The Power Of The 3-4 Nose Guard

If you have followed me long enough you would have picked up that I am mainly a 4-3 defensive guy. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t dabble in other defenses as well. The 3-4 defense has been one that has caught my attention throughout the years ever since the Madden 07 last gen Cover 2 playbook. When you talk about the 3-4 the 1st position that you need to talk about is the Nose Guard (going against popular belief of the weak OLB being the most important player).


The NG in the 3-4 Normal is lined up directly over the center. Also when you add in the fact that the 3-4 has 5 men on the Defensive Front you can obtain many 1 on 1 opportunities for your lineman. What that means is that if your NG is a force he will consistently best the center making it a long day for any running game inside the tackles seeing as the NG can play tackle to tackle from his center alignment.

You can have him rush straight down or slant him to the strong side of the offensive formation it doesn’t really matter. Just know that this player will raise hell if used correctly. Ravens and Steelers are notable teams that have defensive lineman who are more than capable to play the NG spot