Lionness's Defensive Scheme

[Zekyl]

I know this was a big convo last offseason with a new coach coming in. Any chances it changes going into next season? I always love the idea of a 3-4 and I think we have some players that could fit the scheme, but it's probably not very likely.

IF Shaun Rogers were to become available, would you bring him in to stick in the middle of a 3-4? How would Suh fit on the line if you drafted him, or McCoy? I read a few profiles that said Suh would be great as a DE in a 3-4 because of his athleticism. Does Sammie Lee Hill fit as a 3-4 tackle or end?

Where does Ernie Sims play? Would he fit as a 3-4 OLB or would he have to move to ILB? Obviously Levy starts at ILB and Peterson at OLB. Do you bring back Foote to play the inside with Levy? That's where he was at his best, and he could help the transition having played in a 3-4.

Possible, but very unlikely.



What about the 4-4 that the Titans have run in the past while Schwartz was there? Obviously not a primary defensive scheme but just a different look to throw at teams.

[Tahoe]

DrRay? WTFChris?

[WTFchris]

I already responded to a similar post in another thread. I would support the move to a 3-4. This would be a great time to do it too since we have very little on the DL and need new players there anyway. Cunningham has run the 3-4, so that wouldn't be a problem. There are also some good space eaters later in the draft. You could draft Cody or Dan Williams in the 3nd or 3rd maybe. If they are not there, other DT's will be pushed back to there based on the depth at that position.

That might allow you to go:

1) Berry
2) DE
3) DT
4) OG

And try and sign a LT (I know a couple have been mentioned on here).

Then you hope a couple guys we have already fit better in that scheme. I saw it first hand here in Denver. Dumerville was an OK 4-3 DE, but he's a stud as a 3-4 OLB. They still need a space eater in the middle, but they went from one of the worst defenses to a top 10 defense overnight. They added a playmaking safety (Dawkins) and a solid CB (ironically that we let go).

[WTFchris]

I like the 3-4 because it allows for the A gap blitz (ILB). You still have one ILB in coverage and that middle blitz is very hard to stop. Especially if you have a good DT because it creates single blocking on him, or it pulls an OG that would have chipped into the DE's.

And when it's a run play you essentially get your ILB in the hole that much faster to stuff it. The only downside is a slant pattern that may have otherwise been covered with the ILB there.

At any rate, it allows for pressure in many different ways that a 4-3 does not. We used to play it and had success here (when Pat Swilling was an OLB lining up in a down stance most of the time).

[Zekyl]

I feel like Cliff Avril could be one of those guys that moves to a 3-4 end and shows a big improvement. He's got the athleticism and showed flashes as a last year but never stepped up this year. He's what got me thinking 3-4 last offseason. Does Hill have the ability to be the NT though?

[Tahoe]

He looked confused to me. I really thought he was going to be a monster and Hunter outplayed him.

Maybe the new defensive coordinator fucked with his head.

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

The Lions should run a hybrid defense like the Ravens do. I remember when Adalius Thomas was with Baltimore, he'd line up at OLB one play and DE the next, depending on the situation. With a guy like Cliff Avril, who's biggest asset is his speed, I would think he'd play well in that sort of system, where he can be more versatile.

[darkobetterthanmelo]

The Lions should run a hybrid defense like the Ravens do. I remember when Adalius Thomas was with Baltimore, he'd line up at OLB one play and DE the next, depending on the situation. With a guy like Cliff Avril, who's biggest asset is his speed, I would think he'd play well in that sort of system, where he can be more versatile.

I agree. Then the 3 down lineman can focus on occupying blockers, letting the blitz create the pass rush.

[DrRay11]

The coaching staff we currently have in place has said time and again that it's about switching the scheme to fit the players' strengths, and not vice versa. Although, to this point, that has been more talk than walk. The truth is that we have some personnel that would make for an interesting hybrid scheme.

The comparison between Avril and Dumervil is legitimate. Their skillsets and builds are already quite similar, and time and again we've seen rush OLB's with Avril's skill set be wildly successful. Our team would be much more difficult to prepare for, seeing as the opponent would need to prepare for two different schemes, essentially.

Peterson and Avril would make for quite an interesting duo on the edges with Levy and Sims playing on the inside. Sims, unfortunately, is not the best fit playing inside on a 3-4 due to his inability to cover well. We might look at a replacement there... Levy, on the other hand, has me excited due to his well-balanced game and should make a fine ILB in a 3-4.

That brings us to the d-line. If we were able to draft Suh, it creates an exciting situation. Suh has the body and skill set to probably play at 3-4 DE and 4-3 DT. Once again, that would lend itself to a hybrid scheme. The problem is, if we can't get Suh, we don't really have much great personnel to put on the line... Hill might be able to play 3-4 DE, I'm not sure he's big enough to be an NT on a 3 front. It would be kind of crazy at first thought, but we could look at Suh with our first pick and Terrence Cody in the 2nd if we really wanted to go to a hybrid scheme. That line would be fuckin beast mode if they both panned out. In my mock, I have us taking McCoy (assuming Suh is gone) and then a DE in the second (Graham). Would drafting two DT's be so different than that?

The 3 front would be: Suh/Cody/Hill and the 4 front would be Avril/Suh/Hill/Hunter, with Cody only playing about 40-50% of the snaps anyway due to fatigue. That is an ineresting idea, to say the least... Rather than bringing back Shaun Rogers, who is going to begin declining soon, we'd have a young nucleus on the d-line that, if they pan out, would be formidable for a long time as the Vikings have seen with the Williamses. Then we could look to the secondary in the 3rd/4th round and offensive guard there as well.

[WTFchris]

I don't think I'd take Graham if we went 3-4 actually. He's undersized for DE in a 3-4 and while he's mobile you don't want him in coverage. He's best as a 4-3 DE. If we went 3-4 I would consider Suh and Cody though. Suh has enough athletism to play DE in a 3-4. That would be amazing, but unless a QB blows St Louis away they will take Suh.