Defensive Lines “Techniques” and “Gaps”

In 2000, a 3 technique Defensive Tackle by the name of La’Roi Glover had a whopping 17 sacks which is an incredible number for a DT. In fact only one Defensive Tackle in the history of the NFL had a better season sacking the QB from that position, Keith Millard who did it with the Minnesota Vikings, recording 18.5 sacks in 1983.

Today we are going to look in depth at the Defensive Lines “Techniques” and “Gaps” with very basic diagrams and some insight from La’Roi Glover himself.

First, lets’ take a look at the diagram and explain a basic 4-3 assignment.

As you can see, on either side of the Center is the A Gap. For the Defensive counterpart it is known as the 1 Technique defensive tackle. The inside shoulder of each Guard is still in the A Gap but is known as the 2 Technique. The space between the Guards and Tackles is called the B Gap, the inside shoulder is known as the 3 Technique while the outside is the 4 Technique. The 5 Technique is the outside shoulder of each tackle.

I asked La’Roi what was the key to constant pressure on the QB?

“DT of course. With a good push, the QB will get flushed to the other guys. Also depends on the scheme.”

What position along the line did you enjoy the most?

“I loved the 3tech. Outside shoulder of the guard. I’m able to use my quickness more effectively from here.”

So that got me thinking , why is everyone seemingly switching to a 3-4 and eliminating a DT and what does that do to the DT’s that played in a 4-3?

“(It’s a)copy cat league. With the success of Pitt, New England, and teams like Baltimore, that scheme is HOT right now. Most 3tech play end”

Which leads us to the other style of defense that we are going to look at, the 3-4.

In the 3-4 a Defensive Tackle is removed and an extra linebacker is added. The only remaining moves to the Nose Tackle position over the center. The ends in a 3-4 play a 5 Technique. The idea and concept behind the 3-4 is to diguise the blitz so it’s unknown where the 4th rusher will be coming from. As La’Roi mentioned, teams like Pittsburgh, New England, Baltimore (which plays a 5-2 mostly) have been very successful using this defense and now more and more teams are switching to it.

I do want to mention however that a team that will go down in history as a great pass rushing team, the 2007 New York Giants, used a 4-3 defense. They had wonderful ends in Michael Strahan, Jason Tuck and Osi Umenyiora.

The bottom line is that the NFL is a league won and lost with the turnover battle. A proven way to create turnovers is to force the QB into making quicker decisions and to disrupt the flow of the offense. Teams have found recent success using the 3-4 alignment that disguises where the 4th pass rusher will come from. Defensive lineman that are big enough, strong enough and fast enough to play different techniques along line add versatility for a Defensive Coordinator to mix up the playcalling. In the end, it doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as it gets done.