Looking for some education here, fellas. Every time I see the 3-4 mentioned, there is a quick response which includes the words "no" and "Mario". Question: what is it about these two that makes them incompatible? Is Mario too slow to be our own version of LT? Please be gentle: I am asking honestly and out of nearly complete and utter ignorance. The only thing I (think) I know about 3-4 and 4-3 is one has 3 guys up front and the other has 4.
He would be asked to entertain blockers so that the linebackers can get all the glory. We want to see mario doing his lambada dance after sacking the qb not ziles.
3-4 DEs are required to fill space and spring LB. you don't pay mario williams 80 eleventy billion dollars to fill space. you could potentially move him to OLB, but he'd have to be able to adequetly cover RBs and TEs and i don't think, at his size, he can do it. most 3-4 OLBs are undersized, converted DEs who are fast, fast, fast. quick comparison; james harrison is 6'0", 245; mario is 6'6", 295. can you imagine him chasing chris johnson all over the field?
Yeah, having Connor Barwin cover the RB out of the backfield in the first half didn't work out too well... I always love seeing our DE's cover RB's and our LB's covering WR's. Gotta love that Texans defense!
Exactly! Otherwise, you risk giving away the surprise element of the 3-4 by having Mario blitz on every down. You want to be able to have the OLBs rush/drop on any given play to make it hard for the offense to recognize where the blitz is coming from. For those tossing out DeMarcus Ware as a comp, he's listed at 6'4", 242 lbs. So that's a bit lighter than Mario, and you don't see him lining up as a DE in their scheme. This was a big problem in the old Texans 3-4, everyone knew where the blitz was coming from when Posey/Babin/etc. was lined up on the edge. I think we need to give Bush a chance to work with this defense and see where it's at at the end of the year.
They could run the hybrid IMO. Williams can play on the 2nd line situationally. I could see it wreaking some havoc too. But first you have to have a fundamentally sound & decent defense before you start adding all the sexy twists.
Let's not fall into the same line of thinking that had us passing over the best player available each draft because he didn't fit the scheme. Mario is good enough that I believe he could do just about anything on defense except maybe lining up on an island across from Randy Moss. That said, I do not understand the fascination with changing schemes, it baffles me really, the issue I see is not a problem with the scheme but with the talent we have running the scheme. In fact, I'll go on record as saying the talent is for the most part there and the only thing lacking is continuity; don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we have top ten talent on that side of the ball but we have enough. Enough that we should be middle of the road minimum and more that enough at a few positions which should help hide the areas where the talent is lacking. You give me average ppg allowed per game and I'll give you a winning season with this offense.
not advocating changing schemes. just asked the question, knowing the responses would help me understand the differences.
Interesting to see who the Texans would have drafted in 06 if Capers was the coach since Mario does not fit the 3-4
it's not about passing over players; it's about effectively utilizing the players you already have. mario williams is a pass rushing DE. he either becomes a space-eating DE or a wildly mistcast OLB in a 3-4. i think it'd be a silly mistake to ask a near 300-lb man, no matter how athletic, to try and guard RBs, TEs and even, occassionally, slot WRs.
Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, Calvin Pace, James Harrison. Undersized DEs, hybrids perfect for playing OLB in the 34 scheme. You know what the vital component of the 34 truly is though right? A run-stuffing, offensive-lineman eating, gap filling Defensive Tackle, i.e. Casey Hampton, Haloti Ngata, Kris Jenkins, etc. A man among boys.
I do not agree. If you have 10 players playing a 4-3, but draft a 3-4 OLB in the first round, what do you do? Switch to a 3-4? Play the "better" LB at the Will even though the "worse" player is a better Will. Scheme does define how good a player is to a specific team. I do believe if you have a good will and the best player for you team left in a draft is a will, you draft the will or trade down. If the best player available is a 3-4 OLB, you try to trade down with a 3-4 team. Back on the Mario topic, Mario would probably be a very good 3-4 DE in the league as he has all the skills needed to play the run. 3-4 DEs usually aren't paid well so it would be tough to play a 3-4 with him and have money for OLBs and the NT. Mario's pass rushing skills would be a luxury in a 3-4, but dang the Jets would be even scarier if Mario was lined up next to Jenkins. Also, I doubt Mario would like playing 3-4 DE so he would be gone as soon as he was a free agent.
Listen, I am NOT advocating a switch in schemes again. Just stating that if Aaron Kampman could be asked to play OLB in a 3-4 Mario COULD do it. I am also coming out against leaving talent on the draft board because you think your scheme and not talent is the answer. Isn't it funny how we're kind of being subjected to the same kind of thing just on the offensive side of the ball. Our cut block SCHEME is amazing, our 245lb center will shine in this SCHEME, blah blah blah. Give me the talent and I'll adjust my scheme thank you very much.
kampman is closer in size to harrison than he is mario. and while i've admittedly only seen one packer game this year (the monday nighter), he had ZERO impact on the game. i mean, favre had time to retire, think about it... cry, grant peter king an interview, then a reach around, think about it some more, cry....... before unretiring and throwing a pass. every team does this, though. you try to find the best talent to maximize your scheme, obviously - but all teams draft according to a scheme.
Exactly. With the Steelers, players like Joey Porter and James Harrison get all the glory for being unstoppable edge blitzers but the ENTIRE reason that scheme is effective in the first place for the black & gold is due to Casey Hampton clogging up the middle and taking on two guys. He has been absolutely indispensable, and ironically, a free agent at season's end. If the Texans went to a 3-4 you might as well kiss Mario and those 12-15 sack type seasons goodbye.
Here a brief article from Pat Kirwan @ NFL.com on 3-4 and 4-3 defense. Favoring the 3-4 http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80d6974b&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true I think 3-4 makes sense cuz these days cuz teams are passing, and dumping passes to running backs in space instead of running the ball . Need that 1 more guy who can cover ground instead of only stop the run and pass rush. Who cares what position your sacks are coming from. That said, both schemes need talent to get it done. 2 Super Bowls ago the 4-3 scheme Giants beat the 3-4 scheme Patriots.
