How to Run a Football Defense: 4-4

Video Transcript

"Hey, Coach Rudy, Big Ten alum. Listen, 4-4 defense- probably the hottest defense going right now. A lot of teams running it and having a great deal of success. Let's talk about some of the stuff that needs to be in place in order for you to run this defense. Number one: your linebackers have to be stellar. I mean, athletes. They have to be able to fly to the ball, provide run support. They've got to be tough up the gut and be able to get out wide. Your corners and your safeties have to be athletes. The down linemen have to be athletic in making sure nobody's getting upfield, and they're shutting down all the penetration at the tackles. 4-4 basically forces the other team to go out wide. Can't do anything up the middle. They're filling all the holes, so that's probably not going to happen. You can try to run the ball on the 4-4. Good luck with that. If the linebacking corps is in the kind of shape and defensive position; in terms of knowledge, ideas, down, distance, tendency; then you shouldn't be able to run on the 4-4 at all. Everything should be shut down, based on scheme, stunting, and filling on the linebackers. Now you can have some success throwing against the 4-4. However, if you can create pressure with the four down linemen and then stunt with the outside and the inside backers and be able to maintain a man-to-man or run a cover 3 or man-to-man with your defensive backs, then you can be successful running a 4-4 defense. "Mike" is going to have that now, that, that, and that. "Will" has that, that, that, and that. "Buck" has this. "Buck" is the weak side backer. "Buck" has that and that. Corner has deep third. Nobody gets behind him. That, forcing everybody into the lane, always off the sideline into the lane, back into your teammates. Same thing here, all right. Corner is always forcing back into "Sam", okay? Free safety cheated up at around seven or eight yards, and checking for this first from the tight end who may try to get there somehow. So here's a collision or nobody gets behind him. If the flanker tries to go there or the receives goes there, free safety's always deepest. I don't recommend it for younger teams. I recommend it for more mature teams that have been playing together for awhile, the guys kind of have a feel for each other and know what they're going to do. But the key to the 4-4 is having athletes. You've got to have them to run this defense."