Mendez: Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee puts it on himself to learn the 4-3 'inside and..

Cotton

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Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee puts it on himself to learn the 4-3 'inside and out' and be succesful in it

Sean Lee said he still has to learn the details of playing the 4-3 defense, now that the Cowboys are set to go with that attack under new defensive coordinator in Monte Kiffin.

“Mastering it inside and out is my goal,” the fourth-year Cowboys linebacker said last week at the end of OTAs.

So he, and the rest of the defense, has to forget a lot of the 3-4 defense (and its variations) they played for two years under Rob Ryan. But that’s OK with Lee – he figures the more defense he learns, the better.

“I see it as a positive,” he said. “I’ve been with three defensive coordinators in Coach Phillips, Rob Ryan and Coach Kiffin. I see it as an opportunity to learn more defense. You take the great things you learn from every coordinator with you, and then you try to continue to learn. I’m going to try to continue to learn with Coach Kiffin. I don’t see it as an issue at all. I think Coach Kiffin, it’s been very easy to learn. He coaches with passion. He has an unbelievable knowledge. So for me, it’s just another opportunity to work with a great coach.”

Lee said the 4-3 may or may not be suited for him, but it doesn’t matter. He said he has to be good in it, no matter what.

“Any position you put me in, whether it’s in the 3-4, 4-3, middle linebacker, outside linebacker, I’m going to have to find a way to be successful,” he said. “I think I can be successful in this position. I’ve played certain aspects before, but there’s stuff I need to get better at. For me, I’ve got to know my job inside and out really well, which I think I can get.”

-- Carlos Mendez
 

ravidubey

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Most of this team's defensive personnel was made to play in a 4-3. The change came at least two years too late IMO.
 

fortsbest

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I'd agree with this. I thought it took is far too long to go back to the 4-3. I don't know if it makes sense to anyone else or not, but the NFC East has always done well with the 4-3 except for the short time Parcells had the Giants. That was a blip on the radar. I feel the balance has been restored to the Force again now that we are back in a 4-3! :towel
 

Smitty

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I'd agree with this. I thought it took is far too long to go back to the 4-3. I don't know if it makes sense to anyone else or not, but the NFC East has always done well with the 4-3 except for the short time Parcells had the Giants. That was a blip on the radar. I feel the balance has been restored to the Force again now that we are back in a 4-3! :towel
It doesn't really matter that much.
 

Lotuseater

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It doesn't really matter that much.
Fundamentally, no, it wont. But it will have peripheral effects that will be beneficial, like overall team speed will be much faster on defense. That's one of the first things we will all notice, is how fast this defense will fly around with our ILBs being the most noticeable.

4-3 base gives you a boost in team speed already, and we have incredibly fast linebackers.
 

boozeman

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Our issues with the defense have never been the alignment.

It has been the personnel acquired for it and even more the discipline instilled by the coaching staff.

The main plus is that I think the scouting process will be aided as I think they struggled with projecting prospects to the 3-4 at times.
 

ravidubey

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Our issues with the defense have never been the alignment.

It has been the personnel acquired for it and even more the discipline instilled by the coaching staff.

The main plus is that I think the scouting process will be aided as I think they struggled with projecting prospects to the 3-4 at times.
I think Spencer, Ware, and Hatcher are good fits for the 3-4 with only Ratliff and Lee truly bad fits. Lee's talent makes up for the lack of blocking in front of him, but his light and injury-prone ass makes him a poor candidate for taking on guards. Canty was exactly the right body type.

Dallas blew its evaluations of Marcus Spears and Bobby Carpenter altogether as Parcells prioritized architecting his defense too much over just finding the best talent. Had they remained a 4-3, a DL of Ratliff, Ware, Glover, Ellis, and Canty might have been great. But this team can screw anything up, so who knows.

The 3-4 defense disappeared for a decade for good reason. It only came back because of the novelty of being different, that and because one or two teams league-wide can have their pick of the tweener DE/SOLB and large 5-technique body-types that slip in the draft because they are less ideal in a 4-3. When you have your pick of the best talent, your defense will look good. But with half the league running it, the 3-4 talent pool has become very diluted, and everyone knows how to play it.

The 3-4 has always sucked against the elite passing offenses that can exploit mismatches. The Steelers have run the 3-4 best, and even they were forced to outscore the Cardinals in the Superbowl (thanks to a fluke pick six that might have been the greatest Superbowl play of all time) and were unable to outscore the Packers.

And now the 3-4 is a terrible matchup to face the read-option. The last players you want hesitating in a 3-4 are the OLB's, and that's exactly the position the read option targets.
 

Smitty

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Fundamentally, no, it wont. But it will have peripheral effects that will be beneficial, like overall team speed will be much faster on defense. That's one of the first things we will all notice, is how fast this defense will fly around with our ILBs being the most noticeable.

4-3 base gives you a boost in team speed already, and we have incredibly fast linebackers.
Basically swapping Spears for Durant, but moving Ware and Spencer from a free-flowing position to a constantly engaged position.

Not that much of an increase in speed.
 

Clay_Allison

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Basically swapping Spears for Durant, but moving Ware and Spencer from a free-flowing position to a constantly engaged position.

Not that much of an increase in speed.
Ware was basically a 4-3 DE in the 3-4. No one was leaving him out there with just a back or a TE on him, he was going against the LT and often another blocker as well every play. They'll line him up as wide as they need to in order to get his speed rush going. Marinelli's line scheme prioritizes the pass rush over run stopping and he won't try to convert Ware into a power player.
 

