Quote:
Originally Posted by painekiller
I think we have our 3-4 OLB now, Barwin and Cushing. I play Mario as an attaching DE penetration is the key to stopping offenses.
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I dont think the transition from a 4/3 to a 3/4 will be that difficult.
#1 need - a BIG DT.
Options
Wilfork FA
Hampton FA
Mount Cody from Alabama DRAFT
There are a couple more possibilities in the draft as well.
#2 need - improve the LB's
Great thing about Cushing is that he can play inside or out. That means we can go after the best available LB whether he plays inside or out. Spikes, Rolando McLain, Micah Johnson, Sergio Kindle, Sean Weatherspoon, Eric Norwood, Greg Hardy, Derrick Morgan, Corey Wooton, Jerry Hughes, Brandon Graham are all good fits for a 3/4.
Obvioulsy the first thing to do is get center peice. Go hard after Hampton and Wilfork. Second option would be draft one like Cody.
Lets say we get Hampton who wants to join back up with Cowher. That completes our line. We now have Mario- Hampton- Smith up front. Now lets move to the secod level. There are a lot of options here. Im going to go with Brandon Spikes. He plays with an edge and thats how youre LB's have to play in a 3/4. Remember the poke in the eye incident? Wow with Mario and Hampton pushing the middle, Spikes and Smith cheap shotting people and Cushing, Demeco and Barwin flying around we might actually intimidate someone. Thats what I want a hard nosed defense that will get people out of their gameplan.
I could of gone with any of 5 players over Spikes and it looks just as good.
Rolando McLain, Micah Johnson, Derrick Morgan, Sergio Kindle, Sean Weatherspoon, Eric Norwood.
Mario - Hampton - Smith
Barwin - Ryans - Spikes - Cushing
Thats not a bad front seven to start with.
And I dont care what position we drafted Mario to play. If it makes the team better and helps us become a legit playoff team then its worth it. Besides I think he will be a better player in the 3/4. He is more than capable of dropping into coverage occasionally to confuse QB's. Lining him up between Hampton and Barwin and blitzing would mean 1 on 1 for Mario with a guard.
I actually think he is taylor made for this. He is not the speed rusher some think he is. That has been proven this year. I know he hs been hurt but too large a % of his plays are him getting rode out of the play trying to run around the OT. Those plays are a complete waste of him being on the feild. Hes being totally nuetralized by 1 player. At least in a 3/4 he would be getting one on one with a guard or tying up the OT so a LB can shoot through. We know hes good at tying up OT's. :P
Now thats fixed and we still have the rest of our draft picks to draft a safety and a couple OG's with sand in their pants. Seems simple to me. I just dont understand why some think it would be so hard switching to a 3/4.
With a good NT the rest of our defense might not be exactly what you look for in a traditional 3/4 but it does have enough talent to work. Denver had less talent then us when they switched and they are ranked #5 total defense right now.
In fact 4 out of the top five defenses right now are 3/4 and 2 out of those 4 just switched this year. Denver (#5) and Green Bay (#1). And the other 3/4 top defense (#3) is Pittsburg, who runs the exact sytem we are talking about here.
If you look at Green Bay and Denvers defensive depth chart at the beginning of this year. (beforer the draft and free agency) I bet we have fairly equal talent if not better than either of them. If they can do it and do it at that level then we should be able to too.