Inside the Playbook - Transitioning from a 4-3 Under to a 4-3 Over

By -
PREVIEW

Much of the talk about Michigan football last year was on the offensive struggles, but the change from Borges to Nussmeier isn't the only change happening in the Michigan program this offseason. The defense, dissatisfied with their inconsistent performance last year, is also switching base fronts from a 4-3 Under to a 4-3 Over. In this post we'll look at what this change amounts to, both in terms of scheme and player deployment.

What this isn't
Let's start with what this isn't: it's not a panic move. This isn't switching an offense from a 21 personnel I-form to a shotgun spread. This is a tweak. Many of the fundamentals from last year's defense carry over and Michigan ran some Over front last year. While there will certainly be differences - which is the point of this article - this isn't a complete overhaul that negates many of the positives that the players have learned through the experience they are finally starting to show on the defensive side of the ball.

So... What is this?
I think the coaches for the most part are being very honest: this is a change to adapt to the growing use of the spread offense. This isn't just a change to get Jake Ryan in the middle. But it is a change to get a defense that is naturally more adaptable to more fronts. One of the strengths of the Michigan State defense that many believe is the reason for this change (the Spartan defense, which was easily the best defense in the league last year and a great defense at that, has very little to do with this change, for what it's worth) is that at its core it can be a 4-3 Over against a Power O team as it can against a spread team.
This also simplifies things in multiple other ways, from coaching responsibilities, to deployment of players. In the end, this touches on the foundation for the change: simplify the defense as a whole. On both sides of the ball there appears to be a common theme, that things have gotten too complex, the coaches have been stretched thin, and it's time to get back to basics, do those basics great, and grow from there. When Hoke first arrived, he made references to the 1998 defensive line, the year after Michigan won the National Championship. They struggled because they didn't have a foundation in the basics. Well, this is applying that logic to a different set of circumstances unfortunately, but with the hope that the lessons don't belie the results.

Change in Scheme
Let's explain what the change actually is. Think of a basic 21 personnel grouping. Imagine that the TE always signifies the up direction, and the ball is the center plane or ground level. The under front shifts the defensive strength under the ground level, away from the TE direction. Therefore, the 3-Tech DT is to the weakside of the formation. Conversely, the Over front shifts the strength of defensive front Over the ground level in the upward direction. Now the 3-Tech DT is to the TE side.
Here is a look at a 4-3 Under.
43under_medium
Here is a look at a 4-3 Over.
Slide1_medium

Change in Coverage
Because of the alignment, this does likely change Michigan's base coverage. I do not believe that Michigan will be as stringent with the Cover 4 as MSU is, but an Over front is kinder to a 2-high defense than an Under front is, mostly because of the LB alignment and how the safeties interact with the LB level. On the other hand, an Under front is more likely to have a one-high base coverage. Neither prevents press coverage or aggressive defensive play. Michigan State runs a 4-3 Over Cover 4 base, while the Seattle Seahawks run a 4-3 Under Cover 3 base. But a shift to an Over front does signify a shift to more 2-high looks.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *
Head over to Maize n Brew to find out how techniques change for the DL and LBs

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Football Fundamentals: Twins Passing Concepts

By -
Image
In this post we will look at some of the standard route concepts run from a twins alignment. Obviously, these can be paired with other routes (some I'll show including a RB), but this is to get the fundamental understanding of the routes. I'll try to explain the concept briefly, as well as provide names for what you'll hear the concept called elsewhere at times (these things get lots of names, some people use the same names but have different meanings too, so it can get confusing). If a number is visible near the end of a route, that is the nominal yardage the route will be run to. For more information on specific routes, we took a look at the  route tree earlier . In this article I will not discuss routes that utilize rub concepts close to the LOS (such as a switch concept). I will have a later article dedicated to rub routes from a Twins set. Many of these are similar to the TE-Flanker Concepts discussed earlier.
Read more

Football Fundamentals: 2x2 and Mirrored Passing Concepts

By -
Image
We are going to continue our look at various passing concepts, this time with 2x2 and mirrored passing concepts. In this post we are going to trim out the concepts that are designed to attack the middle of the field and put those into a separate post. 2x2 concepts allow an offense to attack a defense based on post-snap looks and coverages via a simple read of the safety. Completely mirrored concepts, when the same concept is run on the both sides of the formation (such as all-hitches), is something of which I'm not a huge fan, but there are advantages to it. You look at something like all-hitches, which overloads underneath zones, and you see a viable option in the short passing game against zone heavy teams; similarly, completely mirrored concepts can allow you to pick on certain defenders or to a certain side of the field based on defensive look. We'll also look at "base" concepts, which see the outside receivers run the same route, and a third receiver work the mid
Read more

Football Fundamentals: The Tite Front Defense

By -
Image
The defense du jour against modern spread attacks is what is commonly known as the “Tite” front. Over the past couple years, you’ve seen Big 12 teams run it increasingly often, and SEC and other teams start to incorporate variants of the look more often as well as they begin to deal with an increasing number of spread formations. But what exactly is the “Tite” front? Like any front, say, a 4-3 Under, it isn’t necessarily any one thing. You can have single-high, two-high, or even three-high safeties. You can attach your overhangs differently. And with Tite, it may even mean different box numbers. And of course, there are multiple techniques that can be employed along the way. This post is a primer to the Tite front. At the end, I’ll link some of the better articles that get into greater depth for those interested, but for now, we need to understand the basics, so that we can understand how to attack it.
Read more