Do you want to stay 3-4 or go 4-3?

[Parcells4Life]

I would love to see us draft Fraley out of Auburn with our top pick and go 4-3.

DE Ware
DT Ratliff
DT Fraley
DE Spencer
OLB James
MLB Lee
OLB Butler
CB Jenkins
CB Scandrick
FS Draft Pick
SS Sensabaugh

We'd have the best line in the league and we could drop 7 every pass down because those 4 would be more than any line could handle.

 

[TheCowboy]

I would be in favor.

 

[Patton]

Stay with the 3-4.

The amount of linebackers you'd need alone makes switching the 4-3 right now an impossibility for us. We have too many needs to go changing schemes. Even Jerry Jones knows better than this.

 

[Patton]

I would love to see us draft Fraley out of Auburn with our top pick and go 4-3.

DE Ware
DT Ratliff
DT Fraley
DE Spencer
OLB James
MLB Lee
OLB Butler
CB Jenkins
CB Scandrick
FS Draft Pick
SS Sensabaugh

We'd have the best line in the league and we could drop 7 every pass down because those 4 would be more than any line could handle.

This defense would be worse than the one currently on the field right now. Bradie James has zero range as a 3-4 ILB. I'd hate to see him trying to go downfield constantly covering people and counting on him to tackle people on the edge. Same thing with Butler to an even greater extent. He's not even a good 3-4 OLB when it comes to containment. And that's before you even get to depth. You'd need a backup for Lee and even if James and Butler were serviceable 4-3 LBs (and they're not), they'd need backups too.

 

[TheCoolFan]

I'm tired of the 3-4. Everyone wants to run a 3-4 but only the Steelers and Pats have won championships running it over the last 10 years and those defenses have HOF coaches (LeBeau and Belichick).

This is year six of the 3-4 era here and we're left hoping for another coordinator to come in and rescue this 3-4 defense. Sounds similar to 2007.

 

[30yrheel]

there's not that much difference between a 43 amd 34 nowadays with all the hybrid de/lb's and the zone blitz schemes. just get good players and the schemes really don't matter. people get too hung up on this stuff.

 

[Patton]

The reality is we're just in too deep with the 3-4 defense now. Unless you want to sacrifice an entire draft (and we can't do that) and spend a lot of the money set aside for free agents on defensive players, it's too big of a transition to go to the 4-3 for this team. It'll be easier to just patch on our 3-4 defense.

 

[Parcells4Life]

there's not that much difference between a 43 amd 34 nowadays with all the hybrid de/lb's and the zone blitz schemes. just get good players and the schemes really don't matter. people get too hung up on this stuff.

Actually there is because in the 4-3 every player makes an impact. In the 3-4, typically all your DEs do is eat up blocks. They're useless on passing downs and our DEs wear down in the 4th and don't do their one job which is stop the r.

Unless Spears or Olshansky could be impact players at the other DT, then I don't see any use for them.

With today's passing league you need as many effective pass rushers as possile not just space/block eaters.

 

[KJJ]

I would love to see us draft Fraley out of Auburn with our top pick and go 4-3.

DE Ware
DT Ratliff
DT Fraley
DE Spencer
OLB James
MLB Lee
OLB Butler
CB Jenkins
CB Scandrick
FS Draft Pick
SS Sensabaugh

We'd have the best line in the league and we could drop 7 every pass down because those 4 would be more than any line could handle.

The Cowboys have been drafting players for the 3-4 for several years they can't go back now.

 

[BHendri5]

stay with the 3-4, just get a better DC and continue to put young 3-4 personnel on the field

 

[ChopBlock]

Why is it that we could go from the 4-3 to 3-4 in one offseason, but now whenever someone mentions going back to the 4-3 you get a ton of people saying we can't do it, we're too far into it, we don't have the personnel, etc.?

The OP isn't far off. A free agent signing or two and then a couple of draft picks and we'd be well on our way to reverting back to the 4-3.

 

[stiletto]

Overall it's been a failure (the 3-4) in Dallas. Plus why does this organization have to do what other teams do? The Cowboys used to be the organization that made other teams do what THEY do....

 

[30yrheel]

Actually there is because in the 4-3 every player makes an impact. In the 3-4, typically all your DEs do is eat up blocks. They're useless on passing downs and our DEs wear down in the 4th and don't do their one job which is stop the r.

Unless Spears or Olshansky could be impact players at the other DT, then I don't see any use for them.

With today's passing league you need as many effective pass rushers as possile not just space/block eaters.

not really. what does NE run? who can tell? 1 dlineman, 5 lb's?
nobody is set before the snap. it's all about disguising your defense and your blitzes. there's not a clear cut difference between defenses these days.

 

[Patton]

Why is it that we could go from the 4-3 to 3-4 in one offseason, but now whenever someone mentions going back to the 4-3 you get a ton of people saying we can't do it, we're too far into it, we don't have the personnel, etc.?

The OP isn't far off. A free agent signing or two and then a couple of draft picks and we'd be well on our way to reverting back to the 4-3.

Did you miss the 2005 draft? It was all about the transition to the 3-4 defense. If you want this entire draft to be the front seven players required to make another transition, be my guest.

 

[ChopBlock]

Did you miss the 2005 draft? It was all about the transition to the 3-4 defense. If you want this entire draft to be the front seven players required to make another transition, be my guest.

If we can have another draft like that then I'd be all for it.

 

[ChopBlock]

Overall it's been a failure (the 3-4) in Dallas. Plus why does this organization have to do what other teams do? The Cowboys used to be the organization that made other teams do what THEY do....

It's called being reactionary. It's one of the front offices main traits.

 

[Patton]

If we can have another draft like that then I'd be all for it.

In the process you'd be totally neglecting an offensive line and secondary that needs all of the help they can get. You do that and we're going to be terrible yet again.

 

[ChopBlock]

In the process you'd be totally neglecting an offensive line and secondary that needs all of the help they can get. You do that and we're going to be terrible yet again.

I don't think we need to use all 7 picks on the entire front 7. And free agency can be used to fill some of the needs on the OL, secondary and/or front 7.

 

[Parcells4Life]

I don't think we need to use all 7 picks on the entire front 7. And free agency can be used to fill some of the needs on the OL, secondary and/or front 7.

I'm not sure of any extra picks we have but just 1-7 we could go

1) Fairley
2) Best OT available
3) FS
4) OLB
5) OG
6) BPA
7) BPA

Now obviously Jerry has NEVER gone according to need after the 1st round. He often takes off the wall picks, but we could always hope.

Also depending on Free Agency we can take stop gaps to fill the OLB needs if we'd be missing one. We have at the minimum 7 of our 11 already here most likely so it wouldn't be throwing away a draft. We would be building a dominant defense and it can't get any worse than it is now.

 

[Patton]

I don't think we need to use all 7 picks on the entire front 7. And free agency can be used to fill some of the needs on the OL, secondary and/or front 7.

To transition to the 4-3. We'd need two starting caliber outside linebackers (I'm just going to assume Sean Lee can hack it as the starting MLB), someone who can back them up, and a backup middle linebacker. That is the absolute minimum. Where exactly are these guys in free agency? In all likelihood you're looking at bringing in some jags (which defeats the entire purpose of the switch) rather that legitimate impact players unless you draft someone (which is also an uncertain scenario). Regardless of how the resources are distributed to accomplish this, be it money or draft picks, it's an idiotic proposition.