3-4 Defense

the one thing im worried about is chick and green are not good at getting to the QB now what will you do when they get more double teams
 
Advertisement
I like the 3-4 at the pro level. As a matter of fact, both of my teams (Redskins and Ravens) use it masterfully. There are so many things you can do to get pressure. At the pro level, guys are mature enough to learn various exotic blitzes.

At the college level, your hands are sort of tied because you are working with student-athletes, not professional athletes where they can look at film all day, master the playbook and do not have to worry about classes. Plus, you need a good NT to take pressure off of the LBs. The good ones like Wilfork do not grow on trees, also guys of high caliber tend to go elsewhere. You guys already know our problems in getting any type of DTs let alone elite ones.
 
Last edited:
3-4 should be an improvement on our 4-3 with bonds, figs, grace, Muhammad, kumula, and McCord!

Yeah, our outside players looks good: DE/OLB hybrids.

But what about up the middle? No big DT or ILB depth.

Porter is plenty big enough. The current personnel is better suited for a 3-4 imo.

IMO, you can't make a change like this relying on Porter. Kid has played what, 6 games the last 2 years. With that said I would still like to see us mix defensive looks far more regularly and hope that we can with another year of experience for most of these pups.
 
I think it'll be a good change of pace. I would absolutely hate to see us rely on the 3-4 exclusively, but throwing it in the every once in a while to mess with the other team's O-line should be good.
 
the one thing im worried about is chick and green are not good at getting to the QB now what will you do when they get more double teams

Getting to the QB is not really the job of the DL in a 3-4, this pretty common knowledge. That is more of the OLBs job, think Suggs here, we have bunch of those on our roster in Bond, McCord, and to a lesser extent AQM and Holliet.
 
Advertisement
Wouldn't Chick be a solid DE in a 3-4? I don't really know the answer to this so I'm asking you guys that know defensive schemes inside and out. It seems like he's big enough to hold down the position and quick enough to still get a little bit of a rush to the QB. Thoughts?

If we had Chick, Luther Robinson, Jelani, and Shayon Green at DE and Porter, Earl Moore?, Ivery, and whoever else at DT plus AQM, Bond, McCord, etc as the OLB wouldn't that be a pretty solid mold? ILB would obviously be Figs, DP, Blue, Kirby, Grace, and Gaines. (Definitely forgetting players all around the board here just did this off the top of my head.

Tell me if this would work cause I dont know lol.

You just have your three best linemen on the line, that's how it works. You have Porter, Chick, and maybe Robinson or Pierre. Chick is a little small, but he's young too. A true junior, right?

You have your nose in the middle stuffing the run on each side of him, and then you have two smaller "tackles" or ends if you want to call them that. Grimble, Hamilton, I have to think these guys were recruited to play end in a 3-4.

Either way, if he's small to play end in a 3-4, then he's small to play in a 4-3. You still have to cover the same gaps. That's what people miss. How do you think all these NFL teams are switching between 3-4 and 4-3 every year? It's true the player requirements are a little different, but it's blown way out of proportion.

Nonsense. When you play 3-4, your 4-3 DTs shift over the tackles and a NT is over the center.

Your 269 pound DE, Chickillo, is way too small for the 3-4 DE spot.

The responsibilities of the positions can be drastically different. Warren Sapp is a HOF 3tech DT. But he was terrible in the 3-4. Players who excel at both are extremely rare IN THE NFL, let alone in college.
 
Wouldn't Chick be a solid DE in a 3-4? I don't really know the answer to this so I'm asking you guys that know defensive schemes inside and out. It seems like he's big enough to hold down the position and quick enough to still get a little bit of a rush to the QB. Thoughts?

If we had Chick, Luther Robinson, Jelani, and Shayon Green at DE and Porter, Earl Moore?, Ivery, and whoever else at DT plus AQM, Bond, McCord, etc as the OLB wouldn't that be a pretty solid mold? ILB would obviously be Figs, DP, Blue, Kirby, Grace, and Gaines. (Definitely forgetting players all around the board here just did this off the top of my head.

Tell me if this would work cause I dont know lol.

You just have your three best linemen on the line, that's how it works. You have Porter, Chick, and maybe Robinson or Pierre. Chick is a little small, but he's young too. A true junior, right?

