Index
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Formations
There are five defensive formations and a Special Teams formation that lets you pick various punting and kicking coverages. Different defensive formations allow different defensive coverages that you can call depending on the situation. For strategies detailing when to call plays out of specific formations, see the "Defensive Strategies" section.
A good offense is showy, but without a good defense your games will turn into shootouts where whoever has possession last, wins. A good offense will win you a few games, but defense wins championships. One of the keys to running a successful defense is knowing which formation and which kind of defensive play to call in a given situation. Following are explanations of when to use specific formations and types of plays.
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4-3 and 3-4
The 4-3 and the 3-4 are typical base formations. Whether your base is a 4-3 or 3-4 is largely a matter of your team's personnel. Teams with stronger down linemen than linebackers run a 4-3; teams with stronger linebackers than defensive linemen run a 3-4.
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Nickel
A Nickel formation is used in obvious passing situations (such as fourth and long). Using a Nickel package adds speed to your overall defense, but can leave holes in your run defense.
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Dime
Dime coverages are only used when passing is your opponent's only option, such as fourth and long or when they need lots of points in a hurry. With a Dime formation, you also have the option of running some aggressive safety/cornerback blitzes because there are extra defensive backs in the formation to take up the slack.
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Goal Line
Use this formation in short yardage situations only (5 yards or less), and as the name suggests, only near the goal line. You can put a serious damper on an opponent's running game with this formation, but you're one good pass play away from giving up a TD.
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