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Like spandex, the 3-4 is not for everyone

Sporting News, The, Sept 13, 2004 by Dan Pompei

Don't get me wrong. If I were starting a team from scratch, I'd probably line up in a three-man front. The 3-4 defense, when done properly, is difficult to read and can scramble the thoughts of a quarterback--and occasionally his body parts.

But using a 3-4 is like wearing spandex. Great for some, not for all. If you are not built for the 3-4, it can expose flaws you didn't even know you had.

Because the Patriots won two of the past three Super Bowls using a 3-4 at least some of the time, the trend is for teams to shoehorn their personnel into the defense, regardless of the fit. But the Patriots, with their unique blend of role-playing veterans and top-end game planning, are nearly impossible to duplicate. That point has been lost on the Xerox Coaching Fraternity.

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"We all follow trends in this league," Falcons coach Jim Mora Jr. says. "People like to think they're innovative. Everyone wants to be the new guru coach."

Among the teams that are turning to the 3-4 defense at least part-time this year are the Chargers, Raiders, 49ers, lets, Cowboys, Bills and Saints. Mora, though, is going salmon on us, swimming against the tide. He ditched an ill-fitting 3-4 and returned to a 4-3 that is a much better match for the Falcons' personnel. Atlanta had used a three-man front for the past two years, even though their players never fit the system.

The Falcons didn't have the types of ends, tackles or outside linebackers that a 3-4 demands. Patrick Kerney and Brady Smith are pretty good ends, but the 3-4 diminished them. By the end of each of the past two seasons, both players, who aren't thick enough to play end in a 3-4, were worn down. "We felt with their physical makeup and their speed, the best way to utilize them is to put them on an edge," Mora says. "Offensive tackles in this league are gigantic now. To put a 275-pounder head up on that guy and tell him he's got to play two gaps a lot of the time, that's just hard."

Keith Brooking, the crown jewel of the Falcons' defense, will be much more effective as a weakside linebacker in a 4-3, where he is free to run, than he was as an inside linebacker in the 3-4.

Deciding which system to use must be predicated on how it will enhance or detract from the players' skills. The Chargers' move to a 3-4 is puzzling. The decision to scrap the 4-3 played a part in the release of end Marcellus Wiley, a solid player with pass-rush skills. What's more, the Chargers can't possibly maximize the abilities of the gifted Donnie Edwards by playing him at inside linebacker in the 3-4. The new system also forced the Chargers to ignore pressing needs on offense in the offseason and use their resources to acquire players who fit the new defense, such as draft picks Igor Olshansky and

Shaun Phillips and free agent Randall Godfrey.

At least the Chargers are turning over personnel to meet the needs of the system. The Raiders appear to be jamming 4-3 players into 3-4 holes. Defensive tackle Warren Sapp apparently will play end in the 3-4, as will Tyler Brayton, a similar player to Kerney and Smith.

"How can the Raiders go to a 3-4?" one AFC head coach says. "What are they going to do with Warren Sapp? He's a 3 technique, and I'll bet before it's over he's playing 3 technique."

Sapp's strength always has been his quickness. That will be less important as he moves farther from the quarterback, and he no longer has the power to match up with giant offensive tackles. The Raiders have three pretty good tackles in Sapp, Ted Washington and John Parrella, but only one can play at a time in the 3-4--unless one is playing out of position at end.

And though the Raiders have a surplus of tackles, they have a shortage of outside linebackers who can pass rush. Playing a 3-4 defense without a pass-rushing terror at outside linebacker is like eating a pizza without cheese.

"In the 3-4, you have to have a guy who is a dominant outside 'backer who can rush," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis says. "If you have that, and some guys who are steady players inside, you can be pretty good."

The 49ers have a player who could be an outstanding 3-4 outside linebacker in Julian Peterson. They also have three other linebackers who can fit the defense. But in order to play a three-man front, the team would have to either take top pass rusher Andre Carter off the field or play him out of position at outside linebacker.

Lewis has coached both systems, and given his choice, he'll take the 4-3. "I think if I'm winning at the end of the football game and trying to close it out, I'd rather have a 270-pound defensive end on the field who can fight against a 320-pound tackle, than a 240-pound linebacker," he says.

The 3-4 is like a lot of dangerous weapons in that it can hurt those using it as easily as it can hurt its intended target.

For up-to-the-minute NFL news, including injury updates, roster moves and much more, go to msn.foxsports.com. keyword: NFL.

Like spandex, the 3-4 is not for everyone

Sporting News, The, Sept 13, 2004 by Dan Pompei

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