Do the best teams run a 3-4

[Fan_in_Kettering]

(12-19-2016, 04:05 PM)CageTheBengal Wrote: Exactly. That would be a real re-building process that would take time.

...as well as new coaches on the defensive side.

The 4-3 vs. 3-4 debate extends beyond the line and linebackers; even the secondary takes on new assignments in a 3-4 defense.  It's a whole different strategy from the playbook to actual execution on the field.  A three technique defensive tackle in a 4-3 would be lost in a 3-4 where a one technique nose tackle would be more desirable.  Even more drastic are the differences between defensive ends in a 3-4 vice those in a 4-3 and let me tell you what:  Put Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap in a 3-4 and they'll be lost mentally and physically because they become run stuffers instead of pass rushers and pass blockers.  One needs a Haloti Ngata to do this.

The Bengals don't have the requisite type linebackers to play a 3-4 either.  Vontaze Burfict might be able to learn to play inside but Rey Maualuga in a 3-4 would be a cruel joke because he's not fast enough to shoot the bigger gaps a 3-4 creates on the line or drop into coverage.  Who intercepted Andy Dalton yesterday?  Lawrence Timmons, a linebacker.  The outside linebackers in a 3-4 have to be big and fast to set edges, chase down tight ends, and also snare running backs.  James Harrison is prototypical here. 

If a team is set up with the coaches and personnel to run a 4-3 as the Bengals are, there is no reason to change.  It makes as much sense as the Steelers going to a 4-3 with their current players.  That experiment would fail miserably.