Quote:Then you'd definitely need a butt kicker at NT/DT to control everything inside. As I think about it, it seems a 4-4 approach to run defense with nickel personnel.
Against a spread/read option type offense, I can see the value of this approach.
But I would still be wary about this approach against a more traditional offensive attack.
Quote:ya a traditional Iform seems like the toughest thing for this formation to defend.
This is an issue that I was wondering about myself, but if you consider the personnel groupings that a modern NFL Offense will field, you can see that the Defense matches up with it very well. Let's consider the age old power running play, the "Iso". We'll go with the "22" package. When we see 22, we think about bears, but not that kind. We think B-E-R as in
Backs, Tight
Ends, and then
Receivers. Since we see 22, we know that the Offense is fielding two backs, with one of them being a dedicated Fullback, a double TE set, and one Wideout / Wide Receiver. They align like so:
------------------------------R
------------------------------F
-----Z-----------------------Q
---------------Y---T---G---C---G---T---X
----------------E-----T--------N--------E
----------SS---------------------------------WS
-----------------------M---------W
-------C-------------------------------------------C
------------------------------F
With this Offensive set, the 4-2-5 Defense aligns so that the Safeties are playing at an even more shallow depth than the LBs, and that's by design. Since they are outside of the tackle box, to the Offense they are what's known as an Invisible Force player. This is because they are not a part of the Offensive Line's "count" when they are assessing who to block, they are assigned to either a Tight End, or a backfield blocker. MIKE and WILL are the protected Defenders here, because they are at depth and are essentially stacking behind the Tackle and the Nose, respectively.
For a typical Iso play off of the Right Tackle, the Offense wants to get the Fullback up to the LB level and use him to pry open a lane in the Defense. Due to this idea, that the FB will handle the LB, this allows the Offensive Line to double team the T and have one of the blockers slip off to block WILL. This leaves the Tight End to block E, the Center takes Nose and the backside Guard cannot pull because he is covered up by the Nose playing in his inside gap.
Now! When the Fullback crosses the LOS, he has to make a choice; does he take the nearest defender, the SS and overwhelm him with the block? Or, does he take MIKE and assume that the WS will not make the tackle? Keep in mind that if he blocks WS, then he is leaving the more powerful defender go untouched to the tackle. Not to mention, who is blocking WILL? One thing to keep in mind here is that it is very difficult to block a Linebacker in space. It is, quite literally, the "can you hit a moving target" problem.
Now ask yourself this, how many teams out there field a roster with two blocking Tight Ends
and a fullback? I'm not all that aware of the answer to that because I'm really not all that inclined to go digging around all 32 team's rosters but I'd imagine that the amount is few and far between.
While every defense has a weakness, I feel like this one still provides the flexibility to match up against most any problem that the modern offense can throw at it. Provided that it is built with the proper players and coaches.