3-4 Defense
- Thread starter adc7236
- Start date
Offspring2099
Four-Star Recruit
zoogs
Assistant Coach
Well, in a 3-4 it would be Turner, Suh, Steinkuhler? Does Steinkuhler as a DT make more sense and have one of Potter/Allen duke it out for the other end spot?
I like our starting LBs, but how much depth do we have there? Ruud, McKeon, and Octavien are good, and we'll add Dillard in a 3-4 I'm sure. But what about the guys coming in behind them? We've got Brandenburgh and Lawrence, the only two I know of...I'm sure there are others, but I don't feel like we have the kind of linebacker depth needed to pull off a 3-4.
I like our starting LBs, but how much depth do we have there? Ruud, McKeon, and Octavien are good, and we'll add Dillard in a 3-4 I'm sure. But what about the guys coming in behind them? We've got Brandenburgh and Lawrence, the only two I know of...I'm sure there are others, but I don't feel like we have the kind of linebacker depth needed to pull off a 3-4.
adc7236
Starter
I don't know but am hopeful. I am more concerned about our linemen. If they are not big and strong enough...we may get tore up or overwhelmed with a strong running team or great blocking schemes. I am by no means a defense resident expert, thats why I was soliciting other thoughts.
zoogs
Assistant Coach
Here's another (crazy) thought: what about 3-3-5? 
Bring back Culbert to the D, and we have Steinkuhler-Suh-Potter with a lot of depth behind them (Potter, Allen, Sievers at end, Jensen, Barfield, Johnson, Dixon at DT to name a few guys who might factor in)...then for LBs, we've got our Ruud-McKeon-Octavien with a fair amount of depth as well, and we introduce a third safety. With all the safeties we have, would that be bad? Thenarse, Asante, and Culbert are just the younger guys, we still have Wilson and Green. Plus we'd get to use our personnel creatively, as Asante is a fierce hitter and there was mention of Culbert possibly being able to play linebacker; one of our safeties could play a flexible pseudo-LB type role.
Anyway, just hypothesizing.
Bring back Culbert to the D, and we have Steinkuhler-Suh-Potter with a lot of depth behind them (Potter, Allen, Sievers at end, Jensen, Barfield, Johnson, Dixon at DT to name a few guys who might factor in)...then for LBs, we've got our Ruud-McKeon-Octavien with a fair amount of depth as well, and we introduce a third safety. With all the safeties we have, would that be bad? Thenarse, Asante, and Culbert are just the younger guys, we still have Wilson and Green. Plus we'd get to use our personnel creatively, as Asante is a fierce hitter and there was mention of Culbert possibly being able to play linebacker; one of our safeties could play a flexible pseudo-LB type role.Anyway, just hypothesizing.
BIGREDIOWAN
Mods
I think it could work, but we may give up a little bit more on runs obviously. I think our LB's are good enough although we DO lack some depth there.
bethelbacker
Special Teams Player
IMO we have the STARTING personnel to handle a 3-4 very well. Our backers, if utilized with the right blitz package out of the 3-4, could create havoc all over the field. And up front, the starting 3 of Suh, Potter, and Turner could handle it. But anybody who has played football at a higher level knows that D-linemen need frequent breaks, particularly when they are in a 3-4 and are having to take on multiple blockers nearly every play. So while we could run it in certain passing situations, I think our front would tire too quickly for it to be used more than 25% of the time.
SOCALHUSKER
Starter
I really like that idea. The more speed on defense the better. Why not go back to having a rover/linebacker hybrid position, filled by a hard hitting safety, who could play both the run and the pass!! I don't think having another linebacker out there in the 3-4, no matter how talented he is, is going to solve our coverage problems. Sure, we might dominate running teams up front but we need someone with DB experience to shore up the defensive backfield.
SOCALHUSKER
Starter
It would be nice to have that linebacker in for blitz packages though. The more pressure we could create the less we have to rely on the DB's to hold coverage. (Maybe Shanle might have even been able to cover somebody then :angry: )
bethelbacker
Special Teams Player
The ideal thing would have Asante step into a hybrid position that can disguise coverages and use as a decoy in blitzing situations (have him fake blitz and drop off into the flats, only to have a backer blitz into the adjacent gap, etc). I'm excited to see what Asante is capable of.
interesting. what i think i hear folks saying is it is time for Coz to mix it up, get creative and use some schemes to confuse the offenses and get some fresh bodies rotating in and out of the game. i honestly think Coz will be under a tremendous amount of pressure this season to produce turnovers and sacks. he better be up to the challenge.
husker rob
All-American
personally i didnt like it last year when Coz switched up to the 3-4. i didnt think that the defense played especially well, and didnt get any pressure on the QB either
bethelbacker
Special Teams Player
Good point, but I think what that might have to do with is preparation time spent working and actually using the formation. When they did run it, it looked like they hadn't spent enough time in it to be comfortable with their assignments. Then again, it's not like I was at the practices, so this is all speculation.
SOCALHUSKER
Starter
Whatever Coz decides to do, he definitely needs to be more aggressive. Aggressiveness causes turnovers and turnovers create points. We need to quit playing the guessing game and force teams to play our way.
adc7236
Starter
I think there are a lot of great points made so far but mixing it up seems to be the biggest plus. With the
3-4, we may keep the QB guessing a bit more pre-snap ie....where is the fourth rusher coming from.