3-4 Defense.

Terry O'Keefe · Sep 28, 2010

I hadn't realized how many NFL teams were now running the 3-4 defense. It's almost half the league!

Nothing's hotter in the NFL right now than the 3-4 defense. A few seasons ago, five or six teams used the 3-4. This year, 15 are employing the look -- Ticonderoga-class nose tackle, two big defensive ends whose first assignment is to strip blockers, four quick linebackers whose job is to make the plays.

Dom Capers installed a 3-4 at Green Bay last season and immediately improved the Packers' defensive stats, from 20th overall in 2008 to second overall in 2009. (See below for more on Capers.) Last season ended with four of the top five defenses showing a 3-4. That got the league's attention, and this season the 3-4 is everywhere you look. Such defenses are the toast of sports talk. Brian Burke of Advanced NFL Stats asserts that if you adjust for differences in personnel, the 3-4 makes your team 4 percent more likely to win. That's one extra victory every two seasons -- and NFL owners would pay millions of dollars for an extra victory every other season.
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3-4 Defense

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3-4 Defense.

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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3-4 Defense.

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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