On the Steelers: Time to switch back to the 4-3?

[stillers4me]

The Steel Curtain, they called them: L.C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes, Joe Greene, Dwight White.

• No defensive line in history became as famous; none with the Steelers has come close to being as celebrated. They just could not find that kind of talent through the years, and they haven't lined up that way since 1982.
• The players who spawned the famous name came from a 4-3 defensive alignment -- four down linemen, three linebackers, two cornerbacks, two safeties. They played that defense throughout the 1970s and dominated opponents using it.

Once those great linemen faded, the Steelers switched to a 3-4 in 1982, removing a lineman and adding a linebacker. It suited their talent at the time, former defensive coordinator Woody Widenhofer said last year.
The 3-4 proved the test of time, too. They've played it now for 31 consecutive seasons, the longest continued tenure of the 3-4 by any NFL team.............


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/on-the-steelers-time-to-switch-back-to-the-4-3-659531/#ixzz2AbH3e5aj

[Seven]

I swear someone brings this up every few months. Until LeBeau leaves, there is no way this happens. And it doesn't really matter anyway. Just off the top of my head, I think it's close to 50/50 now as far as percentages of teams running the 3-4 vs. the 4-3. So that exotic element really doesn't exist anymore for the 3-4. The advantage of having a "mystery" blitzer in the four man rush still exists, but there are definite advantages to the 4-3, too. So really, the only reason the Steelers would change is if the personnel called for it. It's probably closer now than it has been in recent memory, but this team still doesn't have 4-3 personnel.

Even so, I'll dive into it, theoretically.

Defensive Line: Woodley could probably play end, but he's already accustomed to linebacker, so why switch it up? If we changed to a 4-3, we would have Hampton, McLendon, Keisel, Heyward, Hood and Ta'amu all vying for two interior defensive line positions. Even if Hampton and Ta'amu aren't on the team next year, that's a lot of talent to leave on the bench - even in a rotation. And who is going to play end opposite Woodley? Worilds? A first round pick? I guess Keisel could play end in a 4-3, but the pass rush with that setup is going to be less than stellar.

Linebackers: So if Worilds, Carter and Woodley all go to end, that leaves you with Harrison, Sylvester, Timmons, Foote, Spence and Brandon Johnson at linebacker, basically. Foote already tried playing middle in a 4-3 with Detroit and it didn't go great. Harrison could probably play middle in a 4-3, he'd be great at fighting off blocks and breaking down for the tackle but he'd be even more of a liability in coverage than he already is now, in my opinion. Spence is probably too small to play in the middle consistently. Timmons could stay in the middle but would be suited for outside. You've got an excess of decent linebackers who don't really have a spot to play in, so you really don't have much of anything there.

So as you can see there are just too many problems. Some problems, like Carter/Worilds/Woodley being arguably too small for 4-3 end I didn't even mention. If the Steelers changed to a 4-3 they would need at the very least two new starting caliber players at defensive end and middle linebacker.

In the end, the benefits of doing this just don't outweigh the negatives. I don't see how this would make any sense.

[Steeldude]

And who is going to play end opposite Woodley?

Heyward

[GBMelBlount]

Do we have to actually SWITCH from one to the other. On offense you pass and run and a good coordinator will simply tend to run more of the types of plays that suit his personnel and the situation without switching to exclusively one or the other.

So can't we keep our 3-4 because of familiarity and experiment with / use the 4-3 when it might appear best suited for the situation?

[XxKnightxX]

3-4 under or over = 4-3 . There ya go

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[Psycho Ward 86]

Heyward

Carter or Worilds, who both played with their hand down in college, and would play best that way. Same with Woodley.

[fansince'76]

I swear someone brings this up every few months. Until LeBeau leaves, there is no way this happens.

Yep. And it's probably not going to happen under Butler either.

[Craic]

Yep. And it's probably not going to happen under Butler either.

At this point, I don't even think it'd happen under Tomlin. He seems pretty hesitant to change things that work. Despite my complaints, the fact of the matter is, for the most part this defense works.

[Devilsdancefloor]

I am to the point i do not care what alignment they are in just as long as they get their jobs done.

[tube517]

I am to the point i do not care what alignment they are in just as long as they get their jobs done.

And win.

[steelreserve]

Honestly, if you have three linemen plus Woodley in there, you can just switch between the 4-3 and 3-4 as much as you want depending on where Woodley lines up, and call it whatever you want.

[steelpride12]

Whatever works and the 3-4 has and is still working. Don't change what works.

[Psycho Ward 86]

a lot of people are underestimating the number of times we ARENT in our base defense. lots of shapeshifting in most of the best defenses in the league.

Seattle, now theres an amoeba defense if i ever saw one. my goodness.