jfalconsp Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 The potential for a significant change in strategy seems likely to determine how the Atlanta Falcons approach the official start of free agency on Tuesday. There have been whispers among Falcons players about a switch to a 3-4-defensive scheme. Such a move could be a wise one, if the Falcons can put together quality personnel to effectively execute such a defense. At season's end, head coach Mike Smith said he would evaluate every aspect of the team, including scheme. Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan brought in some 3-4 principles after joining the Falcons, but his base has been a 4-3 look. When he came over from the Miami Dolphins in 2012, many wondered if the Falcons would immediately switch to a 3-4. "It's my philosophy that you build your scheme around the players, not the other way around," Nolan said back in January of ‘12. "What has been built (in Atlanta), I think is a very solid foundation on a 4-3 defense." That was then. This is now. The Falcons are coming off an atrocious season in which they finished dead last in third-down defense, second-to-last in run defense, and tied for 27th in total defense. They allowed two unheralded running backs -- Tampa Bay's Bobby Rainey (163 rushing yards) and Arizona's Andre Ellington (154 yards) -- to bust loose for career-best rushing efforts. Stopping the run and eliminating big plays has to be the Falcons' defensive focus in ‘14. Asking the current group of players to switch defenses on the fly would be a challenge but manageable. However, adding two or three guys with more 3-4 experience could make such a transition seamless. If a change is indeed in the works, the Falcons would be smart to look into Miami's Paul Soliai, if they haven't made a call about the big nose tackle already. He was an integral part of the Dolphins' defense under Nolan in 2011, when Miami ranked third against the run, sixth in scoring, and seventh on third down. At 6-foot-4 and 340-pounds, the 30-year-old Soliai would be the ideal guy to help plug the middle for a Falcons defense in dire need of run-stuffers. He takes on double teams with vengeance and has a knack for deflecting passes. If not Soliai in the middle, maybe the Falcons could turn their attention to veteran nose tackle Ryan Pickett (6-2, 340) from Green Bay. Pickett, who turns 35 in October, has been disruptive in the Packers' 3-4 scheme. He could return to Green Bay, however. In terms of the defensive ends to pair with the nose tackle, one player immediately makes sense: Tyson Jackson (6-4, 296). The former third-overall pick was drafted in Kansas City by Scott Pioli, currently the Falcons assistant general manager. Dallas' Jason Hatcher, who has experience in the 3-4, also has been linked to the Falcons this offseason. The Falcons also could look at recently re-signed Corey Peters as a defensive end in a 3-4 look, provided he recovers from an Achilles tear. Any talk of a 3-4 might explain why the Falcons would have targeted outside linebacker Brian Orakpo as a pass-rusher had he not been franchised by Washington, why they're not in a rush to re-sign veteran defensive tackleJonathan Babineaux, and why defensive end Osi Umenyiora reportedly was asked to take a pay cut. Umenyiora essentially wouldn't have a role in such a scheme. But a 3-4 would accommodate some of the young, athletic outside linebackers/pass-rushers coming out of college these days such as Buffalo's Khalil Mack and UCLA's Anthony Barr. Such a player could be paired with Kroy Biermann, who has experienced in a hybrid role, as the outside linebackers. Paul Worrilow and a healthy Sean Weatherspoon could comprise the inside tandem, if the Falcons decided to go in the 3-4 direction. Of course, the Falcons also have some tweaking to do in the secondary, with free safetyThomas DeCoud likely to be released. Top free-agent safety Jairus Byrd from Buffalo is likely to be out of the Falcons' price range, but they still could look into Byrd, Indianapolis' Antoine Bethea, and Carolina's Mike Mitchell. The Falcons also could look at veteran defensive backChamp Bailey as a nickelback and mentor to young corners Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford. The Falcons are $18,649,379 under the cap right now with $7 million more set to be added once retiring tight end Tony Gonzalez comes off the books. Free agency, as well as the possible shift to the 3-4, will determine which way the Falcons lean in the draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atljbo Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Now if thats the plain... I understand keeping Kroy ... He would fit the 3-4 OLB .... I would still ask him to take a pay cut tho.But yea i felt this change maybe coming ..... TD and coach smith wouldnt commit to a scheme when asked.... Smitty would always say we are a hybrid D but yes we are a 4-3 base D.... He wouldnt say that this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etherdome Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I think we have all suspected a gradual transition to the 3-4. My guess is that our defense will look more like San Fran's than Seattle's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaigle Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 soo heres what the D looks like according to the articleTyson JacksonSoliai or PickellJason Hatcher and PetersMack or BarrWorrilowWeatherspoonBiermanTrufantByrd or Bethea or MitchellMooreAlfordthat's at least 5 changes on Dnot much left over for the OBut it does look goodcan they afford it? can they do it??note I'm not pro 3-4 or pro 4-3 doesn't matter to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOR Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Who wrote this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaigle Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Who wrote this?ESPN Vaughn McClure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atljbo Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 One guy ppl are missing is Malliciah Goodman ... TD hinted that he could bulk up and play the 5 tech ... The guy was solid vs the run last year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaigle Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 One guy ppl are missing is Malliciah Goodman ... TD hinted that he could bulk up and play the 5 tech ... The guy was solid vs the run last year...Yea I was thinking there were ways to get there without all tie changes n particuar Massaquoi and Goodmanmay not be as good but adequate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atljbo Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Yea I was thinking there were ways to get there without all tie changesn particuar Massaquoi and Goodmanmay not be as good but adequateMass would be a 3-4 OLB.... But Goodman can be a good fit as a 3-4 DE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 