offensive guards. The nose tackle is generally slightly larger and stronger and plays a shade or head-up technique in which he lines up on either the outside shoulder of the center or in the middle of his body depending on which way the strength of the play is going. The nose tackle's primary job is to stop the run and take on the double team (which is getting blocked by both the center and the weak-side or pulling guard) thus freeing up the linebackers to make a play. The second defensive tackle (simply referred to as the defensive tackle, under tackle or three tech) is generally a bit quicker and faster than the nose tackle, ideally weighing close to but quick-footed enough to shoot through a gap at the snap. He plays a three technique, meaning he lines up on the outside shoulder of the strong side offensive guard. The job of a three tech is to prevent the run, keep the guard off linebackers, and rush the quarterback on pass plays. ;
Defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is pl ...
s The defensive end's primary role in the 4–3 defense is to get to the quarterback and create pressure. The 4–3 DEs are the smallest of all of the defensive lineman due to their emphasis on speed over strength. They still need to be strong enough to fight their way past offensive tackles, yet quick enough to pursue the running backs on runs to the outside. Ideal 4–3 defensive ends are athletic and agile and their strength is getting up the field quickly and they usually weigh between . Right ends, who line up against the offensive left tackle and attack from the blind side of a right-handed quarterback, are usually the best athletes on the line, combining a 275-pound body with quickness and agility to outflank blockers who are bigger and heavier. Defensive ends generally play the 1 gap technique, though will occasionally be forced to play a 2 gap in the event of a TE pinching in to block on run plays. In most schemes, they are also responsible for keeping the quarterback from rolling out of the pocket to make big running gains. ;Variant Some teams, like the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West, which they rejoined ...
,
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
, Cincinnati Bengals and
Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...
, use an ''alternative'' sort of the 4–3 defense. They like to use a big, strong, 280-plus-pound strong-side defensive end to stop the run on their base formation, and on passing downs they kick inside at defensive tackle to insert a pass rush specialist. But players like
Von Miller Vonnie B'VSean Miller (born March 26, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Miller played college football at Texas A&M, where he earned consensus All-American honors and ...
, an elite and undersized defensive end, play strong-side linebacker on first and second downs and use their pass-rushing ability on passing downs by lining up at stand-up defensive end to bring pressure on the quarterback.


Linebackers

;Middle linebacker There is only one inside linebacker in the 4–3 scheme, so he is called the middle linebacker (MLB), sometimes known as the "Mike" linebacker. He must be as smart as he is athletic, acts as the "quarterback of the defense" and is often the defensive leader. The primary responsibility of the "Mike" is to stop the run, though he will often be asked to fall back in zone coverage in pass protection; man to man pass coverage has him assigned to the fullback typically. The MLB is often the largest and strongest of all of the linebackers. The 4–3 defense relies on having a sure tackler at the middle linebacker spot. Most notably,
Monte Kiffin Monte George Kiffin (born February 29, 1940) is an American football coach. He is currently a player personnel analyst at Ole Miss for his son, Lane Kiffin. He is widely considered to be one of the preeminent defensive coordinators in modern f ...
's " Tampa Cover 2" scheme makes high demands on the MLB, requiring him to have above-average speed, and additional skills to be able to read the play and either maintain his central position to help the outside linebackers cover short passes, drop behind the linebackers in coverage and protect the zone of the field behind the outside linebackers from 11 to 20 yards out, or run up to the line of scrimmage to help assist in stopping the runs. Luke Kuechly and
Brian Urlacher Brian Urlacher (; born May 25, 1978) is an American former football linebacker who spent his entire 13-season career in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, where he bec ...
were prototypical "Mike" linebackers before retirement. ;Outside linebackers As in the
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 a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs) ...
there are two outside linebackers in the 4–3. These outside backers are known as the strong-side and weak-side linebackers. The strong-side, or "Sam" linebacker, is so named because he typically sticks to the strong side of the defense, across from the
tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
. The "Sam" does his fair share of blitzing; however, he also needs to play the run and take on blockers, making him a bigger linebacker on average than the weak-side linebacker. He will usually be relied upon to cover the tight end or potentially a back out of the backfield. Anthony Barr is a prototypical "Sam" linebacker. The weak-side, or "Will" linebacker, will generally play on the weak side and has more freedom than the other LBs, often blitzing the
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ameri ...
or guarding against the screen. He also has heavy coverage responsibilities, making a good number of today's Will linebackers former safeties.
Lavonte David Lavonte Lamar David (born January 23, 1990) is an American football linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Nebraska, and was drafted by the Buccaneers in ...
is a prototypical "Will" linebacker.


