3-4

Mario Williams was in the process of making a successful transition. I imagine CJ can do it too. At least I hope.

 

interesting argument.

being a casual fan, i have always thought the 3-4 was better against the run but that might just be because there were some really good run D's using it.

if it is better against the run then i would have to assume that would mean it gives up some in the pass or everyone would be running it. so, i wonder why it is that more and more teams have moved to the 3-4 recently considering that it is becoming a passing league? seems to run against the grain of logic.

looking at the stats alone this year you don't really see anything supporting either much. the top 3 rushing defenses run the 3-4 but then the top 2 passing defenses do also. overall, 3-4 teams rank 13 in run D and 15 in pass D which might lend some credibility to it being a better run D. but you also see some bad run Ds that are using the 3-4. the top 3 rushing Ds also rank 22on average in pass D. and the 1,2 and 5 top passing defenses (which use the 3-4), rank 20 on average in run D.

so my guess would be that either system (3-4 or 4-3) can be used to emphasize run or pass D, depending on the philosophy of the coaches. it seems to me that the current coaches aren't concerned with stopping the run or the long passes. but it's probably hard to tell with the lack of talent we have now. giving up long passes and long interference calls seems to me as much as a result of philosophy (being more aggressive against the shorter passing games and leaving our DBs alone in single coverage in the long stuff)as it is talent though. they killed us in AZ and again last week. we're winning TOP but losing games.

 

More teams are going to the 3-4 because it's better vs. the pass. This myth that the 34 has always been better geared to stop the run is just that: a myth.

You saw defenses primarily running the 43 because for so long, the run game was paramount to making your push into the playoffs.

There is a SI article about the 34 becoming en vogue because of all the pass happy offenses, and Ill try and look for it when I get off work. But yeah, the idea is that you can disguise coverages more with the 34, and your backers can freelance slighly more. You can certainly have a lot more exotic looks with a 34, sure. Eh...

Whatever. I'm tired of talking about it.

 

they are when you drop back to pass. stopping the run takes at least the front 7, not just the front 4, whereas the most effective pass defense is when your pass rush is still effective when sending only the front 4 on the rush. dont know what Detriot's run defense issues are, could be the linebackers, but Suh's run-stopping instincts could probably use some work, too.

 

They're 13th in sacks, and a chunk of that was against the shitty Bears line. It appears to be a pretty average unit so far this year.

 

Jesus Christ, man. Let it go. You're embarrassing yourself because pretty much everyone else knows that the 3-4 is better against the run.

 

fine, believe what you want, but 'effective pass rush' doesnt necessarily mean lots of sacks or low passing yardage or any single number or metric you can throw out there

 

I didn't say they suck. I said they're way overhyped. Nobody outside of Suh is a great player.

Cincinnati's front has played great and nobody is talking about it.

 

I agree. Suh might be the most valuable player in the NFL, but Avril hasn't played at the level he did last season. Maybe Fairley will add something, but I thought he was overrated as well.

 

gotcha gotcha. speaking of, i have not been able to watch Cincy yet this year ,though their numbers speak for themselves so far, I was as impressed with San Fran's front as with anybody I have seen this year.