46 defense

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The 46 defense is an American football defensive formation, an eight men in the box defense, with six players along the line of scrimmage.^[1] There are two players at linebacker depth playing linebacker technique, and then three defensive backs. The 46 defense was originally developed and popularized with the Chicago Bears by their defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, who later became head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals.

Unlike most defensive formations that take their names from the number of defensive linemen and linebackers on the field (i.e. the 4–3 defense has 4 linemen and 3 linebackers), the name "46" originally came from the jersey number of Doug Plank, who was a starting strong safety for the Bears when Ryan developed the defense, a role typically played in the formation as a surrogate linebacker.^[2][3]

The 46 defense is most effective against the two back, two wide receiver sets that many teams commonly used in the 1980s. However, the defensive formation has been rarely used in professional and college football since then as offenses have adapted to use multiple receiver and spread formations to counteract the 46.^[4]