3-4 Theory

[The Preacher]

Is it possible that the main problem with the 3-4 is if your LB's aren't absolute studs then you will struggle more defensively than you would with a 4-3. Look at the Patriots they lost Bruschi and Phifer. Add in the loss of Harrison and overnight they have become one of the worst defenses in the league. If you can't pressure and make plays with the 3-4 you are doomed if you have an average secondary. Even the Steelers in the AFC Championship were regularly toasted due to lack of pressure. It seems like a 3-4 will have a greater chance of the 3 up front becoming neutralized because they never get one on one opportunities. This means your lb's have to make all the tackles and apply the most pressure. If they aren't really strong then it renders your d-line practically worthless no matter who is up there and leaves the possibility of your team getting rolled upon more likely. Does this make any sense because it seems that every 3-4 in the past that was dominant had an elite set of lb's? Those without seem to really struggle.

 

[MorKnolle]

You don't necessarily need elite LBs (where is the cutoff between being elite or not anyways), but you have to have a couple things:
1) LBs that will tackle RBs when they come through the holes, which some of our guys have had problems with.
2) a defensive coordinator that will blitz the linebackers properly to get pressure on the opposing QB, rather than blitzing one LB and the 3 DL 80% of the plays and dropping the rest of the players into a soft cover 2 zone.

 

[GoPats]

The 3-4 definitely features LBs and gives them chances to make plays instead of the D-linemen. As Preacher pointed out, losing Bruschi hurt the Pats' 3-4 earlier this year. But what he didn't mention was losing Ted Johnson, who might have been even more critical to the success of their system. He was a big body and would take on offensive guards, which is what the mike needs to do in a 3-4 alignment. Tie up the blocker, try to break free to make a play if you can, but - most importantly - don't miss your assignment.

That said, it's almost more important to have top guys up front along the D-line. Usually those guys are covering two gaps, which means they need to be strong but have good feet. The Patriots used first-round picks on all their D-linemen, and when they're playing well they can get pressure without any blitzers.

Our secondary is our real weakness this year, and it's going to take a lot to fix it. The Patriots top corner, Asante Samuel, is a nickel back masquerading as a starter. Losing Harrison was the worst thing that could have happened to this team, short of losing Tom Brady. He might have been able to keep it together back there, but without his leadership the entire unit remains in shambles.

 

[SESupergenius]

The secondary is crucial, you need safeties that know the game and where everyone is supposed to be. We just don't have that. We need a strong hitter that could also play CB when needed. This is one of our glaring weaknesses in the 3-4.

 

[Kaiser Toro]

The 3-4 definitely features LBs and gives them chances to make plays instead of the D-linemen. As Preacher pointed out, losing Bruschi hurt the Pats' 3-4 earlier this year. But what he didn't mention was losing Ted Johnson, who might have been even more critical to the success of their system. He was a big body and would take on offensive guards, which is what the mike needs to do in a 3-4 alignment. Tie up the blocker, try to break free to make a play if you can, but - most importantly - don't miss your assignment.

That said, it's almost more important to have top guys up front along the D-line. Usually those guys are covering two gaps, which means they need to be strong but have good feet. The Patriots used first-round picks on all their D-linemen, and when they're playing well they can get pressure without any blitzers.

Our secondary is our real weakness this year, and it's going to take a lot to fix it. The Patriots top corner, Asante Samuel, is a nickel back masquerading as a starter. Losing Harrison was the worst thing that could have happened to this team, short of losing Tom Brady. He might have been able to keep it together back there, but without his leadership the entire unit remains in shambles.

Yeah when Harrison went down the whole thing collapsed defensively. Our secondary has not been great, but they are young from an age and unit stand point.