Chopper0080
2021 - Prove It
I will start by saying that I hate the hybrid scheme. I understand that defenses benefit from being able to give opposing offenses different looks but I think that this scheme requires more intelligent players than we have. With this in mind, what scheme maximizes our talent on defense.
I used to believe that or our personel would be better used in a 3-4 scheme but recent games and upcoming free agency have steered me away from this thought. I will go position by position on the pros and cons.
DT/DE:
-We have the nose tackle position locked up in either scheme. Watson can command a double team in either scheme though neither he or Branch can get a push that can make the nose in the 3-4 so deadly.
-At DE in the 3-4 is where we are really hurting. Dockett is not a 3-4 end as he struggles to hold a double team at point of attack which is required in order for the MLB's to roam free. His quickness actually gets used against him by offensive linemen as they can use him momentum to wash (push) him out of a hole without having to double him. Dockett's contract situation also merit's mentioning. Antonio Smith hasn't shown the necessary strength to anchor and take on a double team though he does have the build to put on the extra weight that could help. Keep in mind that Smith is a free agent and will probably command a higher dollar ammount that his play has warranted. Campbell and Iwabema haven't had a chance to show where they fit best but physically they both seem to be lighter than what 3-4 ends are generally targeted at. Keep in mind that both Seymour and Warren in New England are both above 300 lbs and Smith is the heaviest DE at 285. I do believe that Dockett fits perfectly as he under tackle in the 4-3 where his job would be to penatrate the line of scrimage. This would allow us to let Smith go and move Campbell outside to be an anchor DE. His size would also allow him to move inside in nickel packages. Rotate Berry/Okeafor/Rookie/Free Agent at the other De position and we have a plethora of pass rush options.
MLB/OLB/DE:
-The Okeafer/Berry/LaBoy experiment at OLB in the 3-4 seems is wearing a bit thin to me. All three of these guys seem to be a liability in coverage and our pressure when they don't have their hands down is minimal. If we stay with the 3-4 this is an area that needs to be addressed. Hayes does fine at MLB but Dansby is wasted. Due to our lines inability to hold up blockers he has been unable to use his speed to make plays at or behind the line of scrimage which is why you have a player like Dansby on your team. I have to believe that he would be much better suited at WOLB in the 4-3 but that would require us to show him the proverbial money which I am not sure will happen. If we stick to the 3-4 as it is, we might as well trade him for something because he isn't useful in his current role. Switching to a 4-3 would leave us with a hole at SLB, but a coverage linebacker is an easier position to fill in my opinion than a rush 3-4 linebacker.
CB/S:
-It is my understanding that the same coverage schemes can be run out of any defense so our choice wouldn't necessarily affect this unit. However, I do believe that we are totally misusing Adrian Wilson. In a 3-4, ala Pittsburgh/New England, the idea is to move the safety around in order to confuse the offense. This zone blitz scheme should be ideal for a safety like Adrian Wilson but I would have to guess that because of our 3-4 linebackers inability to cover, it has prohibited Clancy from bringing Wilson into the box. This again limits the use of one of our top playmakers on defense and severely hampers our attempts to be a top unit.
Looking at our defense in this light has led me to believe that while we may want to run a 3-4 defense, we are not even close to having the right personel to do so. Our ends can't hold up at point of attack which allows offensive linemen to clog the running lanes and prevent our middle linebackers from using their speed to make plays at or behind the line or scrimage. Solving this problem would require us to trade Dockett and not make an offer to A Smith. It would also probably lead to us letting Dansby walk unless we could replace these DE's right away. We would need to find OLB's that can cover a zone which none of our current personel seem to be able to do so that we can use a true zon blitz scheme and bring Adrian Wilson up in the box.
What I would do is this. Go back to a 4-3. In my opinion it makes the best use out of the current players that we have on our roster. It frees up Dockett to become a more disruptive force inside at defensive tackle, allows us to let A Smith go and replace him at DE with C Campbell who I think can be very good. It also moves Dansby to WLB allowing him more freedom and space to use his athleticsm to make plays. We would need to draft another DE but, in the mean time, we could rotate Okeafor/Berry/LaBoy at DE. We would also need to find a SLB that can cover but that should be able to be addressed. A true coverage linebacker should also allow us to free up Adrian Wilson to wreck havoc though if we made the appropriate changes in a 3-4 scheme, it could do that as well.
