The 3-4…What & Why

Posted: January 31st, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 74 Comments »

Let’s talk some more about the 3-4 defense.  We’ll go back to basics to make sure everyone is on the same page and knows what we’re talking about.  The 3-4 is 3 defensive linemen and 4 LBs.

OLB
DE
…..ILB
NT
…..ILB
DE
OLB

Am I an artist or what?  Picasso and Van Gogh are hacks.  I’d like to see de Kooning try and make that into a woman.  Enough about my artistry…

Before going any further, we need to talk about responsibilities.  You can run different kinds of 3-4 just like the 4-3.  You can use smaller, faster players and go with a 1-gap system.  You can go with bigger players and run a 2-gap system.  Wade Phillips loves the 1-gap attack.  Bill Belichick is a guy who would prefer to 2-gap.  My guess is that Chip Kelly would prefer to have more athletic guys and play a 1-gap style.  That’s strictly a guess.

Let’s talk about each position.

OLB – This player is called a linebacker, but essentially he is a pass rusher.  Think of James Harrison, DeMarcus Ware, Clay Matthews, and in the old days…Lawrence Taylor.  The Patriots prefer tall guys while the Steelers like short OLBs.  If you believe a recent report, Kelly will prefer taller OLBs.  6-3 and above would qualify as tall for this spot with 6-5 probably being ideal.

DE – The end in a 3-4 plays what is called the 5-technique.  His job is to be equally good as a run defender and pass rusher.  JJ Watt is the best 3-4 DE in the league.  He was a high pick.  The Steelers have had success developing mid and late round picks to be DEs.  Some teams that like big players are moving big guys to this spot.  Haloti Ngata lined up at DE most of the last 2 years.  Red Bryant is a massive DE for Seattle.  My guess with Kelly is that he’ll look for guys in the 6-4, 300 range.

NT – 10 years ago this player had to be 330 pounds and strong as an ox.  Now we see Jay Ratliff (295 or so) and Shaun Cody (300 or so) as effective NTs.  There are still big NTs.  Terrence Cody is a big man.  Casey Hampton too.  My guess is that Kelly will go smaller here, but not small.  He might like a NT that is 6-3, 315.  That size player can still get upfield, but is also able to anchor against double teams.

ILB – You are basically looking for a pair of MLBs.  You would like the players to be able to rush the passer since blitzing is a big part of the 3-4.  The ILBs must be able to deal with blockers if playing in a 1-gap system.  You need at least one to be good in coverage.  Speed isn’t as critical since there is less ground to cover.

I will put together a depth chart for the Eagles based on current personnel.

DE Fletcher Cox ……. Ronnie Cameron
NT Mike Patterson … Antonio Dixon
DE Cullen Jenkins …. Cedric Thornton

OLB Trent Cole …………….Vinny Curry
ILB Mychael Kendricks … Jamar Chaney ….. Marcus Dowtin
ILB DeMeco Ryans ……… Casey Matthews … Ryan Rau
OLB Brandon Graham …. Phillip Hunt ………. Everette Brown

Cox, Jenkins, and Thornton are all natural 3-4 DEs.  They should do just fine.

NT is a complete mystery.  Dixon hasn’t played a full season since 2010 so you can’t count on him.  Patt is very hard to figure out due to his medical situation.  This is the one spot the Eagles would have to bring in a starting caliber player.

OLB is a partial mystery.  Plenty of people thought Graham was suited for the 3-4 before the draft.  I think he’s still a good pass rusher, but I do question how effective he can be on those plays when he is asked to drop back in coverage.  Cole doesn’t have the overall athleticism you’d like, but he’s strong, tough, and smart.  He knows how to rush the passer.  He has a great motor and I think can be okay as a short term 3-4 OLB.  Curry I think can play in the 3-4.  I actually want to save him for a separate post.  Hunt can, but one of the reasons he chose the Eagles is that he wanted to play in a 4-3.  Also, he’s small and if Kelly wants big players, that doesn’t bode well for him.

