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***phocis850*** · 01-18-2011, 10:41 AM

I think this is possibly a must for us to do. Our DL is getting no penetration with 4 guys up front. If we bring in a big fatty then we could practically have the same thing as this season except we'd have an extra body that could cover the middle of the field. I like this because this league is pass happy, not to mention that our DL draft picks seem to go no where.

RFlagg · 01-18-2011, 11:24 AM

(01-18-2011 10:41 AM)phocis850 Wrote: I think this is possibly a must for us to do. Our DL is getting no penetration with 4 guys up front. If we bring in a big fatty then we could practically have the same thing as this season except we'd have an extra body that could cover the middle of the field. I like this because this league is pass happy, not to mention that our DL draft picks seem to go no where.

I've thought about this and think it could work. The way I see it, we make our down linemen Babs, Jerry, and Peters and then we shift both Abe and Beirmann to Linebackers, allowing Weatherspoon and Lofton to roam the middle.

ggp · 01-18-2011, 11:35 AM

The league-wide trend is to switch to the 3-4. We have seen this for the past three seasons. This is simply a response to offenses getting pass-happy. Of course the league recognizes that fans are more entertained by the passing game, so passing will become more and more important.

Back to your point. We appear to have nearly all we need to make the switch to the 3-4. The only missing piece would be the big lane clogger in the middle. However, on closer examination, I think that Smith, Van Gorder and TD have been drafting 4-3 all along. The drafting of Weatherspoon should be the clearest indication that our FO wants to move to three quick LB's dropping back into coverage. I could be wrong but I don't think that we will go to the 3-4.

cnasty · 01-18-2011, 11:37 AM

We certainly have the personnel for it, IMO. Watch us go 3-4 and JA98 make 4 straight pro bowls. That'd be friggin hilarious.

DawnOfThemBirds · (This post was last modified: 01-18-2011 12:26 PM by DawnOfThemBirds.)

If we did switch to the 3-4, we would have to draft a 3-4 linebacker because Weatherspoon would be a ilb alongside Lofton in this scheme. But if Biermann or Sidbury excel as 3-4 linebackers would be great. The only problem is that I'm not sure how Abraham would react or would he want to play in a 3-4 system.

Red Falcon · 01-18-2011, 12:30 PM

meh, I don't think so. There are teams out there that don't excel in the the 3-4 such as the Cardinals.... I guess that's only one team, that I can think of anyway. Giants seem to get good pressure in the 4-3. Saints rum a 4-3 and they are okay defensively. We just need to get better players I think.

AsylumGuido · 01-18-2011, 12:34 PM

The Cowboys ran Phillips' 3-4 this year and looked bad. Cleveland and Buffalo also used the 3-4 and weren't terribly impressive. It is really based more on personnel than scheme.

ChrisD · (This post was last modified: 01-18-2011 12:54 PM by ChrisD.)

I think it could work. I don't think we would have to draft another linebacker. We have the depth (Right now, maybe a mid-round Linebacker.) We have Nicholas, Lofton, Peterson, and Spoon. Couple that in with Biermann having experience as a linebacker, and having the speed to play that position, and I think we could actually make a switch like that on defense work. My worries is about the line at that point. Abraham would definitely fit the scheme. Not because he's big, but because he's so strong. We won't have to worry about the middle. But could we even get a big enough guy for the 3-4 DE position? Certainly Anderson could probably pull it off in the 3-4 and be somewhat average I suppose.

No reason why we couldn't. I've been having these thoughts since we drafted spoon. But at the same time, I think we stay 4-3. That's the scheme Smith likes, that's the scheme we keep.

Here's a thought. .

Why can't we run somewhat of a mixed defense? I see a couple teams run a 4-3 that have 3-4 packages. We could DEFINITELY pull that off for sure. And it would be effective too. Come out with Biermann looking like a 4-3, but then shift our line, Biermann drops, and we have a 3-4 before the ball is snapped.

Dyoshot · 01-18-2011, 12:56 PM

I don't think Abraham will have any interest in playing in a 3-4. I'm sure some of our guys will excel in that like Lofton (will be a BEAST in that scheme) and JA98, but we still would need several pieces for it to work. We need a big mammoth NT that we don't have right now. Also some DE/OLB pass rushers as well. Finally, I think a change to the 3-4 may require a coaching change, DEFINITELY a coordinator change at the very least.

DawnOfThemBirds · (This post was last modified: 01-18-2011 01:08 PM by DawnOfThemBirds.)

(01-18-2011 12:56 PM)Dyoshot Wrote: I don't think Abraham will have any interest in playing in a 3-4. I'm sure some of our guys will excel in that like Lofton (will be a BEAST in that scheme) and JA98, but we still would need several pieces for it to work. We need a big mammoth NT that we don't have right now. Also some DE/OLB pass rushers as well. Finally, I think a change to the 3-4 may require a coaching change, DEFINITELY a coordinator change at the very least.

A 3-4 scheme doesn't necessarily need a mammoth NT, The Cowboys NT Jay Ratliff is just barely 300 pounds(if that much) and was ( along with Ware) one of the only consistent productive players for their defense during the season and is one of the best DTs in the NFL.