With the addition of Smith should the niners consider the 4-3?

Yea, lets change our whole defensive scheme for ONE guy! Great idea!

Originally posted by NJNiner:
Yea, lets change our whole defensive scheme for ONE guy! Great idea!

well technically I think we have just as many guys who would be more natural in a 4-3 as we do 3-4 fits

Before the draft it was a valid question, now it is even more so.

The better question is why not commit to one and only acquire pure players of that base formation?

An even better question would be....why not try drafting an NT for once as many people believe that is actually the crucial position to make a 3-4 work????

My philosophy has always been, without a dominant nose and a decent backup to that nose, a 3-4 should never ever be implemented in the first place

[ Edited by danimal on Apr 29, 2011 at 13:47:39 ]

Originally posted by thejackal25:
I like Aldon Smith's potential to be a true sack artist, however I question his ability to transition to the 3-4 OLB position as his skills in run support and coverage are lacking. Combine this with the fact that Franklin is aging and seeking a big contract, and it seems to me the niners would be better served switching to a 4-3 and not worry about finding a new NT.

Hopefully the Franklin situation will be addressed today in the draft. I'm curious to see if Fangio looks for that wide-bodied NT (Wilfork or Williams) or is more keen to the Casey Hampton/Aubrayo Franklin/RJF-type NT's for his 3-4.

But as far as going back to the 4-3, and you could make a good argument, it sounds like we will remain in a base 3-4 but move to multiple 4-3 sets to get both Smiths and McDonald rushing with their hands down. But under Fangio, make no mistake about it, the goal will be to get after the QB and ensure he makes mistakes. That will start with four pass rushing LBers in Brooks, Smith, Willis and TKO and backed by Haralson and perhaps LaBoy and others. The goal is to generate schemes that take advantage the oppositions weaknessses so if it means running more 4-man front, so be it. This philosophy is similar to what Harabaugh will be doing on the offensive side of the ball. So really, our opposition will dictate our schemes and game planning but we'll be running everything out of a 3-4 set!

Originally posted by dald1:

Originally posted by JDeezy:
We'd actually need something called a defensive tackle to play a 4-3. Our best one is a free agent and Soap's not that stellar in 4-3.

soap is not that stellar regardless of where he is....

Not so fast...under Nolan and Manusky, Sopoaga has done EXACTLY what he was asked to do; occupy one to two men, hold the point and allow Lawson and Willis to clean up. He has done that very well and gotten better and better at it. That said, he is extremely athletic for his size and quick and we never took advantage of that. I would not be surprised to see Fangio turn him loose like we've done with Justin Smith and allow him to move upfield as opposed to holding the point. When I saw Sopoaga alllowed to push up field, I saw him get an impressive sack last year. I would love to see this guy moving OT's up field and sealing off the edge and collapsing the pocket while Brooks/Smith's/Willis/Mays and others attack the LOS. Let's pray Fangio recognizes the strengths of this team and utilizes them properly!

Originally posted by danimal:

Originally posted by NJNiner:
Yea, lets change our whole defensive scheme for ONE guy! Great idea!

well technically I think we have just as many guys who would be more natural in a 4-3 as we do 3-4 fits

Before the draft it was a valid question, now it is even more so.

The better question is why not commit to one and only acquire pure players of that base formation?

An even better question would be....why not try drafting an NT for once as many people believe that is actually the crucial position to make a 3-4 work????

My philosophy has always been, without a dominant nose and a decent backup to that nose, a 3-4 should never ever be implemented in the first place

I agree with this, no doubt. The bigger question today is which KIND of NT does Fangio covet? Anyone?

Do people forget that mostly ALL 3-4 OLBs were all 4-3 DEs in college!?!!?!?!?!?

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by danimal:

Originally posted by NJNiner:
Yea, lets change our whole defensive scheme for ONE guy! Great idea!

well technically I think we have just as many guys who would be more natural in a 4-3 as we do 3-4 fits

Before the draft it was a valid question, now it is even more so.

The better question is why not commit to one and only acquire pure players of that base formation?

An even better question would be....why not try drafting an NT for once as many people believe that is actually the crucial position to make a 3-4 work????

My philosophy has always been, without a dominant nose and a decent backup to that nose, a 3-4 should never ever be implemented in the first place

I agree with this, no doubt. The bigger question today is which KIND of NT does Fangio covet? Anyone?

I think it is folly to overcomplicate the position. Wide bodied, nimble feet, short, stout. Basically the one guy who can physically do the most damage to your QB being in the position of the shortest path to the QB thus demanding a double team.

Before this draft is over, they'll have an NT. I think there are at least three guys they've been looking at who are still there. But, they'll definitely stay with the 3-4. Fangio is a 3-4 guy all the way.