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[SIZE=+2]Purdue becoming 3-4 pipeline for NFL
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]02:22 PM CDT on Monday, April 21, 2008
[/SIZE]
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/sports/columnists/mugs/mug_rgosselin.jpg
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"Tweener" was not a desirable tag for a defensive player in 2001.
Only one NFL team was playing a 3-4 defense then, which limited the draft market for undersized college ends. So it was Pittsburgh or bust for those tweeners – players too small to play end in the NFL and not quite fast enough to be linebackers.
But football is a game of cycles, and it's swinging back to the 3-4 scheme as the decade winds down. The number of 3-4 defenses has increased from four in 2003 to eight in 2005 to 10 next season.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/football/nfl/draft/
The Steelers led the NFL in defense in 2007, the third time in four years a 3-4 scheme has finished on top. In addition, San Diego led the NFL in sacks in 2006 and takeaways in 2007.
The 3-4 relies on the linebackers to provide pressure on passing downs, which is why all the 3-4 teams have made the trek to Purdue during this draft process.
The NFL knows Cliff Avril can rush the passer. He led the Boilermakers in sacks with 6½ as a 6-3, 253-pound end last season. He'd be overmatched physically at end in the pros – but the NFL already knows he can make the transition to linebacker.
The NFL has already seen it three times over. Three Purdue defensive ends have been drafted in the last nine years – Rosevelt Colvin by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round in 1999, Shaun Phillips by the Chargers in the fourth round in 2004 and Anthony Spencer by the Cowboys in the first round in 2007 – and all were converted immediately to linebackers.
Colvin posted 10½ sacks in back-to-back seasons for the Bears in 2001-02 and won two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots in 2003 and '04. Phillips hit double figures with 11½ sacks in 2006 and reached the AFC title game with the Chargers last season. Spencer collected three sacks as a rookie in 2007.
"The fact that I played with some of those guys and know their abilities, I feel I can compete with them," Avril said. "The fact that they’re succeeding is a great thing because I feel I can go do the same thing."
Avril has one edge over the other three: Linebacker would not be new to him. He spent his first 2½ seasons there at Purdue before moving to end midway through his junior year.
His position may change again in the NFL, but not the role.
"If you're a good pass rusher, it doesn't matter if you're at defensive end or linebacker," Avril said. "If you have the skills, you'll get to the quarterback."
Other college ends in the draft who might face a switch to linebacker include Chris Ellis of Virginia Tech, Bryan Smith of McNeese State, Kroy Biermann of Montana and Hilee Taylor of North Carolina.
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]02:22 PM CDT on Monday, April 21, 2008
[/SIZE]
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/sports/columnists/mugs/mug_rgosselin.jpg
• E-mail
"Tweener" was not a desirable tag for a defensive player in 2001.
Only one NFL team was playing a 3-4 defense then, which limited the draft market for undersized college ends. So it was Pittsburgh or bust for those tweeners – players too small to play end in the NFL and not quite fast enough to be linebackers.
But football is a game of cycles, and it's swinging back to the 3-4 scheme as the decade winds down. The number of 3-4 defenses has increased from four in 2003 to eight in 2005 to 10 next season.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/football/nfl/draft/
The Steelers led the NFL in defense in 2007, the third time in four years a 3-4 scheme has finished on top. In addition, San Diego led the NFL in sacks in 2006 and takeaways in 2007.
The 3-4 relies on the linebackers to provide pressure on passing downs, which is why all the 3-4 teams have made the trek to Purdue during this draft process.
The NFL knows Cliff Avril can rush the passer. He led the Boilermakers in sacks with 6½ as a 6-3, 253-pound end last season. He'd be overmatched physically at end in the pros – but the NFL already knows he can make the transition to linebacker.
The NFL has already seen it three times over. Three Purdue defensive ends have been drafted in the last nine years – Rosevelt Colvin by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round in 1999, Shaun Phillips by the Chargers in the fourth round in 2004 and Anthony Spencer by the Cowboys in the first round in 2007 – and all were converted immediately to linebackers.
Colvin posted 10½ sacks in back-to-back seasons for the Bears in 2001-02 and won two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots in 2003 and '04. Phillips hit double figures with 11½ sacks in 2006 and reached the AFC title game with the Chargers last season. Spencer collected three sacks as a rookie in 2007.
"The fact that I played with some of those guys and know their abilities, I feel I can compete with them," Avril said. "The fact that they’re succeeding is a great thing because I feel I can go do the same thing."
Avril has one edge over the other three: Linebacker would not be new to him. He spent his first 2½ seasons there at Purdue before moving to end midway through his junior year.
His position may change again in the NFL, but not the role.
"If you're a good pass rusher, it doesn't matter if you're at defensive end or linebacker," Avril said. "If you have the skills, you'll get to the quarterback."
Other college ends in the draft who might face a switch to linebacker include Chris Ellis of Virginia Tech, Bryan Smith of McNeese State, Kroy Biermann of Montana and Hilee Taylor of North Carolina.
