DB or LB or DL

[NO-KG-AI]

I thought about it more, and if I was picking from todays league, I'd go DL's.

but if I could put a prime Ray Lewis, and a prime LT together... I'll take that.

[Wizards2Lottery]

If I could get Shaun Rogers and Tommie Harris on my DL together, I could have the crap the Bengals call LBs and still have a dominant defense. I'm a 4-3 guy though. Give those two to Dick Lebeau, or BBJ, and they're gonna need a lot of help.

I believe the key to defense is controlling the middle of the field, from the LOS all the way to as far as the QB can chuck it. If you can control the run between the tackles, get pressure on the QB up the gut, and keep WRs from doing damage while crossing the middle and running seams/posts, you're going to have a very good defense. You can do it with DL or LB--play to the strengths of your talent.

As far as lockdown CBs, I see them more as a luxury than a necessity. Look at New England--Samuel is a pretty good cover CB, but for most of their recent run they've had subpar CBs and still done quite well. Indy swaps CBs like Hugh Hefner swaps hotties and their pass D is always better than their run D.

The Patriots had Ty Law then replaced by Asante Samuels.

Its a two way street. New Orleans has one of the best DE tandem in the league and there corners still get toasted on a consistent basis.

[NO-KG-AI]

We also have Garbage DT's, Garbage LB's and garbage corners.

[J.Kim]

-= original quote snipped =-



Because it proves that you don't need an elite defensive line to be dominant. Most QB's get the ball out of there hands within 2-4 seconds regardless of pressure or not.

Having a shutdown corner allows you to run much more variations in a defense than having a Pro bowl defensive end. Besides that, elite secondary players are much more consistent than defensive ends. Theres only a few defensive lineman in the game who bring it every game.

Top Cornerbacks fluctuate way more than Top Defensive Ends. If you take a list from something like 2 years ago and compared it to now, some of the names on the top of the list, should not even be there now. Ty Law, Lito Sheppard, Chris McAlister and etc. Even someone like Champ Bailey has fallen off quite a bit since his last 2 years of dominance. IMO, it seems that top cornerbacks often have peaks of 2-3 seasons at the top, until they fall back to the norm.

From a strategical point of view, like it or not, most teams still have a rush-pass ratio that still trends towards the rush as opposed to the pass. And while Pro-Bowl D-Linemen can contribute on both aspects (Run Stopping, Pass Rushing), it's harder for a Cornerback to make a mark on the Run Stopping.

Lastly, Andre Carter and Cornelius Griffin are both looking like Pro-Bowlers this season.

[J.Kim]

As to my choice, I would take two Pro-Bowl DTs over two Pro-Bowl DEs.

[Basketball Jesus]

But Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork and Jarvis Green aren't too shabby.

That

[Basketball Jesus]

As far as lockdown CBs, I see them more as a luxury than a necessity. Look at New England--Samuel is a pretty good cover CB, but for most of their recent run they've had subpar CBs and still done quite well. Indy swaps CBs like Hugh Hefner swaps hotties and their pass D is always better than their run D.

I

[J.Kim]

The one thing I don't entirely like about the 3-4 formation is that you give up the tonnage up front, in order to gain a little versatility. Maybe it's just me, but I feel that against a team that specializes and is very efficient at the run, the 3-4 is very vulnerable.

Comparatively, in a 4-3, there's enough weight up front, and IMO, enough versatility within the LB/Safety Positions to make up for the loss of coverage personnel...

But it's always interesting to see people's opinions on these type of things. It gives a great insight into how other people view the games.

[Basketball Jesus]

I think, with the right personnel up the middle (NT, ILBs, SS), you can enjoy the same kind of success stopping the run that you get with a 4-3. Of course this puts a premium on massive NTs that can dedicate two blockers and a safety with ballhawking skills but what you lose there you more than make up with by having a great intermediate pass defense as well as the ability to send in a variety of blitz packages.

I hate to keep using the Patriots as a reference but they

[Manhattan Project]

Look at the Jacksonville tandem, Stroud and Henderson.
Look at the NY Giants tandem, Osi and Straham.
Look at the Ravens tandem, Lewis, Suggs and Scott.
Look at the Broncos tandem, Bailey and Bly.

Anyway you look at it or change the players around, Im taking the two defensive tackles every time. When you can control the middle of the line like they do, that just elevates everyone around them.

[captain_cheapseats]

I think, with the right personnel up the middle (NT, ILBs, SS), you can enjoy the same kind of success stopping the run that you get with a 4-3. Of course this puts a premium on massive NTs that can dedicate two blockers and a safety with ballhawking skills but what you lose there you more than make up with by having a great intermediate pass defense as well as the ability to send in a variety of blitz packages.

I hate to keep using the Patriots as a reference but they

[Basketball Jesus]

That is the biggest hurdle towards building a great 3-4 defense though. (We're getting away from the OP's question... but whatever) How many 350+ Nose Tackles are you going to find, that are as agile and gap-stuffing as their 300 Defensive Tackle counterparts? Those type of players are really rare, and most of the time that you DO find a Nose Tackle that big, you end up realizing that they're not as agile or not as good at gap-stuffing.

That

[captain_cheapseats]

I think you

[Basketball Jesus]

But the thing is, Once that designated rusher leaves his area to blitz the QB, how different is it from the 4-3? I know you gain an element of surprise in that the O-Line and the Offense doesn't know where the 4th man (or subsequent blitzers) are coming from, but in my view, you lose out slightly on the actual skills of the pass rushing DE, and a good O-Linemen can neutralize a pass rushing LB much easier than a pass rushing DE (partially because those Pass rushing LBs are lighter, and less physical... of course you have the exceptions such as Merrimen, and Ware, but I take the view that they're more rare and uncommon than the normal Pass-Rushing DE).

A blitz is a blitz in terms of dedicated pass rushing but not all blitzes are the same. Where a 3-4 gives a better chance for success, in my opinion, is that the ability to switch up your blitzers and mask them forces teams to dedicate more men back in protection. The element of surprise is important in blitzing: sending in vanilla blitzes or pass-rushes isn

[captain_cheapseats]

All very good points. I've thought long and hard about it, and you make very good points that I can't seem to counteract to.

Though for this:

I don

[Basketball Jesus]

You and your grandpa-era run-oriented offensive concerns. Come into the 21st century, JKim.

[J.Kim]

Let me just grab my walker and my reading glasses.

[Basketball Jesus]

One thing I think that probably bears mentioning is that, in a base 3-4, it

[captain_cheapseats]

One thing I think that probably bears mentioning is that, in a base 3-4, it

[captain_cheapseats]

That