Originally posted by yung_prophet_one:
I have a question here...I've been told that a 34 DE is supposed to eat up blocks/set the edge/be a monster and a pain for the oline and free up the linebackers...I look at this team and see Buckner and AA are being depended on getting pressure on the qb and ultimately cashing in some sacks for us...is this a problem that our 34 DE are being depended on getting sacks for us?? Do we really sucks that bad at OLB that were asking a 34 end to provide some pressure??
Most teams that run 3-4 defenses two gap with their three DL (DE, NT, DE) when in base personnel. There are 3-4 schemes (Bum/WadePhillips) that will one gap. This is one reason why JJWatt, who is a 3-4 DE gets so many sacks, he's one gapping.
But lets's just talk about the typical two gapping 3-4. Also, let's not talk about when the 49ers are in nickel because AA/DeFo will kick inside as defensive tackles and won't be playing from the edge (although JoN will mover players around). In a typical 3-4 with AA/DeFO playing DE, you are right that the DEs are asked to read and react. This is typical of two gapping - snap, read run/pass, if it's a run play hold position and eat up blocks (like you stated above), if it's pass then start the pass rush. In a two gapping 3-4, the OLBs are the beneficiary of this style of defense when it comes to getting sacks. This is why while Justin Smith was consistently the better player, it was Aldon racking up sacks. AA/DeFo will be counted on to generate pressure up the middle, not so much notch the actual sack. The pressure is still on the OLBs to get home once the pressure up the middle makes the QB move off his spot.
So to answer your question, I think AA/DeFo will be asked to generate pressure, but I think it's still on the OLBs to notch the actual sack once the QB sees pressure up the middle and becomes uneasy in the pocket. JoN shows multiple fronts so even though his defense is classified as a 3-4 defense, look for 4-3 fronts as well.