Watching the Badgers defense got me thinking of this, and it makes some sense for our team. The 3-4 can allow the defense to disguise more looks than the 4-3 by opening up free tacklers vs the run and generating a better pass rush from unconventional angles.
We seem to have trouble finding impact defensive linemen, so why not rely on one less of them? Beyond Richardson, the tackles don't get a push, and there hasn't been a pass rushing presence from the ends since Cockran in 2013. The linebacker corps is relatively deep and diversified with athletes, enough so that you can fill the MLB and rush-OLB roles. There are so many "tweeners" in our front 7 depth chart that this may be a better fit for our team.
Here's a rough sketch of how the existing players could fit into a 3-4 scheme for 2016 (front 7):
DE: Stelter, H. Ekpe, FR
NT: Richardson, S. Ekpe, Timms, Moore, Carr, FR
DE: Elmore, Hall, JUCO, FR
OLB: Celestin, Coughlin, Delattiboudere, Gibson
MLB: Poock, Rallis, Waters, Dixon
MLB: Lynn, Williams, Wipson
OLB: Huff, Kafo, Barber, Martin
Just a thought.
We seem to have trouble finding impact defensive linemen, so why not rely on one less of them? Beyond Richardson, the tackles don't get a push, and there hasn't been a pass rushing presence from the ends since Cockran in 2013. The linebacker corps is relatively deep and diversified with athletes, enough so that you can fill the MLB and rush-OLB roles. There are so many "tweeners" in our front 7 depth chart that this may be a better fit for our team.
Here's a rough sketch of how the existing players could fit into a 3-4 scheme for 2016 (front 7):
DE: Stelter, H. Ekpe, FR
NT: Richardson, S. Ekpe, Timms, Moore, Carr, FR
DE: Elmore, Hall, JUCO, FR
OLB: Celestin, Coughlin, Delattiboudere, Gibson
MLB: Poock, Rallis, Waters, Dixon
MLB: Lynn, Williams, Wipson
OLB: Huff, Kafo, Barber, Martin
Just a thought.
