What is the differance, personell wise, between the 3-4 and the 4-3 defense (1 Viewer)

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St4ever

St4ever

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I was hoping some of the football guru's could shed some lite on the difference personell wise that makes up these defenses. some thoughts that cross my mind are,

would a 3-4 defense make some of our linebackers better, are some of them better suited for the 3-4?

would certain defensive line men be better suited for the 3-4 over the 4-3?

does the 3-4 help out the defensive backs or is that area a moot point in a change.

I know I have read many post that has stated we do not have the personell for the 3-4 but right now our defense sucks and needs to be overhualed anyway. I was just wondering if a change may make some of our players better then they are now, like maybe charles grant or hollis thomas or even a linebacker.

would anyone be willing to breakdown our defense and how our players would or would not fit into the scheme.

It just seems like our best defense was when we ran a 3-4. man I miss those days.
 
Well to run the 3-4 you have to have 4 good LB'ers(Swilling, Mills, Jackson, Johnson)....and 3 down linemen that can get pressure on the QB in case you want to use the 1 or 2 of the ILB'ers in coverage. Yeah back in the day we did have 4 great LB'ers :)
 
I love the 3-4, but we don't have the personnel for it. In the 3-4, the front defensive linemen have size and take up blockers, allowing the linebackers to make plays. The outside linebackers are usually the main pass rushers.

Grant is a 3-4 end. Will Smith is not--he's a 4-3 end--and would have to move to an outside linebacker slot if he could make that transition. For a 3-4 defense, assuming Smith could transition to outside linebacker, we would need two more linebackers, an end, and most important a nose tackle to anchor the line.
 
RJ in Lafayette said:
I love the 3-4, but we don't have the personnel for it. In the 3-4, the front defensive linemen have size and take up blockers, allowing the linebackers to make plays. The outside linebackers are usually the main pass rushers.

Grant is a 3-4 end. Will Smith is not--he's a 4-3 end.
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This is true.

I'd also add that we can't find one good MLB so I don't think we nn to use a defense which requires two.
 
RJ in Lafayette said:
~~Grant is a 3-4 end. Will Smith is not~~
Click to expand...
i think at one time that might have been true, but i'm not so sure now... smith is what, 285? i think both our DEs are better suited in a 34 then 43, personally... i also don't know if fujita is strong or fast enough to play OLB in a 34, cause he'd be up against the LT a lot of times... but i have hopes that mitchell would be a good ILB in a 34... so assuming we went to a 34 (and we'd need more overall speed on D to do this) we'd have to move shandle or fujita inside next to mitchell, sign players like the DE from ohio state for OLB, and somehow get our safeties to play up to their athletic ability

all of this assumes we went to a 34 with our present personnel and thru the draft
 
I'd also add that we can't find one good MLB so I don't think we nn to use a defense which requires two
HA HA HA :) You got that right!!
 
basilisk said:
i think at one time that might have been true, but i'm not so sure now... smith is what, 285? i think both our DEs are better suited in a 34 then 43, personally... i also don't know if fujita is strong or fast enough to play OLB in a 34, cause he'd be up against the LT a lot of times... but i have hopes that mitchell would be a good ILB in a 34... so assuming we went to a 34 (and we'd need more overall speed on D to do this) we'd have to move shandle or fujita inside next to mitchell, sign players like the DE from ohio state for OLB, and somehow get our safeties to play up to their athletic ability

all of this assumes we went to a 34 with our present personnel and thru the draft
Click to expand...

Its not just size but skill set.

The primary pass rushers in a 4-3 are the OLBs, in a 4-3 its the DEs.

3-4 interior lineman are mostly supposed to take up space and occupy blockser so the LBs can make the play. In a 4-3 the DEs especially are often expected to be the playmakers.

If we to switch to the 3-4, Hollis Thomas would make a good 3-4 NT and Charles Grant would make a good 3-4 DT. Believe or not Will Smith would be moved to OLB(and told to drop about ~15 pounds), and we'd probably keep Fujita as the other OLB. I'd imagine we'd have Clancy/Lake as the other DT. 3-4 ILB isn't that diffierent from 3-4 MLB,. but considering how weak we are at MLB finding 2 ILBs would be a deal breaker. We could move Funita inside but would need to find an SLB, and we'd need someone who is a good pass rusher.
 
Truthfully, we don't have the LB's to run any defensive scheme successfully right now, but i've always been intrigued by the design of the West Virginia 3-3-5 defense.

It's the only scheme i've ever seen that really gives you the option to blitz anywhere between 3 and 8 guys and it's nearly impossible to plan for.
 
in the 3-4 your personal is a 2 de's who are normally dt's in a 4-3, they are usually 290 plus, you have a nose guard who is really strong, your olb's are bigger than most lbs and are usually 4-3 de's, the right ilb is a weakside lb and the leftside is a mike lb
 
SuperSaint said:
Truthfully, we don't have the LB's to run any defensive scheme successfully right now, but i've always been intrigued by the design of the West Virginia 3-3-5 defense.

It's the only scheme i've ever seen that really gives you the option to blitz anywhere between 3 and 8 guys and it's nearly impossible to plan for.
Click to expand...


I have been curious myself if we would not be better off running a cover 3 style defense..........it seems to fit the personnel better
 
The 3:

2 DEs that weigh between 290-310 lbs; guys that would usually play DT in a 4-3.
The Prototype: Richard Seymour.
The draft prospects: Glenn Dorsey, Sedrick Ellis

1 NT that usually weighs 330+ lbs. Good ones that can hold up for the whole game are a commodity; that's why guys like Ted Washington and Keith Traylor had such long careers.
The Prototype: Jamal Williams
The Prospects: These guys are a rarity. None stick out this year unless someone gains some weight.

The 4:

2 ILB. Same build as 4-3 MLBs. Must be versatile enough to play the run and drop back into coverage. Ironically, I think Simoneau could be a pretty good TED LB in a 3-4. The TED typically drops back and plays the pass over the middle and cleans up whatever is left behind by the MIKE in running situations.
The Prototype: Donnie Edwards (who's now in a 4-3 in KC)
The Prospects: James Lauriaitis, Jonathan Goff, J Leman, Brandon Miller

2 OLB. THIS is where it gets tricky. You're looking for guys who are 250-275 lbs. You need pass-rushing specialists bigger than 4-3 OLBs yet smaller than 4-3 DEs. These guys are often referred to as "hybrid" linemen in draft circles. Typically they play DE in college, but are considered to small to play DE in most schemes in the NFL.
The Prototype: Shawne Merriman.
The prospects: Vernon Gholston, Lawrence Jackson, Shawn Crable (who also makes a great prospect in a 4-3.)
 

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