3-4 defenses growing on the NFL By LYNN DEBRUIN

[CrazyCowboy]

3-4 defenses growing on the NFL

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]By LYNN DEBRUIN
Scripps Howard News Service
14-SEP-05 [/font]



Joe Collier remembers the artificial turf and one of his stars being carried off the field.

And he remembers the timing being about as bad as it could be _ the first play of the first game of the 1976 NFL season.

But something that could have torn up the defense as badly as Lyle Alzado's knee proved to be just the opposite.

"Instead, it was a blessing in disguise," Collier said.

He was talking about the switch to the 3-4, a defense that, as the Denver Broncos' defensive coordinator, he had installed in training camp that summer but hadn't planned on using on a regular basis.

Suddenly, faced with a shortage of defensive linemen after Alzado's injury in the season opener at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, Collier went to Plan B _ three linemen and four linebackers.

"Our first year, we came on pretty good, then we came on like gangbusters," he said of an Orange Crush defense that carried the Broncos all the way to Super Bowl XII after the 1977 season.

Nearly 30 years later, Collier, one of the early 3-4 gurus, watches with pride, because the scheme is back in vogue in the NFL.

As many as 10 teams will use it at least in some form this season.

Three more teams _ San Francisco, Cleveland and Dallas _ switched to the 3-4 this season, and two others _ Miami and Denver _ are expected to use it at least on a limited basis.

New England and Pittsburgh have confused offenses with the 3-4 for years. Houston has also used it for several seasons, and San Diego switched to it in 2004 after Wade Phillips was hired as Chargers defensive coordinator.

Oakland also switched to the 3-4 last season, but there is uncertainty as to what extent the Raiders will use it in 2005.

No one has been more successful using the 3-4 than the Patriots, whose coach, Bill Belichick, learned the defense in his one season in Denver (1978) as a defensive assistant under Collier.

"That was a great experience for me, working with Joe," Belichick said before Super Bowl XXXIX. "It was my first real exposure to the 3-4, and the way that Joe played the 3-4 was a lot different than the way we played it in New York (under Bill Parcells) a couple of years later."

Belichick said there were both philosophical and fundamental differences.

While the copycat nature of the league is a big reason so many teams are going to the 3-4, another has to do with free agency and the salary cap.

Finding 11 dominant players on defense is growing more and more difficult. The 3-4 allows a team to cover up for a player who might not be as good a cover guy or run stopper.

"Variety is what the 3-4 can give you," Collier said. "You can play the 3-4 without having superstars, so to speak, in the defensive line."

Proponents of the 3-4 love the system's versatility and the unpredictability it presents opposing offenses.

In the 4-3, offenses pretty much know where the pressure is coming from _ the four down linemen.

With the 3-4, the fourth rusher could be any one of those four linebackers.

That's one way to combat today's sophisticated passing attacks, with multiple formations and intricate routes, because a fourth linebacker allows a defense to better disguise its blitzes and coverages.

Though the 3-4 has given fans flashbacks of the '70s, one can trace its roots to the late '40s and legendary University of Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson.

Collier said he used a form of the defense in the mid-'60s when he coached in Buffalo, having seen it during spring scouting missions to college campuses.

But back in 1976, the Miami Dolphins _ outside linebacker Bob Matheson led Bill Arnsparger's vaunted "No-Name Defense" _ was the only other NFL team using it.

A majority of NFL teams went to the 3-4 in the 1980s, but by the mid-'90s, Pittsburgh was the only team still using a pure 3-4.

Mike Nolan, first-year coach of the San Francisco 49ers, said a big reason for the resurgence of the 3-4 is that the guys teaching it know it.

Several coaches who used the 3-4 as defensive assistants or coordinators are now head coaches.

New Browns head coach Romeo Crennel, the Patriots' defensive coordinator under Belichick and a former assistant under Parcells in New York, took it with him to Cleveland. Nolan took it from Baltimore to San Francisco. And Nick Saban, a former assistant under Belichick, took it to Miami.

"Some of it is belief," said New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, who uses a 4-3 base but switches to a 3-4 often. "A lot of guys who have gone through Pittsburgh believe in that system more than anything else. It's been very good to them. The Patriots, it's been very good to them also."

Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, like Collier, isn't so sure the 3-4 will be every team's bread-and-butter.

"I think it's cyclical," Cowher said. "There are a couple more teams that are going to do it. We'll see how long people stay with it. It's one thing to make the change; it's another to stick with it."



TEAMS TO WATCH WITH THE DEFENSE THIS SEASON

Cleveland: Romeo Crennel is the Browns' new coach. As the defensive coordinator in New England, he won three Super Bowls in four years using the 3-4.

Dallas: Bill Parcells has preferred the 3-4, and the Cowboys' addition of nose tackle Jason Ferguson and first-round pick DeMarcus Ware, a defensive end, should help them make the transition.

San Francisco: Mike Nolan ran a 3-4 in Baltimore and now brings the scheme to the Bay area. Julian Peterson typifies the essential outside linebacker in the 3-4 _ quick, yet strong enough to engage an offensive tackle, cover a tight end or running back, and rush the passer.

San Diego: The Chargers switched in 2004 and drafted two players this year specifically to play the 3-4 _ University of Maryland linebacker Shawne Merriman and Northwestern defensive tackle Luis Castillo.

Oakland: The Raiders implemented a 3-4 in 2004, and many believed players like Warren Sapp were miscast in it. Time will tell if the Raiders go back exclusively to the 4-3 or mix in the 3-4, especially after drafting linebacker Kirk Morrison.

Denver: The Broncos have some of the quickest linebackers in the league but probably will use it only in third-down situations.

Miami: New coach Nick Saban has said the Dolphins will use the 3-4 about 15-20 percent of the time this season, with Jason Taylor exhibiting the size and quickness that could make him just as dangerous as an outside linebacker as he is at defensive end.

Pittsburgh: No team has used the 3-4 longer than the Steelers, who have been running it almost continuously since the early 1980s and have turned players like Kevin Greene, Joey Porter and Greg Lloyd into perennial Pro Bowl selections.

New England: Bill Belichick used a hybrid of the 3-4 to win three Super Bowls, and his ability to fluctuate between it and the 4-3 has spawned copycats. Houston: Dom Capers ran the 3-4 as Steelers coordinator and then as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. His linebacking corps this season is younger and faster and seemingly perfect for the 3-4, but it's also

 

[Eddie]

All this 3-4 love will be dead in a few years. O's will get it figured out again, and we'll be right back to the 4-3 for another decade before another 3-4 revival starts.

Same cycle.

Heck, we may even see a return of the Split Wing Offense. ha ha

 

[junk]

"That was a great experience for me, working with Joe," Belichick said before Super Bowl XXXIX. "It was my first real exposure to the 3-4, and the way that Joe played the 3-4 was a lot different than the way we played it in New York (under Bill Parcells) a couple of years later."

How and why? I'd love some detailed information on how one team can implement the 3-4 different than another.

Proponents of the 3-4 love the system's versatility and the unpredictability it presents opposing offenses.

In the 4-3, offenses pretty much know where the pressure is coming from _ the four down linemen.

With the 3-4, the fourth rusher could be any one of those four linebackers.

I hate this too. Again, super vague. I have heard it all offseason. I'd love someone to get into the nitty, gritty details of why that is so much harder to diagnose.

A well designed 4-3 can disguise its blitz as well. Especially if you have a Ware/McGinest/Peppers type that can be effective in a zone blitz. You have one less LB, but anyone of those guys could blitz as well.

I personally think its only real advantage is that teams just don't see it as often. People like to say that you can get by with less talented players on the DL, but look at the successful 3-4 teams. They aren't doing that. They are adding first round picks to play the position.

I still think the talents of your team should dictate your scheme. Its a copy cat league though and people are impressed with the success of NE. It is interested that NE is going to more four man fronts now due to the talent of their DL.

 

[WoodysGirl]

I know NE are the poster children for the 3-4 renaissance, but I think they are going to use more 4-3 this season than they ever have. I've seen more and more media folks remark about the fact they no longer have the depth in their LB corp, for whatever reason (Bruschi injured, T. Johnson retiring). But their d-line depth is much better than it has been. And when they played Oak, they played more 4-3 than 3-4.


