How to pass rush from a 4i
Hello and welcome to another edition of the D-Line Examples newsletter. My name is Craig, and each week I humbly tackle reader questions about how to coach and play defensive line. If you have any questions DM me on my Twitter and in return, I’ll offer actionable real-world advice.
How to pass rush from a 4i
We play 3-4 defense and my guys pass rush from a 4i a ton. They’ve unfortunately been struggling with getting pressure though. Any best practices?
Many teams at the high school, college and pro level are using 3-4 concepts in their defenses. I can see why. 3-4s give you flexibility with play calling and are great at making QBs 2nd guess their decisions.
In passing situations though, 3-4 defenses can put your defensive line in a tough position. Rather than getting up field and threatening their opponent (seen below)…
…they have to work diagonally to their rush responsibility to make sure to keep a balanced rush.
This puts your D-Line in a tough position to get pressure and affect the quarterback.
That’s why today I’ll be going through step by step how to pass rush from a 4i-technique so your D-Line can get pressure no matter what alignment they’re in.
Rush responsibilities
Before I get into the different techniques your D-Line can use, let’s cover what are the rush responsibilities in a “Tite” front.
So, with any pass rush attack, you want to make sure you have a balanced rush that corrals the QB so he can’t escape the pocket.
To do this, have your 4is level rush and give your nose a 2-way go on the center.
Below are explanations on what exactly a level rush and a 2-way go is…
⚖️ Level rush
The responsibility of the level rusher is to aggressively rush from the edge without letting the QB break contain. The level rusher does this by making sure he doesn't rush past or beneath the upfield shoulder of the QB.
2️⃣ 2-way go
This objective of the 2-way go rusher is to win the 1-on-1. You can do this by rushing in either A-gap, but make sure to not get washed by the QB.
Great now you know the rush responsibilities in a Tite front and can move onto the technique.
🪝The hook technique
The Ends have the toughest job of any rusher in an “Tite” front. They are responsible for level rushing from a 4i.
Because the blocker has outside leverage on them, it’s just about impossible to threaten the outside edge with pure speed.
So rather than using pure speed, you need to play cat and mouse with a technique I call “the hook”.
To execute a hook all you’ll need to do is…
🔫 Threaten the B-gap
♣️ Club back outside
↪️ Turn the corner
Threaten the B-gap
The first step is to make the tackle believe you’re rushing the B-gap. So keep your head down and take a few steps toward the B-gap to make him believe that’s where you want to go.
Club back outside
Once your opponent commits himself to defending the B-gap, use your outside arm to club his shoulder and work back outside toward your responsibility, the C-gap.
Turn the corner
Finally, dip your shoulder, point your toe and throw a rip to make sure you stay at the level of the quarterback and don’t get pushed too high.
Now, if you have multiple rushes from a 4i against the same opponent they may start catching onto what you’re doing. That’s where you want to mix in the spear technique.
🔱 The spear technique
The spear technique is a close relative to the hook technique and should be used in tandem with it when rushing from a 4i multiple times in a game.
Here are the steps you should follow to execute a spear technique…
🔫 Threaten the C-gap
👨🏻🤝👨🏿 Rush the tackle then the guard
⬆️ Get vertical
Threaten the C-gap
For the spear technique to work, you need to widen the B-gap. To do this take a few aggressive steps outside to the C-gap.
Rush the tackle then the guard
The key here is to rush one man at a time (the tackle first and then the guard) so you don’t get stuck in the B-gap and open up a scramble lane for the QB. To do this flip your hips toward the man you’re rushing. Then, once you defeat him, flip your hips to the 2nd opponent.
Get vertical
Once you defeat both the tackle and then the guard, get to the level of the QB by rushing vertical.
That’s all for this week!
And whenever you are ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
Learn how to turn your D-Line into a block destruction machine here (1,100+ students)
Learn how to develop top tier pass rushers and a lethal pass rush attack here (1,000+ students)
-Craig