If Falcons are EVER going to change to a 3-4 Defense - this is the year to do it. However, if we are going to do it - I would NOT bring Babineaux back and you can forget Aaron Donald as a draft pick.This would be the plan for the switch to a 3-4:Sign NT - Paul Soliai (he is 30yrs old so probably just to a 3yr deal)Sign DE - Arthur Jones (he is 28yrs old and gets push in passrush and good run stopper)Draft - Khalil Mack (1st round) - 3-4 OLB (he would be key component to switchover - if he is gone, take Kyle Van Noy in 2nd)Move up - Draft either Ra'Shead Hageman or Stephon Tuitt (move into late 1st round)Draft Justin Ellis (4th round) - NT (takes over in 2-3 years when Soliai is done)Cut Osi Umenyiora (this would explain wanting Osi to take a paycut and/or pushing him out the door)3-4 LineupDE - Arthur Jones/Malliciah Goodman (Goodman should be ready to emerge in 2-3 more years)NT - Paul Soliai/ Justin EllisDE - Stephon Tuitt/Corey PetersOLB - Khalil Mack/S. MapongaILB - Sean Weatherspoon/ J. BartuILB - Paul Worrilow/ A. DentOLB - Kroy Bierrman/J. Massasquoi (Bierrman was made to play 3-4 OLB, he has been miscast his entire Falcons career)Now that would be different - we would still need to build up the linebacking corps but that would be a down payment on a 2 year shift to the base 3-4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1989Fan Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 But the Falcons are running a LEO 4-3, haven't you heard?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOR Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 ESPN Vaughn McClureOh dang, I was expecting someone not as reputable lol. This sure throw a chain at everyone that swears we'd never go 3-4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schwarzenegger321 Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 ESPN Vaughn McClureThis article is pure crap. Another reason why ESPN is ********. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I would love to have knuckle-draggin' cavemen like Paul Soliai, Arthur Jones & Stephon Tuitt manning our D-Line - you talk about a bunch of guys that could whup azz on the line of scrimmage - man that would be sweet!!!! talk about changing a culture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOR Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 This article is pure crap. Another reason why ESPN is ********.Pure crap is a little strong. Mcclure has been on top of things his whole time as the falcons beat writer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Pure crap is a little strong.Mcclure has been on top of things his whole time as the falcons beat writeragreed. McClure is a breath of fresh air after dealing with the crappy D-Led and the wishy-washy Yasinskas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theDIRTYcode Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Our LBers are a stronger group than our lineman currently, and with the addition of a serious NT, and Stephon Tuitt, this switch would make perfect sense. New Orleans did it in 1 year, and the results were dramatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Our LBers are a stronger group than our lineman currently, and with the addition of a serious NT, and Stephon Tuitt, this switch would make perfect sense.New Orleans did it in 1 year, and the results were dramatic.yeah, if our linebackers were running around behind a D-Line of Tuitt, Soliai and say Arthur Jones (or Randy Starks/Tyson Jackson) - all of a sudden those linebackers are going to look a lot better - who knows? maybe Weatherspoon even stays healthy for a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capologist Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Would be very easy to convert no question... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I really hope we switch over to a 3-4 - its totally do-able. We may not have the "perfect" front 7 in year 1 - but we can get most of the key components - I think its time to declare once and for all what our main defense is and stick with it - all this "hybrid" stuff leads to not being good at either - KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid:Steps:Figure out what you wanna be when you grow upGet the proper personnelExecute, execute, executeI know some will come on here and tell us how important it is to be multiple - I agree - but you can be multiple with one basic scheme. Its a joke that we run multiple schemes when we did not even have the personnel for our base scheme. Obviously the smoke-n-mirrors still led to the 26th rated defense and 31st against the run. We have almost no personnel for either the 4-3 or the 3-4 - we have the resources(money under cap and draft picks) to be what we want to be - if coaches/GM want to shift to a 3-4 we can absolutely do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOR Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I know the 4-3 leo guys are going to flip over this, but we haven't even had a slightly dominant defense in forever. Im willing to get excited about any change we can make to rememdy that problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRid Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 TD is supposedly going after Michael Johnson. Is he a fit for a 3-4 defense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I know the 4-3 leo guys are going to flip over this, but we haven't even had a slightly dominant defense in forever.Im willing to get excited about any change we can make to rememdy that problemI want bigger/tougher guys in the front 7 and I believe that if you look at 3-4 defenses - they tend to have bigger/stronger guys in the front 7:The Nose Tackle in the 3-4 is bigger than the two defensive tackles in the 4-3The Defensive Ends in the 3-4 are bigger than the DEs in the 4-3The OLBs in the 3-4 are bigger than the OLBs in the 4-3The ILBs in the 3-4 are bigger than the ILBs in the 3-4I know the above is rather simplistic and you can argue back that you should compare the 3-4 DEs to the 4-3 DTs an you should compare the 4-3 DEs to the 3-4 OLBs - regardless, I think you can get bigger/stronger overall with the 3-4 Defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 TD is supposedly going after Michael Johnson. Is he a fit for a 3-4 defense?he could certainly play in a 3-4 defense but he is ideally suited for a 4-3. I have not heard definitively that we are going after Michael Johnson - would not surprise me though - where did you hear this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOR Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 TD is supposedly going after Michael Johnson. Is he a fit for a 3-4 defense?He def has the skills for it. Im not sure hed be worth as much money in a 3-4.Hes been moved all over the defense in cincy, but I believe when he spent fulltime at olb he didn't produce quite as well as 4-3 DE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.