The Rage Of The 3-4 Defense

You can have the 3-4. I'll take my Giants, their 4-3 Defensive scheme, and their potent pass rush causing mayhem to QB's this year while other teams struggle to find the bodies to run the "trendy" 3-4.

Good point Matt, but when you look at the successful 3-4 defenses they all have a great NT, which Raji could be. The other teams, Broncos and Chiefs to name a couple, have decided to convert to the 3-4 but have no 3-4 NT prospects on their team. You're article is on the league trend toward the 3-4 and the lack of players that are available with the skill set to play it. How to go about building one of those defenses is very much a factor in the discussion concerning the 3-4.

Raji may or may not pan out but the point is that it is a step in the right direction as far as how to build a 3-4, linemen first. That's a mantra that gets thrown around a lot but when you are talking the 3-4 is is even more important.

One last thing to consider, and something I would like your opinion on, is what will happen to the successful 3-4 teams? With the lack of availability of the players how will they maintain their rosters? Will 3-4 specialists become overpriced? I doubt we will see a drop off next season but two or three years down the road how many teams will have subpar 3-4 defenses with a bad outlook on converting their defense to the new trend due to an abundance of specialists? Can ANY team switching to the 3-4 have success? Did any Tampa 2 converts manage that?

When teams install a 3-4 they sometimes find themselves reaching for tweener OLBs - converted DE's in college - some who can make the transition and some who can't.

Capers/Fangio 3-4 experiment in Houston was a total failure. Personnel was an issue there too with four straight years of terrible drafts and free agency.

Just because you say you're going to a 3-4 doesn't mean happy days are here again.

The coversion from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense will be a difficult transition in the first year for any team. For example, the Packers, all the guys on defense have played in the 4-3 for most of their careers. Even with knoledgeable coaches and added talent, I do not see the Packer defense performing up to par in the up coming season.

one unique defensive adjustments made by a team who use's a 3-4 came from the Patriots. It is interesting how the Patriots used various packages out of the 3-4 in the super bowl when they played the eagles.

The reason why teams change the system they use is because of what coache's have to use when it comes to the roster.

I think it is fine for teams to set their target as the 3-4 defense, but it would be foolish for them to make the switch without the proper players to play the scheme. What they should focus on is how to most effectively use the players that they have (or could have soon.)

Many people railed the Packers before the draft because they didn't have the players necessary to make the transition and play 3-4. What they didn't realize, and in some cases still don't realize, is that the Pack will likely employ more of a hybrid of the two defenses at least this year. To me, this seems the best way to go, rather than strictly one way or the other. This would allow a far greater degree of adaptability to the defensive personnel, and allow more adaptability to the offenses that the team would face.

Matt

Bill Belichick said that while the numbers of prospects at Outside Linebacker were there in the last draft, "they weren't long enough." They were a short group (6-1"-2") and although some of them played with good power and leverage, they didn't have the length he likes and that's why the Pats didn't draft anyone.

I was stunned. Is drafting for system such an exact thing that you discard position players based on body type alone?

Is he saying James Harrison couldn't play for us (the Pats)?

Anyway doesn't that suggest that there is a huge difference in what teams are looking for from thier LB's and there will continue to be enough prospects for those comitted to the 3-4?

I just can't believe Belichick feels that way, and maybe that's why the Pats struggle with team speed on defense, as they are disregarding adding more athletic and dynamic body types at Outside Linebacker, for really just stand up DE's.

You cant forget that defenses are developed in order to stop offenses. Many teams switch to the 3-4 because many offenses in the NFL run a lot of zone blocking schemes. The 3-4 messes up the zone blocking schemes and gives both linebackers and defensive lineman the ability to take away the cut back and force the runner to make a choice. Its true that passing is a huge part of the game today getting pressure on the QB is still the best way to disrupt the pass. Even most pass protection schemes have gone from man pass protection to a zone scheme which again the 3-4 with its flexablity disrupts. Once offences figure out a way to stop the 3-4 than we will move on to a new defensive scheme and the 3-4 will go the way of the tampa 2.