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From 6 years ago
Philosophically, I'd put 10 men down (on the line) if it makes us better," LeBeau said. "I'm not married to the 3-4 or the 4-3. You look at Sunday, and we gave up less yards in the three-man. The reason we went to the 3-4 is that it gives us more flexibility in the fire zone."
That means the Bengals can use their defensive ends to either rush the passer or drop into pass coverage, while a 4-3 defense can only drop a linebacker into coverage and tip the quarterback to what's coming. The Bengals argue a 3-4 or "odd" look with a man over the center is no different than what most teams do in a 4-3 or "even" defense with no one over the center, often switches to "odd" looks.
For instance, the Patriots' 4-3 defense (ranked ninth in the NFL) has an undersized defensive end in Chris Slade, who might as well be considered a fourth linebacker.
"Every team we've played has used the zone blitz against us (at some point)," Coslet said. "It's not like we're trying to do something nobody else is doing. We're just trying to do it right."
Linebacker James Francis played for LeBeau's predecessor in Cincinnati, Larry Peccatiello, now Detroit's coordinator, and his linebackers coach, Joe Pascale, is the Chargers' coordinator, both stout 4-3 men.
The Chargers are No. 2 in defense and the Lions are No. 9 against the run, but Francis swears by the zone blitz.
"When the players can run it, it's tough to beat," Francis said. "It lets you do things like hold Green Bay to 13 points. That's hard to do."
But that was a long month ago. LeBeau's great Pittsburgh teams had a stout noseguard in Joel Steed against the run, a great pass rush linebacker in either Greg Lloyd or Chad Brown who had a knack for sacks, and cornerbacks like Rod Woodson who were tremendous supporting the run.
Those are positions where the Bengals are struggling. But LeBeau won't hear of it.
"Our problem is we're not playing as well as we're capable," said LeBeau, when asked if the 3-4 is dead. "We took it to the Super Bowl twice in Cincinnati and in Pittsburgh as late 1996."
Philosophically, I'd put 10 men down (on the line) if it makes us better," LeBeau said. "I'm not married to the 3-4 or the 4-3. You look at Sunday, and we gave up less yards in the three-man. The reason we went to the 3-4 is that it gives us more flexibility in the fire zone."
That means the Bengals can use their defensive ends to either rush the passer or drop into pass coverage, while a 4-3 defense can only drop a linebacker into coverage and tip the quarterback to what's coming. The Bengals argue a 3-4 or "odd" look with a man over the center is no different than what most teams do in a 4-3 or "even" defense with no one over the center, often switches to "odd" looks.
For instance, the Patriots' 4-3 defense (ranked ninth in the NFL) has an undersized defensive end in Chris Slade, who might as well be considered a fourth linebacker.
"Every team we've played has used the zone blitz against us (at some point)," Coslet said. "It's not like we're trying to do something nobody else is doing. We're just trying to do it right."
Linebacker James Francis played for LeBeau's predecessor in Cincinnati, Larry Peccatiello, now Detroit's coordinator, and his linebackers coach, Joe Pascale, is the Chargers' coordinator, both stout 4-3 men.
The Chargers are No. 2 in defense and the Lions are No. 9 against the run, but Francis swears by the zone blitz.
"When the players can run it, it's tough to beat," Francis said. "It lets you do things like hold Green Bay to 13 points. That's hard to do."
But that was a long month ago. LeBeau's great Pittsburgh teams had a stout noseguard in Joel Steed against the run, a great pass rush linebacker in either Greg Lloyd or Chad Brown who had a knack for sacks, and cornerbacks like Rod Woodson who were tremendous supporting the run.
Those are positions where the Bengals are struggling. But LeBeau won't hear of it.
"Our problem is we're not playing as well as we're capable," said LeBeau, when asked if the 3-4 is dead. "We took it to the Super Bowl twice in Cincinnati and in Pittsburgh as late 1996."
