3-4 Bear – Pinch Dog 3

For this Madden Plays video breakdown, we show how to get A – Gap pressure from the 3-4 Bear – Pinch Dog 3. The setup we show requires just three pre-snap adjustments, making it an easy defense to run.

Play Diagram:

Playbooks Found In:

• 46
• Buccaneers
• Cardinals
• Dolphins
• Giants
• Jets
• Packers
• Patriots
• Ravens

Note: based on Madden 21 default playbooks.

Default Assignments:

Note: assignments are from the offensive side view of the ball.

Quick Set-Up:

1. Base Align if the strong safety is not dropping into 3Rec Hook (yellow zone).
2. Slant the defensive line out.
3. Move the FS down closer to line of scrimmage (optional).

Coaching Points:

1. The pressure is designed to come from the blitzing strong safety.
2. If your team has an elite pass rusher, consider moving to the right outside linebacker position.
3. By moving the free safety down closer to line of scrimmage, we can watch for the short passes over the middle, plus watch to see if a receiver runs a vertical route down the seam. If one does, then we have cover that vertical receiver.
4. If offense is down inside your 10-yard line, then you don’t have to worry about the vertical threat.
5. The 3-4 Bear – Pinch Dog 3 shown in the breakdown, only has five defenders dropping into pass coverage.
6. In the video, we move our fastest defensive back into the strong safety position. This substitution allows us to get quicker pressure on the quarterback.

Video Breakdown:

Final Thoughts:

The 3-4 Bear – Pinch Dog 3 is designed to bring A Gap pressure, but it the coverage behind the blitz is suspect. Much like any other defensive blitz setup, it requires mixing in other defenses from the 3-4 Bear, but with the same setup to be successful.

For real football X’s O’s check out sister site X’s O’s Football.com.