NFL look-ahead: Five defenses to watch
By LARRY JOSEPHSON
The 3-4 defense is roaring back into vogue after dominating the NFL terrain a few decades ago and then going into a fade pattern.
The formation is a linebacker-dominated defense which uses two defensive ends, and a nose tackle that often bears a striking resemblance to Rush Limbaugh. One linebacker (and sometimes two) will rush on almost every passing play while the defensive ends do their best to apply pressure and the nose tackle occupies the center and hopefully one other blocker.
Linebackers get the sacks, glory and big contracts. Pittsburgh’s James Harrison was the defensive player of the year in the NFL last season, and it was obvious Carolina’s Julius Peppers had a switch to outside linebacker in mind when he asked to be traded.
The 3-4 gives a team more coverage possibilities against teams which send four (and occasionally five) receivers into patterns. It makes life more complicated for centers (who call out the blocking assignments), quarterbacks (who call audibles) and coaches (who have to spend more time on game plans).
Here’s at a look at five NFL teams that will use the 3-4 this season and the problems they might face:
Green Bay Packers
2008 numbers: Points allowed per game: 23.8; Total yards per game: 334.3; Over/under record: 9-6-1
The Packers are moving to a 3-4 this season – sort of. They announced their intention when they hired 3-4 guru Dom Capers away from New England to run it, and the exclamation point was spending their first-round draft pick on Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji. The Packers will likely devote the first part of training camp determining if Raji – who played in a 4-3 setup at BC – is best suited for defensive end (where he can rush the passer) or nose tackle (where he reads the center, then reacts).
Head coach Mike McCarthy says the team is not wedded to the 3-4, but will use it as the base defense. There is depth at linebacker with the likes of A.J. Hawk, Aaron Kampman and Clay Matthews (another first-round pick). They have to figure things out quickly if they expect to improve on a 6-10 record last year that was due to the team’s inability to pressure the quarterback.
Kansas City Chiefs
Points allowed: 27.5; Total yards: 393.2; Over/under record: 8-8
Kansas City had no choice. In the wide-open AFC West, pass coverage is essential. So the Chiefs locked down their defensive line by spending high draft picks on Tyson Jackson and Alex Magee, wanting to pair them on the D line with a hopefully improved Glenn Dorsey. Interestingly, no one in Kansas City is certain that Dorsey will be able to handle things too well at either DE or DT.
Linebacker Derrick Johnson has the speed and talent to handle one OLB spot, and the Chiefs hope that they can bleed a year or two out of veteran Mike Vrabel. Vrabel had an off year in 2008, though the entire Patriots’ defense sucked wind at times. Kansas City has 14 LBs on the roster, though a few are listed as LBs despite spending entire careers on the D line.
Denver Broncos
Points allowed: 28.0; Total yards: 374.6; Over/under record: 8-7-1
Denver’s management is indecisive enough on the offensive side of the ball without being non-committal on defense. The Broncos have no nose tackle of note and return the guts of a defense that ranked 30th in the league and gave up 28 points a game last season. Denver could have crawled into the playoffs by winning just one of the final three games, and instead gave up a total of 112 points, losing all of them.
Something had to be done. Mike Nolan, a 3-4 guy, was brought in from San Francisco to run the defense, but the Broncos don’t appear to have the personnel to make it work. There are holes everywhere, starting at nose tackle. The good news is DeWayne Robertson has had experience in the 3-4 with the Jets. The bad news is that Robertson hates the defense, and has been vocal about it. Just what the Broncos need, another pissed-off player.
Cleveland Browns
Points allowed: 21.9; Total yards: 356.5; Over/under record: 6-9-1
Cleveland’s original plan was for new coach Eric Mangini to play nose tackle, but since he’s only 5-foot-7, that presented problems. So Shaun Rogers returns to the job, and he’s more than pretty good. There are two problems: Last season the Browns defense treated opposing quarterbacks like they were bags of rattlesnakes (only 18 sacks) and the Cleveland offense was so bad that field position was a major issue.
D’Qwell Jackson led the NFL in tackles last season with 96, but his forte is stuffing the run. Mangini has a half dozen former Jets on the roster and used an old Patriots trick of trading down, down, down in the draft in order to strengthen the middle of the roster. Browns fans are tired of being patient, but that will be needed here.
New York Jets
Points allowed: 22.3; Total yards: 329.4; Over/under record: 8-7-1
Jets fans are giddy about the arrival of new boss Rex Ryan, who helped choreograph all those great Ravens defenses. Ryan lured away some of his former Ravens, most notably linebacker Bart Scott, to improve a defense that was average last season. But the key is NT Kris Jenkins, who some typical over-the-top Jets fans were hyping for NFL MVP last season before kissing the season good-bye by losing four of their last five. Jenkins will reside primarily at the nose but could see time at DE as Ryan tries to mix things up.
The schedule sets up pretty well for New York early. The Jets catch New England at home in Week 2 after New England plays the previous Monday night (Buffalo) in its opener, so Bill Belichick will not have a lot of look at Ryan’s defense before their first meeting. If the Jets open 2-0 with a win over New England, the New York Post will publish the parade route.