re: The 3-4 defense traditionally relies in a dominant NG

Wade Phillips and a few other DCs in the NFL employ a 3-4 under or shade alignment, where instead of having the big space-eating NT playing heads up over the center in a zero technique with two-gap responsibility, you have a lighter but quicker tackle play off one shoulder of the center in a one-tech, one-gap role. In the first, the NT ties up a couple of blockers. In the second, the NT can get gap penetration. This means the ILB to the other one gap side has to be more ready to take on that blocker.