I used to believe that or our personel would be better used in a 3-4 scheme but recent games and upcoming free agency have steered me away from this thought. I will go position by position on the pros and cons.
DT/DE:
-We have the nose tackle position locked up in either scheme. Watson can command a double team in either scheme though neither he or Branch can get a push that can make the nose in the 3-4 so deadly.
-At DE in the 3-4 is where we are really hurting. Dockett is not a 3-4 end as he struggles to hold a double team at point of attack which is required in order for the MLB's to roam free. His quickness actually gets used against him by offensive linemen as they can use him momentum to wash (push) him out of a hole without having to double him. Dockett's contract situation also merit's mentioning. Antonio Smith hasn't shown the necessary strength to anchor and take on a double team though he does have the build to put on the extra weight that could help. Keep in mind that Smith is a free agent and will probably command a higher dollar ammount that his play has warranted. Campbell and Iwabema haven't had a chance to show where they fit best but physically they both seem to be lighter than what 3-4 ends are generally targeted at. Keep in mind that both Seymour and Warren in New England are both above 300 lbs and Smith is the heaviest DE at 285. I do believe that Dockett fits perfectly as he under tackle in the 4-3 where his job would be to penatrate the line of scrimage. This would allow us to let Smith go and move Campbell outside to be an anchor DE. His size would also allow him to move inside in nickel packages. Rotate Berry/Okeafor/Rookie/Free Agent at the other De position and we have a plethora of pass rush options.
MLB/OLB/DE:
-The Okeafer/Berry/LaBoy experiment at OLB in the 3-4 seems is wearing a bit thin to me. All three of these guys seem to be a liability in coverage and our pressure when they don't have their hands down is minimal. If we stay with the 3-4 this is an area that needs to be addressed. Hayes does fine at MLB but Dansby is wasted. Due to our lines inability to hold up blockers he has been unable to use his speed to make plays at or behind the line of scrimage which is why you have a player like Dansby on your team. I have to believe that he would be much better suited at WOLB in the 4-3 but that would require us to show him the proverbial money which I am not sure will happen. If we stick to the 3-4 as it is, we might as well trade him for something because he isn't useful in his current role. Switching to a 4-3 would leave us with a hole at SLB, but a coverage linebacker is an easier position to fill in my opinion than a rush 3-4 linebacker.
CB/S:
-It is my understanding that the same coverage schemes can be run out of any defense so our choice wouldn't necessarily affect this unit. However, I do believe that we are totally misusing Adrian Wilson. In a 3-4, ala Pittsburgh/New England, the idea is to move the safety around in order to confuse the offense. This zone blitz scheme should be ideal for a safety like Adrian Wilson but I would have to guess that because of our 3-4 linebackers inability to cover, it has prohibited Clancy from bringing Wilson into the box. This again limits the use of one of our top playmakers on defense and severely hampers our attempts to be a top unit.
Looking at our defense in this light has led me to believe that while we may want to run a 3-4 defense, we are not even close to having the right personel to do so. Our ends can't hold up at point of attack which allows offensive linemen to clog the running lanes and prevent our middle linebackers from using their speed to make plays at or behind the line or scrimage. Solving this problem would require us to trade Dockett and not make an offer to A Smith. It would also probably lead to us letting Dansby walk unless we could replace these DE's right away. We would need to find OLB's that can cover a zone which none of our current personel seem to be able to do so that we can use a true zon blitz scheme and bring Adrian Wilson up in the box.
What I would do is this. Go back to a 4-3. In my opinion it makes the best use out of the current players that we have on our roster. It frees up Dockett to become a more disruptive force inside at defensive tackle, allows us to let A Smith go and replace him at DE with C Campbell who I think can be very good. It also moves Dansby to WLB allowing him more freedom and space to use his athleticsm to make plays. We would need to draft another DE but, in the mean time, we could rotate Okeafor/Berry/LaBoy at DE. We would also need to find a SLB that can cover but that should be able to be addressed. A true coverage linebacker should also allow us to free up Adrian Wilson to wreck havoc though if we made the appropriate changes in a 3-4 scheme, it could do that as well.
