3-4?

On the b10 preview show they mentioned us showing some 3-4 looks. Could we be slowly moving to a 3-4 base? I don't think we will use it very much this year, but with the plethora of bigtime linebackers we continue to sign, not to mention the massive DTs we brought In last year it sure makes sense. If we continue to bring in these types of players Why not? As a coach you want the best athletes on the field and tweak your schemes to get the most out of your personnel. Maybe this is a stretch, but I'm so damn excited I need something to discuss. 3-2-1 Go!

everyone laughed at me when i brought this up. look at the d-lineman we recruit/have been recruiting. all are 3-4 linemen, not d-ends or rush ends.

zaire anderson will be rushing the passer alot this year as an end.

Is it a true 3-4, or the spinner package?

http://brophyfootbal...ner-update.html

I would guess spinner, with the 4-3 still used. The DT's we recruited like Curry, Williams, Rome, and Peat are not true 3-4 NT's and are more so meant for gap responsibility.

Did A&M run a 3-4 when they had Von Miller making all of those plays in the backfield? That's immediately what I think of when I hear 3-4 for some odd reason.

Mills said:

Did A&M run a 3-4 when they had Von Miller making all of those plays in the backfield? That's immediately what I think of when I hear 3-4 for some odd reason.

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yes

I doubt Bo runs the 3-4 as more than a specialty package (e.g. the Spinner). I think we're heading towards what USC ran under Carroll with the hybrid DE/LB which allowed them to run a base 4-3 with elements of the 3-4 without changing personnel. Bo essentially did the same thing with the Peso as a LB/DB hybrid running the 4-3 with elements of the 4-2-5.

RedDenver said:

Mills said:

Did A&M run a 3-4 when they had Von Miller making all of those plays in the backfield? That's immediately what I think of when I hear 3-4 for some odd reason.

Click to expand...

yes

I doubt Bo runs the 3-4 as more than a specialty package (e.g. the Spinner). I think we're heading towards what USC ran under Carroll with the hybrid DE/LB which allowed them to run a base 4-3 with elements of the 3-4 without changing personnel. Bo essentially did the same thing with the Peso as a LB/DB hybrid running the 4-3 with elements of the 4-2-5.

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I ahve always been a big fan of the 4-2-5 defense, allows alot of athletes to be on the field at the same time. Bama runs a versoin of a 4-2-5, especially on 3rd down when they would put Hightower and Upshaw in three point stances with CJ Mosley and Nico Johnson running wild.

I would guess we don't use it very often this year. I would guess it might be something we see more next season with a few extra LBs have experience. But never say never.

I brought this up back in January. See below.

http://www.huskerboard.com/index.php?/topic/57382-nu-moving-to-a-3-4-defense/page__hl__3-4+defense__fromsearch__1

ccm420 said:

everyone laughed at me when i brought this up. look at the d-lineman we recruit/have been recruiting. all are 3-4 linemen, not d-ends or rush ends.

zaire anderson will be rushing the passer alot this year as an end.

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I laughed at you because you said we were going to switch to it. Its going to be a special package, not a base D, used more on 3rd down situations. Zaire, Santos, and then VV at NT. Im guessing it will depend on how well they pick it up and how well the coaches trust them, if we will see it run alot. VVs going to be the second coming of Vince Wilfork, a gap plugging run stopping machine.

this is probably being put in for more spread type teams ( mich, osu) the big ten is starting to lean more towards more spread teams. i think bo probably feels more comfortable with this defense than any other because he is the one who perfected it. and all the stud lbs that have been recruited lately are probably/hopefully bo's answer to the mobile qb problem we have had in the past

We've had some success running that spinner package. If I remember correctly, we used it pretty effectively against Missouri. Did we use it last year, though? I don't remember seeing it a lot, if at all.

It would not surprise me if we use a base 4-3, like always, but use the 3-4 in certain situations. Although I worry about linebacker depth and who would be a true nose tackle. It's also easy to get a 3-4 confused with a 'Spinner' package, which is essetnailly the same 'look' but with different personel and pressure/schemes.

We have NEVER ran a 4-2-5 under Bo, with the exception of when we played @ Texas Tech in 2008 and lost in over-time. That was a 'true' 4-2-5. A 'true' 4-2-5 consists of: 4 down linemen, 2 linebackers, 2 corner-backs, 1 free safety and 2 strong safeties. The Strong Safeties are near the line of scrimmage next to the linebackers and align outside of them near the line of scrimmage and the Free Safety is the ONLY safety in the backfield. A single high look.

Bo likes to keep the consistent two high look: 4-3, Spinner, Dime, Peso, Nickel, 3-4, etc. Very rarely do we go with a Single high look. But all coaches can adapt new philosophies so we will see.

A 4-2-5 would get killed by a strong running attack. Although there are exceptions [TCU vs. Wisconsin], that is generally not something you would want to run against a bigger powreful running team. A 4-2-5 is great against spread/passing teams as a base though which is why we ran it against Tech in 2008. Our personel for that game was probably better than anything else we had.

The Peso defense we ran in 2010, was a nickname speically for Eric Hagg who was the Peso Back, but it was a Nickel package designed around Hagg's strengths. Peso is just another word for Nickel with the exception that the Nickle Back was not an oridnary Nickel Back, Hagg could do it all. You could argue Hagg played like a strong saftey and linebacker all in one, and he was a heck of a player for the scheme Bo and co. built around him.

Bo likes the word Multiple. He said that he wanted to be more multiple on defense last year but couldn't be. With the secondary improved a lot, or so we've heard, I expect to see different packages for different situations/downs/teams.

We might see a 3-4 in a passing down where we need some heat, or maybe even a Spinner package against Ohio State or even a 5-2 against Wisconsin. Okay probably not a 5-2, but I would like to see that scheme go up against Wisconsin.

The bottom line is: Bo was multiplicity. We might see it this year on defense. More blitizng, different packages, better rotations and more depth. At least that's what I hope for.

ccm420 said:

everyone laughed at me when i brought this up. look at the d-lineman we recruit/have been recruiting. all are 3-4 linemen, not d-ends or rush ends.

zaire anderson will be rushing the passer alot this year as an end.

Click to expand...

I am not sure you understand what a 3-4 lineman is.

Zaire Anderson sure as heck wouldn't be a 3-4 lineman. If he were going to be a 3-4 pass rusher it would be from the outside linebacker spot. Jared Crick is a 3-4 end right now. A lot of 4-3 defensive tackles play end for 3-4 teams in the league. 3-4 ends are big huge guys and 3-4 nose tackles are even huger. You then get that fourth man in the rush from one of the LB spots. Whereas in a 4-3, you rely on the ends to rush.

Although the spinner package sounds sort of like a 3-4, doesn't it? Three DTs, two stand-up defensive ends. I think there is a reason why it isn't our base defense though.

Nice rundown, druski.

Man, Hagg really was a special player. He might not get as much credit as he deserves. He could do it all.