To 4-3 or not to 4-3 ...

Though you make some very good points on why switch to 4-3, I think that the new regime will shop for their own “groceries” especially Cowher. I would rather start with a clean slate from waterboy all the way to Ross, if it’s at all possible. :)

A 4-3 with smaller, speedier linebackers help us with our Tight End defense problem ?

I would prefer a 4-3 easily probably wouldnt use any high draft picks on the front 7 and by high i mean the first 3 rounds since we have bigger needs but I could see the players we have now better suited for a 4-3 esp to just let wake rush every play and even jason if he comes back as old as he is id rather have his hand in the ground as well i could see a

wake, langford (with the addition of the 10lbs), starks, and odrick as a front four maybe even merling but id assume they would probably trade him out too maybe even trade out soliai… a possible 2 extra draft picks to use on the d-line or even other positions

I know it will be a lot more complicated, but if you could run in a few plays of 4-3, then why not.

I was an O-Lineman, and once we had seen the moves the d-lineman had (swim, shit-twist, double slap, cut, rip-twist), there were no more surprises. Having to block different guys lined up in different spots would have had me struggling to remember their nuances and deal with there fresh legs.

Whatever happened to Clemons, was he put on IR?

Definately agree, a 4-3 would suit this team much more than a 4-3. Does Rob Ryan run a 3-4 or a 4-3? If he runs a 4-3 it would be interesting if we sign him.

I hate the size requirements of the 3-4 and parcells ideals in particular because as the writer points out the draft becomes a crapshoot – you pass on good football players like Curtis Lofton for instance – he’s a straight up good LB but does not fit the size requirements. – so you draft a guy for the system instead of the best baller available.

I think the 3-4 is a better scheme if you have the players, sorry but I don’t think we do. Now I have seen Nolan using a lot of 4-3 this year and it’s not helping either. We have two major issues , 1 No pressure, yes you can say it’s the scheme, but I would say , you cant get pressure when our DB’s cant cover. You have to cover to get sacks or just a blown blocking or just a straight up great jump off the line. 2 kinda falls in line with 1 , if your DB’s cant cover more than 2-3 seconds your D has no time for a sack.
  So if we switch to a 4-3 and still can’t cover it wont make a difference.
  I would trade Soliai now for picks, Same with Burrnett if I was going to switch to a 4-3 scheme. We should have stayed with Edds and used him and Misi at OLB with Dansby in the middle. I would run Wake and Odrick at DE and Starks and Langford or Mc Daniel up the middle. This makes no difference what I would do cause I’m home on the bed and this F.O. is at work trying to figure out how to make what we have work..

Next year if we were to change to 4-3 the line would look like this:

Wake – McDaniels – Starks – Odrick

It’s almost like the 3-4 defense needs NT at all three positions along the defensive line.
The giant linebacker came to be when Lawrence Taylor came into the league at 6’4", 270lbs, and ran with excellent speed. They’re hard to find with athleticism.

Steelers, Ravens, Jets and Chargers run 3-4. The only defense that I know that have been top notch that run a 4-3 scheme is the bears. Shit Packers are running a 2-4 defense now with only 2 D line man. Both guys are the size of Soliai

I’ve always like the 4-3 better.

the 3-4 kicks the hell out of a 4-3!
I truly was amazed that when you compared the two, you called it
a “Parcells 4-3”. Why?
Attaching Parcells name “will” draw animosity… but it’s still a 4-3.
This group is/was a 3-4…and now that they have been transformed to a 4-3 their results are showing it!
With who we have….a 3-4 blankets opposition, [check last year] and a 4-3…sucks…ZIP!
Just check Wakes stats! My opinion.

I don’t personally know the answer … I’m sure the DEFENSE will improve once Vontae comes back. Vontae’s comments about " the best tandem " was surely directed to Revis. Since then … Vontae went down …Cromartie has been to hell and back … and Smith had his share of grief. Revis has held his ground. The game on Monday Night will be a showdown. Vontae will actually have to back his words. Revis has been the one to claim “hammy” after getting beat ( Moss etc ) Vontae claimed “hammy” and has been out all season. Vontae should be ready for the jests game. It’s time to walk the walk. Will our tandem outdo theirs ? Revis / Cromartie vs. Davis / Smith. It’s game on. Time to put up or shut up.
The game will not only be about winning or losing … but it will also be about which cornerback tandem is the best. Matt Moore vs. Dirty Sanchez and Vontae / Smith vs. Revis / Cromartie … Vontae just might be missing Henne right about now.

