Using the 46 Defense in Action! PC Football
Winning With the 1985 Chicago Bears
The 46 Defense
One of the most common questions out there about Action! PC Football is how a player can imitate the famous 1985 Bears’ “46” defense.
As you can see from this diagram, imitating this defense does not come naturally in Action! PC Football. There’s not really a good setting to get your defensive backs to line up off center, and the complex blitzing schemes that the Bears used in 1985 and 1986 aren’t exactly a default setting in the game.
However, thanks in large part to various old threads on the official forums, there is a solution.
Basic Setup
This screenshot shows a basic setup that will succeed in imitating the 1985 Chicago Bears defense.
Naturally, there is no “46” option on the left. Instead, stick the Bears in a 4-3 basic setup. Set the blitz options to “Auto Blitz.” Select either “Tight Man” coverage or “Short Zone” coverage, and don’t have any defensive backs deep; this will allow any player to potentially blitz on any down. Finally, keep a safety in run support. The forums tend to recommend using Fenick on run support instead of Duerson, which would likely require a manual change in personnel; you can play around with this on your own.
Why Auto Blitz
Now, if you’ve been reading my other posts, you know I’m not a fan of letting the computer call the shots. I want to be in control of all play calling. Why, then, allow the computer to select blitzers?
The truth is that you don’t really have to. You can select blitzers on your own. However, you’ll find that constantly changing the man matchups or moving around the zone will wind up costing you more time and effort than needed.
I think of using the auto blitz option in this sense as letting Mike Singletary make the defensive coverage decisions on the line. You can also think of it as letting Buddy Ryan make the decisions on the spot. Either way, you’re still in charge of the rest of the play call, and can double or key certain players to your heart’s content.
Variations
You can play around with a few variations as in-game situations change.
For example, you could try this variant in situations in which the computer is likely to pass:
Note that there is one deep zone defensive back, and that there is no safety in run support. If you have a safety in run support, Action will not allow you to play pass defense. This variant wil allow you to choose pass defense without destroying the concept behind the 46.
This is one idea for situations in which the Bears face 3 or more wide receivers. Again, we don’t have a free safety in run support because this is an obvious passing situation. It does mean that we leave ourselves open to draw plays and the like.
Finally, if you’re facing a modern offensive setup with a large number of wide receivers, you can always be stubborn and play with the basic 4-3 setup anyway. It’s dangerous since you don’t have enough coverage for all eligible receivers. However, depending on your opposition, you might find that the defensive pressure on the line is enough to overwhelm the quarterback anyway.
Weaknesses
The 46 defense works extremely well against the Pro Set offense. When played with the right personnel, it has the effect of shutting down the running game completely, and can provide overwhelming pressure to either force quarterbacks into awful throws or to result in sacks.
However, there are weaknesses.
If you’re facing a quarterback with a quick release and a good short passing game (like the Bears did when they faced Dan Marino and the Dolphins), the offense can simply pass over the top. This is particularly important to understand when playing with the 1985 Bears in “great team” leagues. If you simply rely on the same setup every down, your opponent will eventually discover that he can dump the ball off to the tight end or running back for large gains, especially when big blitzes come.
This setup also does not work well against modern offensive structures.
If you face the 1985 Bears and discover that you cannot run the ball, you might want to try a flurry of quick short passes right over the top of the blitzers. Your best hope is to have enough success that you stop the defense from blitzing so often, effectively buying time for your quarterback and setting up a possible long passing game.