You have your nose in the middle stuffing the run on each side of him, and then you have two smaller "tackles" or ends if you want to call them that. Grimble, Hamilton, I have to think these guys were recruited to play end in a 3-4.

Either way, if he's small to play end in a 3-4, then he's small to play in a 4-3. You still have to cover the same gaps. That's what people miss. How do you think all these NFL teams are switching between 3-4 and 4-3 every year? It's true the player requirements are a little different, but it's blown way out of proportion.

Nonsense. When you play 3-4, your 4-3 DTs shift over the tackles and a NT is over the center.

Your 269 pound DE, Chickillo, is way too small for the 3-4 DE spot.

The responsibilities of the positions can be drastically different. Warren Sapp is a HOF 3tech DT. But he was terrible in the 3-4. Players who excel at both are extremely rare IN THE NFL, let alone in college.

You're describing the difference between a two gap and a one gap system, but not all 3-4's are the old "double bubble" two gap. Remember, the 3-4 and 4-3 are just formations, you can handle gap responsibilities in many ways with either system. It's been that way for years.

Bill Parcells' 3-4 is great, but it's not the only variation out there. So even though that's what you probably saw the Dolphins do, there are other ways to run a 3-4. You can absolutely have one or all of your linemen playing one gap.

My take - when D'Onofrio says we want to be "multiple" it means we're going to play a more modern hybrid system. Chickillo could absolutely play in a 3-4.
 
I think it'll be a good change of pace. I would absolutely hate to see us rely on the 3-4 exclusively, but throwing it in the every once in a while to mess with the other team's O-line should be good.

I think they've always stated they want the defense to be multiple, and with the players we have brought in this seems to make sense. Remember we will likely be in the nickel and dime a lot anyway with teams that run the spread.
 
Wouldn't Chick be a solid DE in a 3-4? I don't really know the answer to this so I'm asking you guys that know defensive schemes inside and out. It seems like he's big enough to hold down the position and quick enough to still get a little bit of a rush to the QB. Thoughts?

If we had Chick, Luther Robinson, Jelani, and Shayon Green at DE and Porter, Earl Moore?, Ivery, and whoever else at DT plus AQM, Bond, McCord, etc as the OLB wouldn't that be a pretty solid mold? ILB would obviously be Figs, DP, Blue, Kirby, Grace, and Gaines. (Definitely forgetting players all around the board here just did this off the top of my head.

Tell me if this would work cause I dont know lol.

You just have your three best linemen on the line, that's how it works. You have Porter, Chick, and maybe Robinson or Pierre. Chick is a little small, but he's young too. A true junior, right?

You have your nose in the middle stuffing the run on each side of him, and then you have two smaller "tackles" or ends if you want to call them that. Grimble, Hamilton, I have to think these guys were recruited to play end in a 3-4.

Either way, if he's small to play end in a 3-4, then he's small to play in a 4-3. You still have to cover the same gaps. That's what people miss. How do you think all these NFL teams are switching between 3-4 and 4-3 every year? It's true the player requirements are a little different, but it's blown way out of proportion.

Nonsense. When you play 3-4, your 4-3 DTs shift over the tackles and a NT is over the center.

Your 269 pound DE, Chickillo, is way too small for the 3-4 DE spot.

The responsibilities of the positions can be drastically different. Warren Sapp is a HOF 3tech DT. But he was terrible in the 3-4. Players who excel at both are extremely rare IN THE NFL, let alone in college.

You're describing the difference between a two gap and a one gap system, but not all 3-4's are the old "double bubble" two gap. Remember, the 3-4 and 4-3 are just formations, you can handle gap responsibilities in many ways with either system. It's been that way for years.

Bill Parcells' 3-4 is great, but it's not the only variation out there. So even though that's what you probably saw the Dolphins do, there are other ways to run a 3-4. You can absolutely have one or all of your linemen playing one gap.

My take - when D'Onofrio says we want to be "multiple" it means we're going to play a more modern hybrid system. Chickillo could absolutely play in a 3-4.

Our defense is a combo of the PSU 4-3 of the 80s and 90s, and the Bill Parcells 3-4 that Groh had Golden use at UVA.

So yes, it's the 2 gap system in the 3-4.
 
Advertisement
Advertisement
Back
Top