3-4 Base (25%) of the time.

[Tommyx94]

I know our "base" is the 3-4. I say that knowing change has been happening. We use the Nickel 4-2-5 most of the time. Solely from a D-line perspective, I think it would make more sence to draft a Bud Dupree type of frame/abilities than a typical 6'2" 240-250 3-4 OLB when the time comes to draft for that position. What do ya all think?

[steelreserve]

We use a nickel 2-4-5 most of the time. People like to be clever by putting the "4" first because two of the linebackers are rushing, but no, it's two defensive linemen.

The reason we do that IMO is because we only have two good linemen. If we had more, we'd probably play more 3-4 or 3-3-5 nickel. We need a third good defensive lineman anyway, because two is not enough for whatever scheme you want to play, not to mention if one of them gets hurt we are dogshit.

[Tommyx94]

We use a nickel 2-4-5 most of the time. People like to be clever by putting the "4" first because two of the linebackers are rushing, but no, it's two defensive linemen.

The reason we do that IMO is because we only have two good linemen. If we had more, we'd probably play more 3-4 or 3-3-5 nickel. We need a third good defensive lineman anyway, because two is not enough for whatever scheme you want to play, not to mention if one of them gets hurt we are dogshit.

I did not realize it was 2-4-5. thanks for the education. So a 6'4" 275LB athlete would be a great option during the early par of this draft.

[Dwinsgames]

lot of threads here lately driven by our defensive fronts , look around a bit you are bound to find several touching on the topic

[Mojouw]

I did not realize it was 2-4-5. thanks for the education. So a 6'4" 275LB athlete would be a great option during the early par of this draft.

Yes and no. IF you can find an athlete like Bud Dupree, then it would be an ideal fit. Can stand up and play outside when you are in a base 3-4 and can line up with their hand in the dirt in a nickel look. But 275 is usually far too heavy to play OLB in a 3-4 (even fat Woodley wasn't that big!) and far too light to consistently play up front along the D-line. That being said - there are athletes and players that can and have done it (Freeney, Bruce Smith - off the top of my head). But they are rare and likely not around at 25.

[steelreserve]

I did not realize it was 2-4-5. thanks for the education. So a 6'4" 275LB athlete would be a great option during the early par of this draft.

Maybe. But I still think that would leave us needing a 300+ pound fat guy to back up Tuitt and Heyward, even if we keep the same exact defensive front.

It's kind of an open question - are we playing a 2-4-5 because we've decided that's how we want to play, and we try to build the roster around that? Or do we play the 2-4-5 out of necessity because we don't have good enough personnel for a 3-4 or 3-3-5? Is the problem with our pass rush that we don't have pass-rushing linebackers who are good enough, or that they are fine but they have a hard time doing their job because we're short on effective linemen?

Personally, I think it's the second one on both, and we use our current oddball scheme out of necessity so we have our best players on the field, not because we've fundamentally shifted our strategy. So if we got a third DL who was actually GOOD, we would see a lot more 3-4 and 3-3-5, and our existing linebackers would look a hell of a lot better. Could be wrong, though. But in any case, at the very least we need someone who can come in and be an effective rotational player in the "2" part of the 2-4-5; that person will be on the field about two-thirds of the time. So even if we get a great outside linebacker, we'd still need a guy like that.