The 4i-shade: Pros and cons

What is it, and how does a defense use it?

The New York Giants were blessed with excellent defensive tackles in recent memory. Damon “Snacks” Harrison, Leonard Williams, B.J. Hill, and Dalvin Tomlinson are former Giants who recently represented the organization well when donning blue.

Dexter Lawrence remains a Giant and is one of the most dominant defensive players in the NFL. Lawrence is correctly heralded for his unique ability to generate pressure from the nose tackle position (directly over the center).

Since 2022, Dexter Lawrence has had 103 pressures from the nose tackle position alone. The next closest player is Tampa Bay Buccaneer Vita Vea with 23 pressures. However, Lawrence isn’t and wasn’t always exclusively used as a nose tackle.

According to Pro Football Focus, Lawrence aligned as a nose tackle or a 1-shade (aligned on the shoulder of the center) a collective 305 times under James Bettcher and Patrick Graham (2019-2021). In his first season with Wink Martindale in 2022, Lawrence aligned 660 times at the nose or 1-shade.

Bettcher used Lawrence at the nose or 1-shade much more than Graham. I detailed all this background to review the position Lawrence occupied under Graham, which is a nuisance to block — the 4i shade.

Graham ran a lot of hybrid fronts but used a lot of 4i-shades; here is a refresher on the techniques:

The 4i-shade

The 4i-shade aligns on the inside shoulder of the tackle. It’s common in TITE fronts and is typically employed against spread teams when the defense aims to eliminate explosive passing plays with two-deep safeties. Martindale often utilized TITE fronts but would move Lawrence inside to the nose, whereas Graham would use him more frequently at the 4i-shade. But why?

Pros

The 4i-shade is a nightmare for guards to block if the tackle is occupied with an EDGE rusher. It’s a full gap away from the guard, and the thought of stopping a player as big and powerful as Dexter Lawrence from that angle is a nightmare altogether.

The 4i alignment shuts down the B-gap and doesn’t require the linebackers or the safeties to be aggressive with their run fit. Remember how good Blake Martinez was in 2020? Much of that was due to his skill set, of course, but the alignment in front of him allowed Martinez to operate with more liberty. He could more frequently discern and attack, rather than prioritizing the B-Gap, since the 4i (Dexter Lawrence) was clogging that avenue.

Offenses love to attack the B-Gap in the run game. The 4i-shade is great against inside zone rushing teams and DUO, for the angle is more difficult for the COMBOs to land effectively; couple this with the possibility of a blitzing linebacker and tackles having to worry about EDGE rushers, and miscommunications can happen, especially with less experienced offensive linemen.

The difficulty in forming double-teams also gives the linebacker more freedom and time to locate the ball-carrier and better position themselves before a climbing lineman can separate on the line of scrimmage — again, it’s an advantage for the linebacker, who can diagnose and fill with an easier path.

The 4i-shade also fits nicely into modern two-high defenses since controlling the line of scrimmage with fewer bodies is a necessity. The box can be “lighter,” and the defense doesn’t necessarily have to be even or win the mathematical run advantage due to the annoying nature of the 4i-shade.

Cons of 4i-shade

The 4i-shade is not conducive for pass-rush wins unless it is paired with a twist/stunt. The body types of the 4i-shade are also hard to locate. A lighter defender or one who can’t anchor down or win with strength could be a liability that is easily exposed. Players like Aaron Donald (who aligned everywhere), Christian Wilkins, Greg Rousseau, Zach Sieler, and Kenny Clark, as well as Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne when they were together in Washington, are quality 4i-shades that offered their defense a gap-and-a-half ability.

4i-shades need to have length/strength, understand leverage, be disciplined run defenders, and be quick enough to slant when pass rushing; these types of defenders do not grow on trees, and 4i-shades who are exposed lead to defensive gashing versus the run.

Final thoughts

Dexter Lawrence is a freakish football player who would be an elite 4i-shade. However, he’s also an elite nose tackle — pick where you want him to play. The 4i-shade is a run-stopping, gap-control alignment that hinders the offense’s ability to attack the B-Gap. It’s a critical way to steal gaps and stop the run with lighter boxes, and many defensive coordinators around the NFL utilize it.