How does our "4-3 with 3-4 tendencies" work?

[Smelly McUgly]

This is just a question that I want to make sure that I understand the answer to.

Is it just that the LEO can play on the line, hand in the dirt and show a 4-3 look, but can also stand up at SAM and show 3-4? Or is there more to it than the LEO/SAM interchangeability?

On that note, thinking of guys that we have that can play both LB and DE, it's pretty clear besides Avril and Irvin, Schofield is going to make this team, right?

 

[Sac]

The way PC described it is as a 4-3 under with 3-4 personnel. So the interior D-Linemen and the large, Red Bryant end act as the 3 down linemen in a 3-4. The Leo role is more the designated pass rusher/OLB that plays on the line of scrimmage in a 4-3 alignment.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

Gotcha, so it is really that last guy standing up and playing SAM or putting a hand in the dirt on the line and playing DE as the LEO/9-tech.

In the case of that player moving to SAM, that would make Wagner and someone else MIKES and Wright WILL. Have we heard any news about who would shift inside and be the second MIKE in that scenario?

Thanks for the answer, man,

 

[Scottemojo]

I know how LEO has worked in the past, but this year I have no idea what is brewing. Seems like we have a lot of 3-4 guys, and the coaching staff is throwing the OLB 3-4 terms around quite a bit.

 

[SalishHawkFan]

Ted Bartlett, over at It's All Over Fat Man, says defensive schemes have reached a point where 4-3 or 3-4 is largely a meaningless description of what a defense does anymore. He's come up with a defensive scheme indicator much like the psychological profille Myer's-Briggs Type Indicator to describe each teams defensive profile.

It's a really good idea and here's the link: http://www.itsalloverfatman.com/broncos ... -indicator

Front Play
(S) Stack vs. (P) Penetrate
Run Game Orientation
(D) Downhill vs. (F) Flow
Coverage Orientation
(M) Man to Man vs. (Z) Zone
Pressure Orientation
(B) Blitzing vs. (C) Coverage


Seattle Seahawks (4-3)SFZB

This is the most difficult team in the NFL to categorize, because they do a bunch of everything. Really, the only dimension I’m super-comfortable with is flowing. I went with stacking, because the Seahawks like to play two-gap on the closed side, and use a big DE in Red Bryant, similar to how the Broncos and Dolphins use Wolfe and Odrick. I slightly leaned toward zone, because the Seahawks do play a lot of Cover 2 and Cover 3, but they also use plenty of man coverage, so it’s a tough call. Blitzing is basically a projection based on the reports that the Seahawks are moving Bruce Irvin to SLB, presumably to try to emulate what the Broncos do with Von Miller there.

 

[Johnny]

Man this year is going to be exciting, From what I hear Dan Quinn is way more aggressive than Gus Bradley ever was. Can't what for this thursday.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

This is a great article; thank you for this.

Gap coverage, zone/man coverage, and where the LBs line up behind the D-Linemen being more important to understand than merely how many linemen/LBs there are is an interesting point.

I love how hard Seattle is to categorize. This fits with PC's core concept on both sides of the ball; move guys around so that the other team ALWAYS has to be guessing. Get players that can handle multiple roles and do multiple things so that the other team is never sure quite what the Seahawks are going to throw at them.

 

[The Radish]

Here is another example of us needing to be careful about posting large parts of articles.

A couple of sentences or a paragraph max is all we're allowed and then link the balance.

:les:

 

[SalishHawkFan]

My bad Radish. Got excited by this new analytical tool I'd just found and then a discussion of 4-3 vs 3-4 pops up as if on cue and I got carried away.

 

[KEWASTEES]

That was a good read

 

[Tical21]

The way we run the under front is essentially an odd front, with 5 on the line of scrimmage. The similarity is the olb that lines up the same spot in the 4-3 and 3-4. The big difference is that where 3-4 teams have an OLB, we have Red Bryant.