4-3 Defense??

Originally posted by Marvin49:
You could do that, but they are better as they are.

They are pretty much a 4-3 teams now. Aldon moves and can rush from either side, but he rushes on most downs. Either way, they are still going to rush 4. The 3-4 allows you to move Aldon around and put 2 LB in the middle.

The "pure 3-4" and "pure 4-3" don't really exist.

The Niners really kinda run a 3-3 + Aldon.

This! The 9ers move around quite a bit in and out of the 3/4 4/3 and others. Against the Rams they played all up and there was no way to be sure who was going to rush. I hope it gets even more confusing for the opponents and that the 9ers don't get stuck in a predictable rut. Really liked what Baltimore did and would like to see more of a rush by Willis and Bowman eventually. The DC was somewhat surprised that Willis had not been taught the finer arts of pass rushing.

#1 Defense needs no change

/thread

who's suggesting change? its just a simple question for discussion

y'all need to chill out

This comes up every two weeks.

Even in a record setting defensive season.

Stop.

Originally posted by GIMMEa6thSHIP:
I never said they havent been getting the job done, its a hypothetical question. We have 3 good LB's and it would allow them to all be on the field. Aldon also thrives when he can rush from the DE position and Justin Smith played DE in a 4-3 during his time in Cincinnati. The question is if they could be even better.

There has to be a reason for change. Successful organizations don't make changes to fix something that is working extremely well. If we had a poor or average defense, it would warrant discussion. But our D is great right now and would not benefit from a makeover.

It warrants discussion to open minds that give it a chance. No need to be so threatened over simply talking about it. As said, it's just talk and likely won't happen. If you are not interested in discussion on it, don't take the time to post, eh? That makes sense.

I had already said that I like this 4-3 change IF we are unable to re-sign Brooks or add a significant rush LB. I prefer going with what suits our personnel best. I also am a big fan of Larry Grant and would find it unfortunate to stick him on the bench. Also like Aldon with hand in the dirt and etc. that I mentioned earlier.

I also feel that there isn't awhole lot of difference between a 1-gap 3-4 vs a 4-3, and that we can have a combo of guys going from 3 to 4 point stances to the 2 as we see fit.

Originally posted by Muggins879:

WTF. lock this b***h up.

Hmm, interesting discussion about football......no mention of Alex Smith........yep, it's gotta go!

Originally posted by oldman9er:
It warrants discussion to open minds that give it a chance. No need to be so threatened over simply talking about it. As said, it's just talk and likely won't happen. If you are not interested in discussion on it, don't take the time to post, eh? That makes sense.

I had already said that I like this 4-3 change IF we are unable to re-sign Brooks or add a significant rush LB. I prefer going with what suits our personnel best. I also am a big fan of Larry Grant and would find it unfortunate to stick him on the bench. Also like Aldon with hand in the dirt and etc. that I mentioned earlier.

I also feel that there isn't awhole lot of difference between a 1-gap 3-4 vs a 4-3, and that we can have a combo of guys going from 3 to 4 point stances to the 2 as we see fit.

Does Fangio even use terms like 3/4 and 4/3? Saw an interview early in the year that indicated he doesn't really limit his system by labels--more like an offensive scheme in that regard...more variables. The one thing I have not seen, or not enough, is a complicated blitz packages similar to Baltimore. Fangio was surprised that Willis was not blitz trained so perhaps he is reluctant to fool around with a great player?

I think it would be interesting to see a 4/2/5 for long periods of time because this group of players has so much flexibility. Both middle LBs can cover or play the run, the DBs are good against the run and they really haven't let anyone run much. In this package a LB can bitz and make it a five man rush leaving six back. Just musing...don't really know how 9er DBs stack up against NO receivers.

Originally posted by GIMMEa6thSHIP:
This is off base but I was having a conversation with some friends and the 4-3 defense came up. I know Fangio's specialty is the 3-4 but what would you guys think of our front 7 as a 4-3?

OLB: Larry Grant
ILB: Patrick Willis
OLB: NaVarro Bowman

DE: Aldon Smith
DT: Ray McDonald
NT: Isaac Sopoaga
DE: Justin Smith

Actually Justin Smith plays DT and Ray McDonald plays DE in the 4-3 alignment.

I've caught a lot of flack for this post for no reason. What is the point of a forum when someone cannot post a legitimate question? People are asking me ridiculous questions like "how long have you been a Niners fan for?" Are you ******* kidding me? If you aren't intelligent enough to respond to a question then don't respond at all.

Originally posted by GIMMEa6thSHIP:
I've caught a lot of flack for this post for no reason. What is the point of a forum when someone cannot post a legitimate question? People are asking me ridiculous questions like "how long have you been a Niners fan for?" Are you ******* kidding me? If you aren't intelligent enough to respond to a question then don't respond at all.

Don't get defensive, just keep making quality posts and people will stop bugging you. If you go back through past threads you see that your question is a recurring one, not a bad one at all.

The best defenses in the NFL run 3-4's for a reason...plus dont fix whats not broken

4-3 is usually for the defense to be stout against the run, but since we are #1 against the run in our 3-4. There's really no point in going to the 4-3 unless they start to be tank it or have injuries to the LBers.

Just a historical reference. In the 90's we couldn't stop Dallas with Emmit Smith and their beef in the offensive line. Seifert quickly changed from the 3-4 defense into a 4-3. It's the reason why we let Ted Washington go early ( went on to be all world for SB Patriots, the Bills, and some other team). They then drafted Stubblefield and BY for the 4-3.

Originally posted by MiamiNiner:

Originally posted by GIMMEa6thSHIP:
This is off base but I was having a conversation with some friends and the 4-3 defense came up. I know Fangio's specialty is the 3-4 but what would you guys think of our front 7 as a 4-3?

OLB: Larry Grant
ILB: Patrick Willis
OLB: NaVarro Bowman

DE: Aldon Smith
DT: Ray McDonald
NT: Isaac Sopoaga
DE: Justin Smith

Actually Justin Smith plays DT and Ray McDonald plays DE in the 4-3 alignment.

Nope.

On a 4-3:

DE: Aldon Smith
DT: Justin Smith
DT: Ray McDonald
DE: Ahmad Brooks

Originally posted by GIMMEa6thSHIP:
I've caught a lot of flack for this post for no reason. What is the point of a forum when someone cannot post a legitimate question? People are asking me ridiculous questions like "how long have you been a Niners fan for?" Are you ******* kidding me? If you aren't intelligent enough to respond to a question then don't respond at all.

I actually like the defense you posted. But I think Justin is a better inside pass rusher as a DT in a 4-3 than as a DE. Also Justin looks to be more stout against the run than McDonald as a DT. On the oustide, McDonald has more speed than Justin.
Though if we were to switch to a 4-3, there would be less of a chance to extend Bowman's contract. You're not going to spend 10mil on Willis and 7-8mil on Bowman in a 4-3. There's not many 4-3 defenses that tie up 23 million in its LB core. But in a 3-4, I believe the 49ers extend Bowman's contract in the middle of next year before he reaches his last year in 2013 and upcoming free agency.