The 4-3 Under - 2 Man Under is a great base defense to play to stop the run, the pass, and bring some serious heat after your opponent. For this MA tip write-up we are going to take this basic defense and turn it into an intense blitz with just a few quick adjustments before the snap. One of the aspects of this play that we really like is he fact that we have two deep safeties to prevent our defense from getting beat over the top. Also, we've designed the 2 Man Under with just a five man pass rush, providing you with plenty of defenders to cover the field.
Quick Setup
Step 1 - Shift the linebackers to the left (XBOX - Black button + left / PS2 - R1 + left).
Step 2 - Playmaker the left outside linebacker to blitz (XBOX / PS2 - right analog stick + down).
Step 3 - Manually move the left outside linebacker next to the strong defensive tackle.
Step 4 - (optional) Manually stack the remaining linebackers behind members of the defensive line to help stop the run.
Figure 1 - In this picture you can see the defensive assignments before we have made any of the neccessary pre-snap adjustments. This play is your basic man to man defense with two safetes playing deep. Fortunately, we can take this basic defense and turn up the heat in a hurry.
Figure 2 - Check out the defensive assignments in the image above now that we have set the pressure to come up front. We have manually moved the left outside linebacker next to the tackle. Unfortunately, this movement can be a dead giveaway to the offense of where the pressure is coming from after the snap. To help better disguise the pressure we would definitely recommend using the option step 4 mentioned in the quick setup above.
Figure 3 - Notice in this image that we have used all of the quick setup steps to provide us with the best possible coverage and pressure after the snap. Also, against this particular formation the tight end is now the open receiver because we have manually blitzed his defender. What you may want to do with the open receiver is either playmaker the strong safety to play man to man against him, or attempt to manually guard him yourself. Take a look at figure 4 for a closer view of the line of scrimmage.
Figure 4 - In this image you can see exactly where we like to place the blitzing left outside linebacker. Now we are ready to begin the play.
Figure 5 -Immediately after the snap the defensive tackle, the left defensive end, and the blitzing left outside linebacker create and overload on the right side of the offensive line. Many people will suspect that the pressure from this play is coming from the left side of the field because you have 8 defenders in this area. This is exactly what we want them to believe.
Figure 6 - The right guard and right tackle are forced to engage with the defensive tackle and left outside linebacker, allowing our left defensive end to come off the edge ublocked.
Figure 7 - The quarterback takes one last look downfield before the defensive end punishes him in the backfield.
Figure 8 - The defensive end records the sack and the offense is forced to punt it away.
Final Conclusion
The 4-3 2 Man under flipped is an ideal play to run when combining a solid pass rush with solid coverage. However, as with any defense, there is a weakness. The main weakness this defense has is stopping running plays to the right side of the field. Be sure to manually guard slightly towards the right side of the field before the play begins. Then, once you realize that your opponent is not running the ball begin moving deeper downfield to help cover elsewhere. You will find more success when using this defense against passing situations. The bottomline is this play will wreak pure havoc for your defense, espescially if you have solid defensive ends.
