4-3 vs. 3-4: Current Hot Topic Snafu Among Panthers Fans

The carolinahuddle panthers forum page has been almost completely in uniform discussion between staying with the base 4-3 defense John Fox has run since he got here and switching to a 3-4 base defense recently, which has been quite a popular concept.

Now I must admit, if I was head coach of a team, I would prefer instituting a 3-4 defense. After all, it creates more flexibility as far as linebacking goes. The linebackers are bigger and if you have a good core of them they will wreak havoc on opposing offenses. 3-4 OLBs are smaller than 4-3 DEs but their ability to edge rush and use technique instead of straight pure bull-rushing offsets that size deficiency. Some of the best linebackers in the NFL have played in 3-4 defenses, particularly Lawrence Taylor, who was so dominant the Redskins created an offensive position called H-Back to counter his presence. 3-4 defenses are usually always aggressive, and often have at least one rangy, quick and smart safety to use his abilities as much as you want. Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, and Roy Williams are some examples.

So yea, I could see why this is a sexy subject, ...but there's absolutely no chance in fucking hell it happens as long as John Fox head coaches this team. As much as I love it it's not the best decision to make. Transitioning between one base formation to another is often a painstaking process of a learning curve, acquiring prototypical 3-4 players, and a few other things. Who the fuck wants to go through all that, especially when Delhomme's window to over throw his way to a Superbowl is closing each and every minute he gets older, and no clear cut heir apparent to take the reigns?

The Panthers 4-3, as it is now, all players included, is fine the way it is, talent-wise. They just need a defensive coordinator that knows how to make a fucking adjustment and doesn't play piss-poor scaredy cat bend-but-don't break schemes. Switch to a 3-4, and here's your starting lineup, according to the personnel I think, futile as it may be putting them there, would nonetheless be the best fit for them.

NT-Kemoeatu-Ok Kemo has played NT before in Baltimore, but he wasn't the best one at the job. Haloti Ngata took over those duties from him and has done an outstanding job when you compare the two. So why would we plug in a previous NT castaway from a 3-4 at NT? It doesn't make sense. Kemo would be serviceable but not like he would be next to a real DT instead of a situational pass rusher (Lewis) next to him.

DEs-Damione Lewis and Tyler Brayton-Both have had experience at DT so it makes sense that's where you would plug them in, because they fit the mold of a 3-4 DE. They are about 300lbs each, they don't really get any sacks, and nobody really hears from them as much as the other players.

So the defensive line would look pretty good to start with, of course you could make some improvements as you go along, but whatever.

Now on to linebacking, where it just gets fucking goofy.

ILBs-Jon Beason and Thomas Davis-I don't have more confidence in anybody more than Beason to make a seamless transition to a 3-4. This guy was just made to be a middle linebacker, period, 3-4 or 4-3. In my opinion, Thomas Davis should be kicked in to ILB as well, immediately.

There were some people suggesting Dan Conner fill in ILB and Davis stay outside. This doesn't make any fucking sense at all. Thomas Davis came into the league as a fucking safety for pete's sake, now we expect him to be a large 3-4 outside linebacker that has to take on blocking offensive linemen way more often than he is now at 4-3 WLB? Davis will most likely have to bulk up, being only 240 lbs, he will have to gain at least 15 to 20 to get the advantageous size of a 3-4 outside 'backer. Yea, good luck with that, he'll look like a fat fucking mess on the field at 6'0'', 260lbs. I think he's filled out his frame to the max.

On the outside, pretty much a crucial part of an effective 3-4, well, we just have no ideal fucking personnel right now. Hilee Taylor is a late round draft pick and has been discussed to like, become a 3-4 backer and get 100 tackles a year. Guys, I'm just glad when he sacks a fucking QB once every 6 games. I'm not expecting him to turn into fucking Adalius Thomas overnight. I also heard Charles Johnson suggested as a possible OLB. ...yea. Good luck. How do we expect CJ to cover a fucking zone if he needed to, he's got no speed to cover large distances like some of these big speedy 3-4 backers do. The guy's best niche is at 4-3 DE. Peppers was discussed as an automatic shoe-in for OLB but you know he's leaving so that's pretty much moot.

So, in short, we will have to rely on 3 down linemen to occupy 5 offensive linemen automatically. Kemo, Lewis, Brayton, these are people who can barely beat one-one-one matchups themselves, especially the latter two. Despite solid personnel for ILB, on the outside, we have a player best suited for 4-3 DE ONLY, and a player with no true position. Cornerbacks are pretty much an afterthought, it doesn't really affect them, and it doesn't really affect safeties, as long as you've got a solid core to start.

We, ...don't really have one to start. Chris Harris is decent as a run defender but he's no Polamalu in pass coverage. Plus his range is not nearly as good as Troy's. And Charles Godfrey is a cornerback-turned safety rookie. So I don't think we can rely on him to be Ed Reed quickly enough.

So basically, our decisions boil down to this. Keep the 4-3, sign a DT and acquire a DE somewhere, and get a coordinator that can bring out the potential in these guys, OR, we could, switch to the 3-4, get a 3-4 coordinator, release Lewis, release Diggs, release Lucas cause we're going to need the cap space, sign Terrell Suggs, hope we can trade Peppers for a top 3 pick so we can get Aaron Curry, sign Chris Canty, acquire Dawan Landry from Baltimore as a FS, and wait 2-3 years for the results to come in.

Yea, I don't think Fox is going to do that, and I may critique him often, but he'll make the smart decision and stick with the base defense he has now.