In a 3-4 you need two explosive OLB’s that can rush the passer. The Phins have one, Wake. In a 4-3, you need fast LB’s at the Will and Mike. The Phins have niether.

In a 3-4 defense you need size in the front 7, which the Phins have. But the game is built more on speed today. So if the Phins switched to a 4-3 defense, they don’t have the speed to run it properly.

To run a 4-3 properly a team needs impact players at the 3 technique DT (Warren Sapp, Tommy Harris), a stud DE (Peppers, Freeney), a impact / stud MLB (Urlacher, Lewis, Nickerson) and a stud FS (Lynch, Reed, Sanders). Who plays those positions for the PHINS? They don’t have a 3 technique: Odrick, Starks, Langford can’t rush the passer. They have a DE in Wake. Dansby isn’t an impact player at MLB (no pro bowls or all pros). The FS position sucks for the Phins.

IMO, the biggest failure of the Trifecta since they got here, outside of getting a QB, is not spending more high draft picks on LB’s and Safeties. Those positions drive a 3-4 defense. Yet they spent 3 high picks on 3-4 DE’s (Odrick, Merling, Langford) that have the lowest impact on the defense. It is a backwards approach to building a 3-4.

Rec’d

When Miami drafted defensive end Koa Misi out of Utah the next year, it was because they believed he could transition to outside linebacker on the weak side, where he would be required to both set the edge and rush the passer

Wake usually plays the weakside.

Transitioning to a 43 would take too many acquisitions to do with the limited picks we have, unless a good LDE comes along. We need to spend a good deal of the draft fixing the right side of our line, unless we want a new QB every four games (our OL has gotten Henne hit just as much as last year’s line did all of 2010).

first – lets say this … its time to throw out ANYTHING Parcells brought in… IT DOSENT WORK IN TODAYS NFL… (not shouting) We have No speed off the edge except from CAM W. – his “draft big slow players” has taken us right down the toilet… In case you havent noticed we are on a 7 game losing streak and 1-11 at home….that speaks for its self. This team could be 2-2 IF the DEF had played just a little better.
I have bitched about this 3-4 for years now – b/c we have no speed off the edge…. Plus our DL is the deepest unit – playing a 4-3 gets another player form the deepest unit on the field right away. 4-3 DL players are much easier to find in college – how har is it to get a dominating NT ???? Thought we had one – and now Paulie is back to his old ways…stinking ….
We could also draft LB’s like Zack thomas again…..DANSBY CAN’T CARRY HIS JOCKSTRAP – now or ever.

if you have the right pieces to run a specific scheme then you should have a good defense, regardless of whether it is a 3-4 or a 4-3.

First off, Koa Misi was never much of a pass rusher to begin with. Also Cam Wake doesnt need to drop back in coverage. That wasn’t an issue last year when he had 14.5 sacks and I dont see how it should be an issue this year.

Paul Soliai, Randy Starks, and Kendall Langford have all played at a borderline pro bowl level at one point or another. My main point is that the majority of the starters in this front 7 have played at high level in a 3-4 defense.Just because this defense as a whole is struggling this year, doesn’t mean they are more suited for a 4-3 defense.

Also Phillip Merling isnt tailor made for the 4-3 defense anymore. When he had success in college in the 4-3 he was a defensive end. When he came to MIami he put on weight to become a 5-tech. And whether it was because of injuries or other issues, we havent really seen what he is capable of doing as a full time starter/and or rotational player.

As you stated Parcells has a size philosophy with his players. And thats just the NFL period. People are always going to be looking for bigger, faster, stronger so its normal for undersized players to be overlooked. And Zach Thomas was overlooked as a 4-3 player coming out of college let alone 3-4, so the Von Miller comparison is irrelevant.

As far as Von Miller is concerned, he was the 2nd overall pick in the draft so I doubt teams were second guessing his size.

And sure drafting 3-4 personnel is a crapshoot but how is that different than any other position in the draft? You can name plenty of d-ends that had success in college but became bust in the NFL. And you can also name players that have had more success in the 3-4 than they did in a 4-3. For example, Tamba Hali of the Cheifs never had more than 8.5 sacks in a single season in 4 years. When KC switched to the 3-4 last year he had his bet season with 14.5 sacks. So it can go both ways.