(02-12-2019, 05:23 PM)McC Wrote: He had a PFF grade of 74.9.  There might be a bit of a false narrative going on about him.  And he's still very young.

Tupou graded out 73.0. Glasgow was at 84.1 when he got injured.

They seem to grade DT's highly and RB's harshly for whatever reason.

For what it's worth, Billings was the #39 ranked DI.

(02-12-2019, 12:05 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: So our best player on defense is Geno Atkins. Moving to a 3-4 basically negates him and Dunlap as they will be taking on blockers as lineman in a 3-4 don't produce a lot of sacks.

Then, our LB unit was our absolute worst unit on the team...and instead of finding 2 new linebackers...we'd need 3.

Why can't we keep running a 4/3 and just bring Lawson and Hubbard in at OLB on passing downs and have them blitz?

Plus, Lawson was pretty 1 dimensional. He's a good pass rusher. He's not good at stopping the run. He's not good in coverage. Moving him to ILB would be terrible.

 Uh what?  Geno works perfectly as a 3/4 DE.  Lawson is a guy you can use anywhere for pass rush and there a big difference playing the run as a 4/3 DE vs 3/4 ILB.  Fact is our defensive line would have more options in a 3/4 than it does in a 4/3.

(02-12-2019, 05:31 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: Tupou graded out 73.0. Glasgow was at 84.1 when he got injured.

They seem to grade DT's highly and RB's harshly for whatever reason.

For what it's worth, Billings was the #39 ranked DI.

I like Glasgow a lot and he's consistently gotten better.  Billings has shown me nothing.  He was a man among boys in college, but at the NFL level he's way to soft especially with braces and that baby face.

The idea of Linebacker being our weakest position and then having a defensive system where more of them will be on the field is pretty daunting. I understand you can convert players like Lawson to a 3-4 Linebacker and all that, but that isn't guaranteed to take and may backfire.

(02-12-2019, 02:35 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: This topic gets discussed EVERY YEAR and it never seems like a good idea to me.

You're so locked into your opinion that even when the entire coaching staffs basically moved on and we can start fresh; its not a viable option to you.  You cannot build this team around Atkins and Dunlap they are passing their prime you need to invest in what's next.   Look no matter how optimistic you can be for this season we are basically in a rebuild.  Guys like WJ3, Jessie Bates, and Sam Hubbard are the future.  

Sorry, I'm not trying to single you out and maybe I'm wrong in the end. Either way, I feel like after 20 years its time to try something new.

All I'll say (for now) about a switch to 3-4 is that I think both Atkins and Dunlap have the size and speed to be 3-4 DE's without any problems. Fwiw, we did switch to 3-4 in the late 90's and there was concern over "Big Daddy" being able to make the switch, but he did just fine. Our need at LB would only be magnified by the switch, though.

People keep saying LB is an issue because there are 4 instead of 3....but you need to think of it as 1 rush backer (Standing DE) one hybrid rush backer (occasionally drops into coverage) and two "traditional" backers. This actually masks are issues probably more than staying in a 4-3.

Hell why should we try something different with the 32nd ranked D?

So they'll trade Dunlap to Oakland for a 1st round pick. It's true, he's not a good fit for the 3-4, but we are switching to the 3-4. Just by the DC options we are bringing in....

and we are signing some FA lb's (Mosley) to help with the transition.

(02-12-2019, 09:43 PM)jj22 Wrote: So they'll trade Dunlap to Oakland for a 1st round pick. It's true, he's not a good fit for the 3-4, but we are switching to the 3-4. Just by the DC options we are bringing in....

and we are signing some FA lb's (Mosley) to help with the transition.

What? How does Dunlap not fit in the 3-4? Hell he probably fits better in the 3-4 than any of our defensive lineman. Geno maybe but if we play the same style as Wade Phillips than there shall be no issue.

(02-12-2019, 11:46 AM)Socal Bengals fan Wrote: To run the 3 4 need more 605 290 pound defensive ends.  Steelers have the prototype ends on their team.

They could move Washington to a 3-4 DE, or Willis if he put some weight on.  But a lot of 3-4 defenses run a DE, a NT, and a 3T.  Dunlap, Billings, Geno would fit that mold with Lawson and Hubbard at OLB.

(02-12-2019, 08:55 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Hell why should we try something different with the 32nd ranked D?

Mic drop

(02-12-2019, 12:05 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: So our best player on defense is Geno Atkins. Moving to a 3-4 basically negates him and Dunlap as they will be taking on blockers as lineman in a 3-4 don't produce a lot of sacks.

Aaron Donald would disagree with you.

(02-12-2019, 08:55 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Hell why should we try something different with the 32nd ranked D?

(02-12-2019, 11:25 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: Mic drop

Right, let's play 10 DB and only 1 DL.

I mean if we were worst last year then any change is justified.

Brilliant logic. Just change for the sake of change will fix everything.

(02-13-2019, 10:00 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Right, let's play 10 DB and only 1 DL.

I mean if we were worst last year then any change is justified.

Brilliant logic. Just change for the sake of change will fix everything.

No one said any change is justified. The discussion was talking about switching to a 3-4 and folks are suggesting we don't have the personnel. Well apparently we don't have the personnel to run a 4-3 very well; so the personnel part should be moot. 

(02-12-2019, 06:00 PM)Okeana Wrote: I like Glasgow a lot and he's consistently gotten better.  Billings has shown me nothing.  He was a man among boys in college, but at the NFL level he's way to soft especially with braces and that baby face.

I think Glasgow going down really hurt our dline going forward.

(02-13-2019, 11:36 AM)Wyche Wrote: I think Glasgow going down really hurt our dline going forward.

Yes it did, and if he's like Geno and Billings, don't expect much from him this year either. Seems to take these linemen two seasons to get back....

Yeah, we don't have the personnel to run a 3-4.

(02-13-2019, 08:23 PM)Older Than You Too Wrote: Yeah, we don't have the personnel to run a 3-4.

I'm curious why you would say that?

(02-13-2019, 08:28 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: I'm curious why you would say that?

...We don't have the linemen or linebackers to run a 3-4. I'm talking player personnel, not coaches.