Scheme change?

[Fan_in_Kettering]

The best defenses in history ran a base 4-3 with occasional 3-4 “looks.” The Purple People Eaters, the Doomsday Defense, the Steel Curtain, the ‘85 Bears, and the ‘00 Ravens all ran a base 4-3. When Mike Zimmer was in Cincinnati, the Bengals had good to great defenses.

Currently the Bengals have neither the personnel nor the coaches to make any sort of switch to a base 3-4 defense. Linebackers in a 3-4 scheme have to be sure tacklers and very fast; ours can be timed with a sundial. Also, defensive tackles are not nose tackles; you can’t just move them over half a spot and say, “Do your thing, big guy.”