Secondary

The 4–3 defense generally uses four defensive backs. Two of these are safeties, and two of them are cornerbacks. A cornerback's responsibilities vary depending on the type of coverage called. Coverage is simply how the defense will be protecting against the pass. The corners will generally line up 3 to 5 yards off the line of scrimmage, generally trying to "Jam" or interrupt the receiver's route within the first 5 yards. A corner will be given one of two ways to defend the pass (with variations that result in more or less the same responsibilities): zone and man-to-man. In zone coverage, the cornerback is responsible for an area on the field. In this case, the corner must always stay downfield of whomever he is covering while still remaining in its zone. Zone is a more relaxed defensive scheme meant to provide more awareness across the defensive secondary while sacrificing tight coverage. As such, the corner in this case would be responsible for making sure nobody gets outside of him, always, or downfield of him, in cases where there is no deep safety help. In man coverage, however, the cornerback is solely responsible for the man across from him, usually the offensive player split farthest out. The free safety is responsible for reading the offensive plays and covering deep passes. Depending on the defensive call, he may also provide run support. He is positioned 10 to 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage, toward the center of the field. He provides the last line of defense against running backs and receivers who get past the linebackers and cornerbacks. He must be a quick and smart player, capable of making tackles efficiently as well as reading the play and alerting his team of game situations. The strong safety is usually larger than the free safety and is positioned relatively close to the line of scrimmage. He is often an integral part of the run defense, but is also responsible for defending against a pass; especially against passes to the tight-ends.


Teams currently deploying the 4–3 defense

NFL teams that use the 4–3 defense as of 2022 include the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...
,
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
,
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
, Cincinnati Bengals,
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
,
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. T ...
,
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The t ...
,
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
,
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National F ...
,
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
,
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
and
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...
. The
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The t ...
returned to running a 4–3 defense for the 2016 season, after switching to the 3–4 at the start of 2013. The
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
used variations of the 4–3 for the 2012 NFL season against
spread offense :''"Spread offense" may also refer to the four corners offense in basketball.'' The spread offense is an offensive scheme in gridiron football that typically places the quarterback in the shotgun formation, and "spreads" the defense horizontall ...
s, but will stick with the
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 a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs) ...
as its base. The Patriots run a hybrid defense including elements from both the 4–3, and 3–4 defense. Beginning in 2017, the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National F ...
switched from a 3–4 to a 4–3 defense with the hiring of head coach
Kyle Shanahan Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, whos ...
and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. The Cardinals will return to the 3–4 under new defensive coordinator
Vance Joseph Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Previously he was the head coach of the Denver Bronco ...
in 2019. Arizona ran the 3–4 under coordinators
Todd Bowles Todd Robert Bowles (born November 18, 1963) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the New York Jets. He ...
and James Bettcher from 2013 to 2017. The
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...
switched to a hybrid 4–3 defense in the 2019 season, with the hiring of new defensive coordinator
Steve Spagnuolo Stephen Christopher Spagnuolo (; born December 21, 1959) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He rejoined Andy Reid after being a defensive assistant with ...
. The Vikings have run the 4–3 continuously since 1986, the longest current run in the NFL. However, new head coach Kevin O'Connell has announced that the Vikings will revert to the 3–4 in 2022 under new defensive coordinator
Ed Donatell Ed Donatell (born February 4, 1957 in Akron, Ohio) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). Donatell has 42 years of coaching experience, including 31 season ...
. Minnesota briefly switched to the 3–4 from 1982 to 1985 before coach
Jerry Burns Jerome Monahan Burns (January 24, 1927 – May 12, 2021) was an American college and professional football coach. He played in college for the Michigan Wolverines before becoming a coach. He was the head coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1961 to ...
and defensive coordinator Floyd Peters returned to the base defense in which the
Purple People Eaters Purple People Eaters were the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. The term is a reference to a popular song from 1958, the efficiency of the defense, and the color of their uniforms. The motto of the Pur ...
of the 1970s flourished. The
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
switched to a 3–4 defense in the 2019 season under then defensive coordinator,
Todd Bowles Todd Robert Bowles (born November 18, 1963) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the New York Jets. He ...
, who previously ran the 3–4 defense with the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
. The
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
switched to a 3–4 base defense in the 2019 season for the first time since the late 1990s. Beginning in the 2020 season, the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...
will return to the 4–3 base defense for the first time since 2009 under new head coach
Ron Rivera Ronald Eugene Rivera (born January 7, 1962), nicknamed "Riverboat Ron", is an American football head coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He attended the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1980 ...
and new defensive coordinator
Jack Del Rio Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. (born April 4, 1963) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a linebacker at the University of Sout ...
. In 2020, the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
switched to a base
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 a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs) ...
. This was reverted in 2021 after their 2020 defense allowed a franchise-record 473 points. With the hiring of Robert Saleh as head coach, the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
will switch to a 4–3 defense in 2021, but will have a few 3–4 looks.


References


Bibliography

*Carroll, Bob, Gershman, Michael, Neft, David, and Thorn, John, ''Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League'', Harper Collins, 1999, Chapter 17. *Halas, George, Morgan, Gwen, and Veysey, Arthur, ''Halas by Halas'', McGraw-Hill, 1979. *Lombardi, Vince, ''Vince Lombardi on Football'', New York Graphic Society, 1973. *Owen, Steve, ''My Kind of Football'', David McKay, 1952. *Golenbock, Peter, ''Cowboys Have Always Been my Heroes'', Warner Books, 1997, Chapter 20. *Zimmerman, Paul, ''The New Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football'', Simon and Schuster, 1984, Chapter 6. *Piascik, Andy, ''The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns – Pro Football's Greatest Dynasty'', Taylor Trade Publishing, 2006
book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical a ...


External links


1989 Monte Kiffin 4–3 Defense

1992 Dallas Cowboys 4–3 Defense

1994 Arizona Cardinals 4–3 Defense
{{DEFAULTSORT:4-3 Defense American football formations