The Rage Of The 3-4 Defense
By Matt Bowen
www.nationalfootballpost.com
When we talk defense these days in the National Football League, it’s all about attacking the quarterback and creating turnovers — and the 3-4 front. Is it time to declare the 3-4 as the lead defense in the NFL, and if so, are teams going to be able to find enough talent to fill their rosters to fit the scheme? Today, we discuss.
The Rage of the 3-4
It doesn’t take a genius to see that the top two defenses in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, are 3-4 teams. They blitz, they attack, they run multiple coverages, they find ways to get to the quarterback — and they arrive angry.
Zone blitzes, man-to-man blitzes and zero coverage blitzes (no safety help in the middle of the field) where they send the house.
Yes, we can call this a “copy cat” league because every coach steals and emulates success. When I was with Gregg Williams in Washington — Gregg is now the defensive coordinator in New Orleans — we were a 4-3 front that brought pressure like a 3-4 team. And when we watched tape in the offseason and started to install our zone blitz package, guess who we watched?
You got it — Dick LeBeau and the Steelers. They are the source for blitzes because they run them perfectly, and LeBeau — who could be called the “Godfather” of the zone blitz — puts his players in position to make plays on the football.
Sure, Williams is still a 4-3 guy, but a lot of his blitzes — especially on third downs when he uses a three-man front in sub packages — come from LeBeau’s teachings and Steelers game film.
But as Williams and Jim Johnson of the Eagles (who we all hope is healthy and ready for the ’09 season) have stuck to the 4-3 and enjoyed success, many others have switched in the recent past and are building their defensive rosters to fit the 3-4 scheme, hoping to turn their units into newer versions of the Steelers and Ravens.
Just this year, Green Bay hired Dom Capers to run the show on defense. The Packers and GM Ted Thompson responded by using two first-round draft picks on defensive talent exclusively for the 3-4 front: DT B.J. Raji of Boston College and LB Clay Matthews of USC.
In Kansas City, GM Scott Pioli selected Tyson Jackson out of LSU with the third overall pick in the draft. Some thought Jackson was a reach at No. 3, but he fits the Chiefs’ 3-4 front at defensive end, and even though there’s talk that they’ll be a “hybrid” 3-4 front, there’s a reason they drafted Jackson so high — he fits their scheme.
But as we watch teams like Kansas City select 3-4 talent high in the draft, is it time to worry that the talent pool is about to dry up as teams search for the proper personnel to fit the 3-4 scheme?
The Lack of Players
Earlier in this decade, the Tampa 2 scheme was all the talk of the NFL. Personnel departments drafted and looked across the wire for defensive linemen who could penetrate gaps, get to the quarterback without bringing added pressure and keep offensive lineman off their linebackers, who were built like oversized safeties — players who could run sideline to sideline and break on the football in the passing game.
But this is 2009, and the Tampa 2 scheme might as well have a “going out of business” sign hanging on its doors because of the 3-4.
However, as one NFC general manager said to me this past week, there’s an issue now when it comes to finding the personnel to fit the 3-4. In the past, teams were able to wait until the second day of the draft to find linebackers who could rush off the edge in the 3-4 front because the scheme wasn’t in style, not enough teams ran it and clubs could find the proper talent late — sometimes very late in the draft.
But that can’t happen anymore because as more and more teams start to play this defense, the overall talent pool is becoming scarce, just as it did when teams were looking for Tampa 2 linebackers. Those second-day linebackers and defensive tackles are now going on the first day in the draft or commanding big-time coin on the free agent market — and the Tampa 2 defenders are having a hard time finding work
Also, it has prolonged the careers of some players like DEs Kevin Carter and Vonnie Holiday — two ideal fits to play the “5” technique in a 3-4 front. Yes, they’re at the end of their careers, but because of the number of teams running the 3-4, they are still in high demand.
As we can see, the NFL works in cycles, and the teams at the bottom — and even the teams in the middle — want to be like the teams at the top. The Steelers won a Super Bowl running the 3-4, and the Ravens played in the AFC Championship running the 3-4.
There will always be coaches like Williams and Johnson who can bring pressure out of the 4-3 front, but when we talk defense in the NFL today, it’s hard not to bring the 3-4 into the discussion and easy to forget about the Tampa 2.
