Mark Kiszla: Broncos can fix dents in their defense with 3-4 alignment

[johnlimburg]

Wait, so because someone is upset that Tebow got trade, that makes a Fox a bad coach and we should move to the 3-4?



Makes perfect sense.

I was giving him the benifit of the doubt that his non sense was based off the back of Tebow being traded and thinking he was just bitter.

[-Rod-]

And the obsession with the 3-4 defense continues... As if 3-4 instead of 4-3 would fix the Broncos defense like a magic potion. First of all, I think the nickel defense is becoming more important than a base defense. The best teams in the league are spreading the defense with multiple receivers, throwing the ball early and often, and then running from passing formations. The nickel defense has become a huge part of the game, and you must be able to stop the run with your nickel package.

Before the snap, the differences between 3-4 and 4-3 are subtle in my opinion, and a coordinator can make a 4-3 easily act like a 3-4. You'll find a 3-4 defense playing 1 gap and you'll also find a 4-3 defense playing 2 gaps. Besides the number of linemen and linebackers, there is also a scheme dictating who does what. According to Justin Bannan, the Ravens are not a true 3-4; they are a hybrid defense, mixing a lot of 4-3. The Ravens won a Super Bowl with an elite 4-3 defense. The Patriots are also using a lot of 4-3.

Elvis Dumervil will rush the passer. Von Miller will rush the passer. It does not matter if their hands are on the ground or if they are standing up. The spacing is the same, the gaps are the same, it's just a matter of having good players to take care of the gaps. Joe Mays will be a bad linebacker and miss tackles in any scheme, in any alignment. Justin Bannan will just be an average DT no matter what. I bet Ray Lewis and Haloti Ngata will look good in a 4-3 or 3-4.

The main difference, to me, is the scouting process to draft edge rushers. College football usually provides 4-3 DEs, and professional 3-4 defenses must find OLBs or turn DEs into OLBs. And I see no reason why an athletic 3-4 OLB would not be able to play OLB in a 4-3. John Fox has a 3-4 background with the Steelers. NFL defenses pretty much utilize the same spacings regardless of alignment; that's exactly what Fox said when he was introduced as the Broncos head coach. More than anything, you need good players.

[LeFty087]

Kiz is a man with little brains miller is holding the weight of a true outside linebacker and Doom is at DE weight we dont have a true NT for a 3-4 we would be worst then the 08-DEN-D sit down and shut up Kiz

[samparnell]

The best definition I've heard of hybrid defense is being able to play different fronts with no personnel changes.

FBS college teams are predominantly split front/four man line defenses. The fascination with odd front 50/3-4 is the versatility offered by four Backers.

Similar vesatility is provided by tall, athletic D-Linemen who can jam TEs off their routes, play short zone and drop back to block passing lanes. This is the approach the Broncos have taken. The real wild card is Miller who could play the role of a SS in a given call.

[crash123go]

One thing I've noticed is sealver siliga has been getting all the reps at NT when we are in the 3-4