Question about our defense

but Crennel runs a 3-4 as its base defense.

I grow concerned with the 3-4 Nose tackle position. There are 4-5 teams out there (Denver, SD, Buff to name a few) that need this commodity and there aren’t enough Nt’s to go around. Some teams will need to change.
I thought I had it all figured out with the 4-3. We had Dorsey. Hali and J Allen. Things looke great on the D-line. Then we make the switch. Very big move by Pioli. Now he has his 3-4 coach in place. We need 3 players-NT, ilb and safety. We can get 2 for sure this yr. Fill other with free agent (A Davis ilb from denver? or give up 3rd or 4th rounder for Kirk Morrison) Draft Berry and Cody/Cam
Should be an interesting yr but I do believe new coaching staff will acct for an extra win or two, softer schedule will acct for an extra win and new players will acct for an extra win. That puts us at 7-9.

…help the def too. If we cancatch a few more passes for first downs, move the change, run the clock with our awesome running game then our def wont be out on the field as long.

sorry

I still think his preference would be for a 3-4, and I really don’t see us deviating from that.

What it really comes down to I think is if they feel Suh can play the Nose. If Suh can not only play, but dominate, at NT and he falls, he is ours because he would undoubtedly be the BPA at a position of high need for us there. If the scouts don’t think Suh projects as a stud NT, we’ll probably be in a good position to trade down with one of the best talents in the draft sitting there. Personally, and I say this as an ametuer and not a professional scout, I think Suh can be a dominant NT, and its for the same reasons that he might fall to us. The differences between Suh and McCoy are typically broken down as Suh is better against the run than McCoy, able to read and react, while McCoy is more a more Dorsey-like 3-tech explosive pass rushing DT. Projecting those out to the 3-4, you would put your 3-tech pass-rushing DT at the weakside DE (like we have Dorsey), and then a guy like Suh is either a strongside DE, able to eat the LT and free up the OLB for blitzing against a TE and/or RB or Suh could be, especially on the basis of strong run d, read and react type, a feasible NT option. I am inclined to think that Pioli and Co. have spent a good amount of time analyzing if Suh is dominant NT material, and if he is, we will find a way to snag him.

take that to the bank

McCoy might though it’s doubtful … he doesn’t project as a NT and KC won’t take him, instead taking Berry to fill the Safety position

NO, they won’t go back to a 4-3

but, I believe that IF Suh were to drop… they’d make a NT out of him, even though it isn’t ideal, he’s a special player to build around

can you give us a link, please?

I know its been talked about a lot.
Especially with Suh and McCoy projected to go in the top 5, but
I don’t expect either to fall to 5 -

Even if one does I say we pass;
We’re still trying to transition Dorsey into a 3-4 Tackle as opposed to the 4-3 variety he was drafted for.

I can imagine worse things than a d-line of

TJ_________Suh__________Dorsey__________Hali

It’s not supposed to be easy. the 3-4 or 5-2 or whatever you want to call it has always been a difficult defense to play well…However, if you can execute it with the right personnel, it’s awfully dang potent.

That’s why so many teams are going back to it. The 4-3 is effective too with the right personnel…But then again, 5 on the line beats 4 on the line in running plays no matter how you draw it up. And if you can effectively stop the run….you force the pass. It becomes predictable. Then the pass becomes easier to stop. That’s my defensive philosophy.

The challenge for the professionals is to find the guys that fit the 3-4. If they don’t fit then you train them so they do fit. Professional football scouts and coaches find the guys and train the guys and put them in the right situation so they can win.

The players have to be willing to conform to the position the coaches want them in. They have to work together as a team. It’s very difficult to do, but thats why they are professionals, and why they get paid the big bucks.

That being said, I don’t think Pioli, Haley and Crennel will change their philosophy. Our team won’t challenge for a championship until we get the pieces fit together. I think they’ve made progress this off season so far. More progress is to be made…we shall see how it goes…

Both in that it requires a great deal of cooperation and it can also somewhat mask deficiencies of individual players as long as everybody is doing their job.

So, as has been said, it is difficult to find guys that not only fit the physical requirements but also have the instincts and football intelligence to execute consistently. This is also why it usually takes players a few years in the system to really get it down pat.

When you get it right, the 3-4 is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

are we going to draft DT’s and DE’s in the 1st round it’s been what now 3 or 4 yrs in a row? starting with Herm and his 4-3, we then switch to 4-3 (Herm’s wasted picks) and we still haven’t got it done yet.

Too much of an open commitment in the 34 direction. We just picked up an NT and we’re bound to draft another one. Once that’s done the deal is sealed.