Welcome to the future of the NFL defense — for now.
www.nationalfootballpost.com
When we talk defense these days in the National Football League, it’s all about attacking the quarterback and creating turnovers — and the 3-4 front. Is it time to declare the 3-4 as the lead defense in the NFL, and if so, are teams going to be able to find enough talent to fill their rosters to fit the scheme? Today, we discuss.
The Rage of the 3-4
It doesn’t take a genius to see that the top two defenses in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, are 3-4 teams. They blitz, they attack, they run multiple coverages, they find ways to get to the quarterback — and they arrive angry.
Zone blitzes, man-to-man blitzes and zero coverage blitzes (no safety help in the middle of the field) where they send the house.
Yes, we can call this a “copy cat” league because every coach steals and emulates success. When I was with Gregg Williams in Washington — Gregg is now the defensive coordinator in New Orleans — we were a 4-3 front that brought pressure like a 3-4 team. And when we watched tape in the offseason and started to install our zone blitz package, guess who we watched?
You got it — Dick LeBeau and the Steelers. They are the source for blitzes because they run them perfectly, and LeBeau — who could be called the “Godfather” of the zone blitz — puts his players in position to make plays on the football.
Sure, Williams is still a 4-3 guy, but a lot of his blitzes — especially on third downs when he uses a three-man front in sub packages — come from LeBeau’s teachings and Steelers game film.
But as Williams and Jim Johnson of the Eagles (who we all hope is healthy and ready for the ’09 season) have stuck to the 4-3 and enjoyed success, many others have switched in the recent past and are building their defensive rosters to fit the 3-4 scheme, hoping to turn their units into newer versions of the Steelers and Ravens.
Just this year, Green Bay hired Dom Capers to run the show on defense. The Packers and GM Ted Thompson responded by using two first-round draft picks on defensive talent exclusively for the 3-4 front: DT B.J. Raji of Boston College and LB Clay Matthews of USC.
In Kansas City, GM Scott Pioli selected Tyson Jackson out of LSU with the third overall pick in the draft. Some thought Jackson was a reach at No. 3, but he fits the Chiefs’ 3-4 front at defensive end, and even though there’s talk that they’ll be a “hybrid” 3-4 front, there’s a reason they drafted Jackson so high — he fits their scheme.
But as we watch teams like Kansas City select 3-4 talent high in the draft, is it time to worry that the talent pool is about to dry up as teams search for the proper personnel to fit the 3-4 scheme?
The Lack of Players
Earlier in this decade, the Tampa 2 scheme was all the talk of the NFL. Personnel departments drafted and looked across the wire for defensive linemen who could penetrate gaps, get to the quarterback without bringing added pressure and keep offensive lineman off their linebackers, who were built like oversized safeties — players who could run sideline to sideline and break on the football in the passing game.
But this is 2009, and the Tampa 2 scheme might as well have a “going out of business” sign hanging on its doors because of the 3-4.
However, as one NFC general manager said to me this past week, there’s an issue now when it comes to finding the personnel to fit the 3-4. In the past, teams were able to wait until the second day of the draft to find linebackers who could rush off the edge in the 3-4 front because the scheme wasn’t in style, not enough teams ran it and clubs could find the proper talent late — sometimes very late in the draft.
But that can’t happen anymore because as more and more teams start to play this defense, the overall talent pool is becoming scarce, just as it did when teams were looking for Tampa 2 linebackers. Those second-day linebackers and defensive tackles are now going on the first day in the draft or commanding big-time coin on the free agent market — and the Tampa 2 defenders are having a hard time finding work
Also, it has prolonged the careers of some players like DEs Kevin Carter and Vonnie Holiday — two ideal fits to play the “5” technique in a 3-4 front. Yes, they’re at the end of their careers, but because of the number of teams running the 3-4, they are still in high demand.
As we can see, the NFL works in cycles, and the teams at the bottom — and even the teams in the middle — want to be like the teams at the top. The Steelers won a Super Bowl running the 3-4, and the Ravens played in the AFC Championship running the 3-4.
There will always be coaches like Williams and Johnson who can bring pressure out of the 4-3 front, but when we talk defense in the NFL today, it’s hard not to bring the 3-4 into the discussion and easy to forget about the Tampa 2.
Welcome to the future of the NFL defense — for now.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:44 AM
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