Let's Talk 3-4 Defense in Cincy

[jfkbengals]

There is something I have not seen mentioned in all of this, that there are less players available to the NFL for 34 fronts then 43 fronts. The Steelers and Pats had a period of being the primary teams running the 34 and thus had their pick of whomever they wanted to fit their systems. Being a copycat league, more teams switched trying to emulate their defensive success, and shrinking the available talent pool. We have seen the success of the Steelers defensive draft picks tail off as a result. Bellicheck recognized the problem early enough that he started targeting hybrid guys for a few years to be in position to make a switch if the problem got worse. Now the 34 is the predominant defense in the NFL, and the Pats run a 43 base because there is a surplus of 43 players in drafts.