| I promise not to jump the gun and talk about the
XFL just yet. Come back tomorrow for that. Today I want to talk about the potential
death of the 3-4 defense in the NFL. For those of you who don’t live in Buffalo, New
York or Pittsburgh, I’ll explain what the 3-4 is. Every team other than the Bills,
Jets and Steelers runs a base 4-3 defense. What that means is that there are four down
linemen (two ends and two tackles) and three linebackers (two outside and one middle). The
Super Bowl champion Ravens run this defense, with Ray Lewis as the middle linebacker.
To run a 4-3, you need just three good linebackers. Good, well-rounded linebackers seem
more difficult to come by than good defensive linemen. So, many teams run the 4-3 and keep
their linebackers back for run support and in pass coverage. The linebackers will
occasionally blitz, but it’s not necessary if the unit has four good pass-rushing
linemen.
In the 3-4, it’s a bit different. Here you have only three down linemen (two ends
and a nose tackle) and four linebackers (two outside, two inside). Teams that have an
abundance of good linebackers who can rush the passer, play the run and cover the pass
typically play this defense. There is much more blitzing by the linebackers because the
three linemen often cannot get to the quarterback themselves. If you look at the rosters
of the Jets, Bills and Steelers, you can tell why they ran the 3-4 as their base defense
this year.
But rumors have come out that the Jets and Bills will abandon the 3-4 as their base
defense next year in favor of the 4-3. Let’s look at the three teams’ LB corps,
and then you can decide if this would be a wise move for the Jets and Bills.
The Steelers have arguably the best LB corps in the league, in my opinion. Jason Gildon
anchors the unit, and earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in doing so this year. It’s hard
to find a poor performance at all this year by Gildon. Many believe Joey Porter also
deserved a trip to the Pro Bowl after the season he had. He proved to be a huge playmaker
for the Steelers. Levon Kirkland has been one of the most respected linebackers in the
league for years, and continues to play well in coverage and against the run. Earl Holmes
also contributes heavily in run support and coverage. Gildon and Porter are more pass-rush
types of linebackers, but play the run and cover the pass very well.
The Jets are right up there with the league’s best. Bryan Cox, Mo Lewis, Marvin
Jones and (for part of the year) John Abraham were dominators on the Jets’ defense.
Mo Lewis is headed to the Pro Bowl after an astounding all-around performance this year.
Cox is a perennial leader on any defense he has played for. Abraham is an up-and-comer who
likely would have registered double-digit sacks had he not gotten hurt near the middle of
the season. Marvin Jones is a great run-stuffer and plays well in pass coverage.
The Bills are slightly unbalanced in their LB corps, but they remain near the top of
the league’s best. ILBs Sam Cowart and John Holecek are two of the better in the
business. Cowart was on a monster pace before missing the final four games with a high
ankle sprain. On the outside, Keith Newman and Sam Rogers aren’t as well known, but
are just as solid. Rogers also missed the final four games with injury. The two injuries
allowed the Bills to take a look at the high-quality youth they have at this position. Jay
Foreman, Corey Moore and DaShon Polk all seem to be future starters for the team.
Of these three teams, their most dominating player in their front seven is a
linebacker. So their defensive lines aren’t as good as their LB corps. So my question
is: Why would you move away from a scheme that highlights your team’s strength on
defense? The Jets’ plan would be to move Abraham to defensive end, which is feasible.
But what will the Bills do? I’m told outside linebacker is not a viable option for
Holecek, who plays inside now. So likely he would be on the sidelines despite being one of
the Bills’ top defenders.
It seems strange that the teams would be considering this, but this is early
speculation. Once the Bills get a new head coach and once the Jets’ Herman Edwards
settles in, they’ll make a much better-informed decision. For those who love the 3-4,
let’s hope so. |
