{"id":1977,"date":"2017-09-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webinology.website\/nation2021\/power-of-the-4-3\/"},"modified":"2021-11-03T12:57:24","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T16:57:24","slug":"power-of-the-43","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coachup.com\/nation\/articles\/power-of-the-43","title":{"rendered":"Power of the 4-3"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Every defensive scheme has its strengths and weaknesses. The base 4-3, with four down lineman and three linebackers, is standard against stopping the run on first and second down. Each defender in this front has a gap assignment, in which the inside lineman take on a double team. The outside defensive ends set the edge, and the outside linebackers play the B and C gaps, depending on the strong side (side with the tight end). The outside backers can also rush the passer or drop into short coverage on passing plays. The middle linebacker is the playmaker in this setup, usually bigger and stronger than the other linebackers; his size and strength enables him to take on blockers and ball carriers. In addition, he must also be able to read the play presnap and drop into coverage occasionally.<\/p>\n<h4>Pros<\/h4>\n<p>The 4-3 is ideal in stopping both the run and the pass on early downs. The gap assignments are simple to read and the players have limited responsibility.<\/p>\n<h4>Cons<\/h4>\n<p>This defense has many holes for teams with short passing packages. In addition, mismatches can easily be created using a spread offense, as defensive ends and linebackers are lined up against speedy backs and slot receivers.<\/p>\n<p>As with any defensive alignment, the power of the 4-3 lies in the personnel. Athleticism up front and good awareness by linebackers is a must for this defensive scheme to work effectively. Coaches looking to maximize the 4-3 should look to adjust in passing situations and complex alignments by the offense.<\/p>\n<p><em>CoachUp is the safest and easiest way to find a coach for personalized training. With our 100% money-back guarantee and vetted coaches, anyone can achieve their full athletic potential.&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.coachup.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow noopener\" data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/www.coachup.com\/\">Find your perfect coach<\/a>&nbsp;today and become the athlete you want to be!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every defensive scheme has its strengths and weaknesses. The base 4-3, with four down lineman and three linebackers, is standard against stopping the run on first and second down. Each defender in this front has a gap assignment, in which the inside lineman take on a double team. The outside defensive ends set the edge, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":1978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,57],"tags":[1549,460,25,1244,1550],"class_list":["post-1977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coach-resources","category-football","tag-4-3-defense","tag-football-defense","tag-football-training","tag-getting-better-at-football","tag-how-to-defend-in-football"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Power of the 4-3 - CoachUp Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.coachup.com\/nation\/articles\/power-of-the-43\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Power of the 4-3 - CoachUp Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every defensive scheme has its strengths and weaknesses. The base 4-3, with four down lineman and three linebackers, is standard against stopping the run on first and second down. Each defender in this front has a gap assignment, in which the inside lineman take on a double team. The outside defensive ends set the edge, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.coachup.com\/nation\/articles\/power-of-the-43\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CoachUp Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/coachup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-05T04:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-03T16:57:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.coachup.com\/nation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/cropped-dreamstime_s_44413482.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"798\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"449\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kamal Walker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@coachup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@coachup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kamal Walker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coachup.com\\\/nation\\\/articles\\\/power-of-the-43#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coachup.com\\\/nation\\\/articles\\\/power-of-the-43\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kamal Walker\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coachup.com\\\/nation\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b0ee96d6ce174ada3caa854841650a1e\"},\"headline\":\"Power of the 4-3\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-05T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-03T16:57:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coachup.com\\\/nation\\\/articles\\\/power-of-the-43\"},\"wordCount\":303,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coachup.com\\\/nation\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coachup.com\\\/nation\\\/articles\\\/power-of-the-43#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coachup.com\\\/nation\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/cropped-dreamstime_s_44413482.png\",\"keywords\":[\"4-3 Defense\",\"Football Defense\",\"Football Training\",\"Getting Better At Football\",\"How To Defend In Football\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Coach Resources\",\"Football\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coachup.com\\\/nation\\\/articles\\\/power-of-the-43#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coachup.com\\\/nation\\\/articles\\\/power-of-the-43\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coachup.com\\\/nation\\\/articles\\\/power-of-the-43\",\"name\":\"Power of the 4-3 - 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