Smitty

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Our issues with the defense have never been the alignment.

It has been the personnel acquired for it and even more the discipline instilled by the coaching staff.

The main plus is that I think the scouting process will be aided as I think they struggled with projecting prospects to the 3-4 at times.
Maybe, but it's harder to find pieces for a 4-3. Getting a complete 4-3 end is much harder than a 3-4 outside rush backer.
 

Smitty

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Ware was basically a 4-3 DE in the 3-4. No one was leaving him out there with just a back or a TE on him, he was going against the LT and often another blocker as well every play. They'll line him up as wide as they need to in order to get his speed rush going. Marinelli's line scheme prioritizes the pass rush over run stopping and he won't try to convert Ware into a power player.
Ware still lined up without a hand on the ground most times. I would guess that changes going forward.
 

Clay_Allison

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Maybe, but it's harder to find pieces for a 4-3. Getting a complete 4-3 end is much harder than a 3-4 outside rush backer.
depends on how you build it, if you don't mind having light DEs, then you can use a lot of the OLB/DE tweeners at DE.
 

Clay_Allison

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Ware still lined up without a hand on the ground most times. I would guess that changes going forward.
I assume you mean "off the ground" and I don't think that hurts him at all, it certainly won't make him slower off the ball. There's a reason sprinters start with their hands on the ground.
 

boozeman

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Maybe, but it's harder to find pieces for a 4-3. Getting a complete 4-3 end is much harder than a 3-4 outside rush backer.
Finding the 3-4 rusher is getting harder with more teams gobbling up the college guys who aren't projections from end.

Supply and demand has changed from when even Parcells was here.

In general...things are even now where the scheme doesn't matter.

We still have to get the right guys and get them doing the right thing. Just switching to four down linemen is not going to vault us into the upper echelon.

People who have been crying for the 4-3 are in for a rude awakening if they expect that.
 

Smitty

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I assume you mean "off the ground" and I don't think that hurts him at all, it certainly won't make him slower off the ball. There's a reason sprinters start with their hands on the ground.
I mean that in the 3-4, Ware is often lined up off the line, standing up.

In the 4-3, I expect to see him with a hand on the ground. The hand on the ground may or may not give him added burst in terms of pass rushing jump, but it puts him at a disadvantage in terms of flowing to the ball I think, such as on a running play the other way.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Maybe, but it's harder to find pieces for a 4-3. Getting a complete 4-3 end is much harder than a 3-4 outside rush backer.
It's is extremely difficult to find an impact 3-4 DE. It's not all that difficult to find a RE in today's NFL, most of those guys are undersized tweeners. It's why you saw so many guys go for cheap in free agency. That complete LE isn't easy to find but like I said neither is the impact 3-4 DE which isn't all that different of a position anymore in today's NFL.
 

Clay_Allison

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I mean that in the 3-4, Ware is often lined up off the line, standing up.

In the 4-3, I expect to see him with a hand on the ground. The hand on the ground may or may not give him added burst in terms of pass rushing jump, but it puts him at a disadvantage in terms of flowing to the ball I think, such as on a running play the other way.
Yeah, he won't be able to move laterally as well, but I'm not that concerned about the run defense. How many teams run the ball any more?
 

ravidubey

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People who have been crying for the 4-3 are in for a rude awakening if they expect that.
Nothing can make up for a lack of talent in the interior DL, but the scheme itself will absolutely help.

Ware will be used the way he should be-- on the line, a step closer to the QB, forcing the LT to decide which gap to protect. This puts the offense on its heels. Against Washington, he becomes much more effective if he's slashing towards the QB disrupting his sprint and keeping the LT from pulling instead of passively wondering whether to tackle the running back (or worse, cover a WR) freeing the LT to pwn someone. Ware's the best player, so focus him on doing what he's best at. Let a real linebacker make the tackle and give Ware a chance to force the QB to decide to pitch/throw/or run a moment too early.

That makes a huge difference. The best defenses are active and aggressive, not passively waiting.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Nothing can make up for a lack of talent in the interior DL, but the scheme itself will absolutely help.

Ware will be used the way he should be-- on the line, a step closer to the QB, forcing the LT to decide which gap to protect. This puts the offense on its heels. Against Washington, he becomes much more effective if he's slashing towards the QB disrupting his sprint and keeping the LT from pulling instead of passively wondering whether to tackle the running back (or worse, cover a WR) freeing the LT to pwn someone. Ware's the best player, so focus him on doing what he's best at. Let a real linebacker make the tackle and give Ware a chance to force the QB to decide to pitch/throw/or run a moment too early.

That makes a huge difference. The best defenses are active and aggressive, not passively waiting.
What I have always liked more about the 4-3 is that it is just a faster defense. I mean you are pulling a Marcus Spears off the field and replacing him with a 4-3 LBer basically. Today's NFL is built on speed and I just think the 4-3 is better suited to stop it.
 

Clay_Allison

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I have always admired the really aggressive zone blitz 3-4s but running that defense requires commitment to pressure and turnovers. The 3-4 we've run since Parcells changed the defense has been gutless read and react, bend don't break crap.

I like the Tampa 2 defense, I think it fits the spread and option offenses we're seeing implemented league wide better than the 3-4.
 
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