FuzzyLumpkins said:
Youre making the assumption that Spears and Canty are going to be players then discount Burnett and Fujita in the same breath.
Its OLB are supposed to be the catalytic playmakers not the inside guys who are akin to wil and mike from a 4-3. Now I have seen Singleton get pushed around on runs to his side and if Fujita/Burnett cannot step up you may have a point. But considering how one was just brought in and the other is probably just now getting back to close to 100% its premature for you to make the claims of lack of depth.
But if either can step in and perform to expectations supplanting Singleton with there size and quickness on the outside then all of a sudden our LB situation is rosy. Shanle Fowler Singleton and the remainder of Fujita/Burnett are very good depth. Additionally LBers dont need to be rotated so much because they are not engaging an offensive lineman every down.
And talk of the 4-3/3-4 fixation all you want but that does not lessen the fact that we dont have the DT depth esp on first downs to consistently use a 4 man front. Now I am all for showing different looks as we do but I am 100% against having to deal with 4th quarter collapses because Glover and Ferguson are completely gassed.
Finally we need to keep this defense simple for now. Everyone complains about the vanilla looks but look at the experience we have: only Glover and Cantly have experience with our base, Canty, Spears, Ware and Burnett are all rookies, and everyone else is trying this scheme for the first time.
For now I am content with seeing Parcell's 3-4 and our nickle until we at the very least stop the run consistently and then mix in some other stuff.
I have seen Spears and Canty make plays....haven't seen that from Fujita and Burnett yet. I think their combined upside is higher than that of Fujita and Burnett.
Its premature for me to make claims about lack of depth? Where is the LB depth? Starters are questionable at this point, much less depth. Meanwhile, the team has six starting quality DL. I am glad you are pleased with the LB depth, but IMO the starters aren't even that good, much less the reserves.
I'd possibly agree on NT depth. I have harped on that all offseason as well. If Ferguson goes down, this team is SOL. However, I think the DT depth is as good as any LB depth. I'd rather rotate Spears and Canty at DT than deal with the lack of playmakers and depth at LB.
The four man fronts would stop the run more consistently. It was what was being run against DC in run down situations. Its already part of the defense. As far as learning it, I am not that concerned either. If you can't pick up gap responsibilities, you have some serious issues. Its players like Ware and Burnett who are being asked to deal with run and pass coverage responsibilities that have more issues.
I realize there will be some growing pains and I am not advocating this as a base. I'd just like to see more of it. I think it caters to the strength of the team, the DL. At the same time, it implements the 3-4 principles so the team can build for a full fledged move next year.