ILB would be fine with Kendricks and Ryans.  Mychael lacks ideal height, but has the skill set to be a very good ILB.  Ryans is best suited for 4-3 MLB, but can play in the 3-4.  He’s an older player and you’d want to find a young player to develop behind him no matter what.

Could there be some changes?  It is possible that Cole and Curry could bulk up to the 275 pound range and play RDE.  Bruce Smith was a 3-4 DE in the 270s.  It can be done.  I do not like Cox at NT.  He’s better with some space to work with.  That said, could the coaches look at him as a better version of Jay Ratliff and want him there.  Possible I guess.  I do think Thornton would be most natural at DE, where he played in college.

One huge thing to keep in mind is that the 3-4 is a base defense.  The Nickel alignment would still be the 4-2-5.  The Dime would be 4-1-6.  Because teams are so exotic on offense these days, the base defense is only played about half the time.  That means that almost half the snaps would involve a 4-2-5 look.

Trent Cole would still be right at home in the Nickel.  Cox would slide inside to DT, just like JJ Watt does for the Texans.  Curry and Graham could be DE or DT.  Hunt could be the LDE.  The point is that you’d have plenty of snaps in a 4-man line to work guys into roles that they are suited for.

* * * * *

Why go 3-4?

Todd Grantham gave a good explanation:

Grantham figured out he was a 3-4 guy during a stint with the Indianapolis Colts from 1999-2001. At the time, Peyton Manning was maturing into one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. In practice every week, Grantham watched Manning diagnose and pick apart even-front defenses. As soon as the defenders lined up, Manning recognized the coverage and could spot any weaknesses.

That wasn’t the case in 2000 when the Colts faced the New England Patriots and first-year coach Bill Belichick. “When [Manning] went against an even front, he knew the coverage and what you were doing based on the alignment on the front,” Grantham said. “But when he went against the New England Patriots and everything was balanced, he had a much tougher time. You could mentally and physically see the stress during practice of where the fourth rusher was coming from.”

Simply put, the 3-4 makes you less predictable.  You have 7 potential pass rushers on each snap (not counting DBs).  In the 4-3, the rushers are mostly going to be the DL.  LBs will blitz on occasion.  LBs blitz in the 3-4 on a regular basis.  That’s why it is important that all members of the front seven be good pass rushers.

The 3-4 is no magic bullet.  You need good players and a good coach.  Just switching the scheme means nothing.  The Skins were 28th and Dallas 19th this year, both as 3-4 teams.  The Giants were 31st and the Eagles 15th as 4-3 teams.  By the way…did anyone really think the Eagles gave up the fewest yards in the division?

My guess is that Kelly likes the unpredictability of the 3-4.  He probably also likes the fact it gives you the freedom to better adjust to your personnel.  Kelly likes systems that allow him to adjust to his players.

* * * * *

I wrote up some thoughts on Georgia OLB Jarvis Jones.  More than a few fans have asked about him as a target at #4.  I think that would be a bit early for him.

I also included some good Youtube videos to watch.  Take a look for yourself and see what you think of Mr Jones in action.

_


The Trent Cole Mystery

Posted: January 30th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 31 Comments »

From 2009-2011 Trent Cole racked up 33.5 sacks.  He was a force off the edge.  Not only was he an outstanding pass rusher, Cole was a very good run defender.  He was everything you would want in a RDE.  Expectations were sky high in 2012.  The season began…

And then depression set in.

Cole had the worst year of his career.  He finished with just 3 sacks, despite starting all 16 games.  There was a calf injury back in the summer, but that wasn’t severe enough to bother him all year.  I asked around on Cole and a few people said he just wasn’t himself in 2012.  Some feel that Jim Washburn was the main problem.  For some reason, he and Trent never saw eye to eye.

