Bear Front — The 46 Defense's Pressure Look
Three down linemen covering all three interior O-line gaps. A primer on the Bear and how modern defenses use it.
The Bear front (sometimes called 46 after Buddy Ryan's '85 Bears) puts a defensive lineman head-up on the center and both guards. That covers all three interior gaps with one body each, leaving no double-team for the OL to win and no easy down-block angles.
The trade-off is that you've used three of your front-seven on the interior, so the secondary often has to play single-high coverage to cover everyone. That's a target for spread offenses with vertical threats.
Where modern defenses use Bear: as a third-down change-up against gun-empty looks, or as a goal-line answer to compressed sets. The pressure it generates without blitzing is the value — when paired with a soft cover-1, it forces the QB to hold the ball without giving up free releases.