And this is not to knock the 3-4 or 4-3, but it goes back to what folks were saying before OUR transition. It's all about personnel. They don't have the talent in the LB as much as they do in the DL.

 

[VACowboy]

How and why? I'd love some detailed information on how one team can implement the 3-4 different than another.

Parcells was asked before Sunday's game if practicing against the 3-4 all the time gave the Cowboys an advantage and he said not really because Wade Phillips' 3-4 was very different than Dallas' 3-4. I'd like to hear more about that too.

A well designed 4-3 can disguise its blitz as well. Especially if you have a Ware/McGinest/Peppers type that can be effective in a zone blitz. You have one less LB, but anyone of those guys could blitz as well.

Right. You can disguise a blitz regardless of your defensive scheme, but in the 3-4 you're gonna blitz every down if you want to bring four pass rushers. In the 4-3 you only blitz if you want to bring more than four. Traditionally, teams like to get pressure with four players so they can drop safeties into coverage. In the 4-3 it's pretty much always the front four. In the 3-4 it's the front three plus one of four linebackers which could be coming from anywhere. Now, I know you can do zone blitzing from a 4-3 set, drop a DL into coverage and blitz a corner, but it's not an every down thing, not even close, not like a LB blitzing every down in the 3-4.

I personally think its only real advantage is that teams just don't see it as often. People like to say that you can get by with less talented players on the DL, but look at the successful 3-4 teams. They aren't doing that. They are adding first round picks to play the position.

I don't think it's as much that you can get by without as talented players in the 3-4 as it is you can get by without dominating pass-rushing D-linemen. It's easier to find excellent pass rushers the size of DeMarcus Ware than it is Bruce Smith. In the 3-4 your NT and ends need to occupy linemen, not explode to the quarterback. Linebackers are the guys getting into the offensive backfield in the 3-4, and it's easier to find great linebackers than great DEs. At least, that's how I understand the theory.

I still think the talents of your team should dictate your scheme. Its a copy cat league though and people are impressed with the success of NE. It is interested that NE is going to more four man fronts now due to the talent of their DL.

I agree, to a point. A coach comes in, looks at his personnel and builds a scheme to fit the players he has. But once a scheme is implemented, the coach makes moves in the future to acquire talent that fits his scheme. Bruschi is out and the other guy retired, so their LB core has gotten kind of thin. Belichik (sp) doesn't have a lot of choice.

I think the idea that teams are switching to the 3-4 because of NE isn't exactly true as a generality. Parcells decided to go with a 3-4 defense because the Dallas 4-3 got torched last year and the 3-4 is what he knows. San Fran is switching because it's the system it's new coach knows. The same can be said for Cleveland. NE has never used a pure 3-4 anyway, far from.

 

[junk]

Parcells was asked before Sunday's game if practicing against the 3-4 all the time gave the Cowboys an advantage and he said not really because Wade Phillips' 3-4 was very different than Dallas' 3-4. I'd like to hear more about that too.

I agree, to a point. A coach comes in, looks at his personnel and builds a scheme to fit the players he has. But once a scheme is implemented, the coach makes moves in the future to acquire talent that fits his scheme. Bruschi is out and the other guy retired, so their LB core has gotten kind of thin. Belichik (sp) doesn't have a lot of choice.

I think the idea that teams are switching to the 3-4 because of NE isn't exactly true as a generality. Parcells decided to go with a 3-4 defense because the Dallas 4-3 got torched last year and the 3-4 is what he knows. San Fran is switching because it's the system it's new coach knows. The same can be said for Cleveland. NE has never used a pure 3-4 anyway, far from.

All very good points.

 

[BARRYRAY]

I think the secret to Dallas and NE is their abilty to chamilion to either one, its the mutiple looks that gives people fits and as injuries come and go ala NE it allows them to do what their current personnel that week allows them to do. Dallas has actually managed to get decent not great at zone coverage as well. I know our zone looked horrible for parts of preseason but it was part of learning. What you will see better this week is our blitz, it was work in progress last week but I feel it, Brunel is like molasses, Roy or Ware might just get him to the IR, Ramsey may be back sooner than -planned, just my feeling.