It is also possible that Trent just started to slip due to age.  He turned 30 in October.  Trent is one of the toughest, hardest-working players the Eagles have ever had, but no one escapes Father Time.  (Just ask the 3 wise men…Domo, Les, and Roob.)

The reason for encouragement is that Cole played 2 of his best games after Washburn was fired.  Trent was very good against Cincy and Washington.  He totaled 10 tackles, a sack, and was regularly disruptive in those games.

Dave Spadaro wrote a column on Trent.  I’m not sure how we’re supposed to read between the lines here, but it doesn’t feel encouraging.  Here are some of the key parts:

Cole has dropped in coverage many times over the years and he’s done a good job in the occasional zone scheme. Now, though, the consideration is how he would perform on a full-time basis.

How effective would Cole be as a rush linebacker, at 270 pounds, at the age of 30 (31 in October)? You know how the NFL feels about players on the other side of 30 years old, no matter how superbly conditioned they are and no matter how hard they work or how technically sound they may be. In many circles, 30 is the age of concern in the NFL.

And…

The Eagles have some young and promising pieces to work with along their defensive front. They’ve invested high draft picks and free-agency dollars and trade assets to bolster the line over these last many years. The front four was seen as a strength heading into 2012, and the startling drop in production was a mystery to all.

It’s fair to say, then, as the Eagles go through the process of evaluating their existing personnel and mulling scheme strategies that how they view Cole will play strongly into the direction they take in the offseason as far as free agency, the draft and the possibility of changing to a 3-4 front.

It feels like Dave is hinting to us that the Eagles will switch to a 3-4 and go looking for a top pass rusher.  If Chip Kelly and Howie Roseman saw Cole as a key to the defense, they might stay 4-3.  Instead, Fletcher Cox may now be the key to the defense and he fits the 3-4 just fine.  Could be that Dave is just thinking out loud, so to speak.

Trent controls his destiny.  If he plays well, he’ll keep a job.  If you listen to him and believe his words, Trent will do everything in his power to get back to 10 sacks and being a top pass rusher.  2012 did not sit well with him, as an individual or as part of the Eagles.

I am highly biased.  I was a big fan of Trent’s coming out of Cincinnati.  Here was my response on a message board to his being picked:

Getting Trent Cole is awesome. They showed him (listed) as a LB. Interesting. I guess they’ll give him a shot at SAM. I would like to see him get a shot at RDE. He isn’t that much smaller than ND Kalu was when he came out of Rice.

The big question at the time was whether Cole would be a LB or DE.  Cole spent a lot of Senior Bowl week at LB.  I thought he was lost and should be a pass rusher, whether as DE or 3-4 OLB.  Thankfully the Eagles put him at RDE and turned him loose on QBs.

Here is a write-up I did on him back then.

Goes about 6’2, 245. NFL.com lists him at 257, but I’m not so sure about that. Needs to play DE no matter what. Could play LB, but Trent is a pass rusher. Looks athletic. More quick than fast. Can explode off the ball. Does a good job of using arms to get into the OL and keep some separation. Has long arms. Hustles. Knocked over the LT on one play by exploding at the snap and getting into him before the T could get set. Can shed blocks. Makes plays in the backfield, whether on the RB or QB. Disruptive. Has good closing speed in getting to the QB. Good effort pursuing plays, but lacks the pure speed to be special in that regard. He’ll battle Jamaal Green for the #5 DE spot. I tend to think Cole will get the job. Could develop into a solid rotational DE.

It is funny to look back and see that he was expected to be more of a situational pass rusher than a starter.

He was a mystery back then and is a mystery today.  The question isn’t whether he’ll pan out, but rather whether he’s over the hill or if 2012 was an anomaly, for whatever reason.

I’ll be pulling for Trent to have a bounce-back season, whether at RDE or ROLB in the 3-4.  I can’t say with any certainty that he’ll get back to being a force off the edge, but I sure hope that is what happens.  One thing I do know is that Trent will give everything he has to get back to his previous level.  If he fails, it won’t be due to lack of effort.

_