3-4 Def.-Recruiting and AWR Ratings

[paul allen]

I’m looking to discuss and get some opinions about running the 3-4 D. I plan to run it with ND this year in dynasty…

One thing is that it’s a bit more challenging to recruit DE’s and OLB’s for the 3-4 (or at least has been in the past). For example...
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-There are not enough DE prospects that fit the 3-4 mold. You can find a decent amount of DT’s who fit the mold, but when you convert them to DE they take too big of an AWR hit.
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-There are also not enough OLB prospects that fit the 3-4 mold. You can also find some pass rushing DE prospects that fit the mold physically, but again, when you convert them to OLB they take too much of an AWR hit, and their pass coverage ratings are not nearly good enough. I want to see more OLB recruits who have good pass rush move ratings, similar to the ratings given to pass rushing DE recruits, and I’d like to see more pass rushing DE recruits that can cover a little bit so they can be more easily converted to OLB.
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-In nickel and dime, I will put OLB’s at DE, and at least one DE at DT. But, I don’t think the rating system is designed to make this as effective as it should be b/c of how much AWR drops when you put a guy out of position (OLB to DE, and DE to DT).
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So, I hope that EA has included more prospects this year to fit the 3-4, and maybe tweeked the rating system to better accommodate LB’s lining up at DE and DE’s lining up at DT in passing situations.
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Another thing is that with the 3-4, having some more time pre-snap to set individual audibles would be nice b/c I like to take advantage of having 4 LB’s and audible into different kinds of blitzes and coverages with the LB’s, but the CPU snaps the ball so quickly that it’s really too tough to do much…
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I’m fired up for this game, and all comments are appreciated…

[Maelstrom-XIII]

This may be a stupid question, but how many colleges run a 3-4? I thought that colleges predominately ran 4-3 defenses? The rarity (perceived by me, at any rate) may explain why there's less emphasis on prototypical 3-4 players to be recruited...another option would of course be to recruit DEs who fit the mold of OLB in a 3-4 and let them sit on the bench for a couple years/redshirt to develop...

Or you could just try to recruit speedy LBs and some smaller DTs (not 330 lb behemoths, etc)...

[CM Hooe]

Virginia ran a 3-4 under Al Groh for the past decade and, since Groh is now the defensive coordinator for Georgia Tech, the Jackets will run a 3-4 now.

I think Texas Tech will run a 3-4 under Tuberville as well, but I'm not sure.

You're right though in that the 4-3 is by far the most common alignment in college football.

[bdarnell]

Quote: Originally Posted by Maelstrom-XIII

This may be a stupid question, but how many colleges run a 3-4? I thought that colleges predominately ran 4-3 defenses? The rarity (perceived by me, at any rate) may explain why there's less emphasis on prototypical 3-4 players to be recruited...another option would of course be to recruit DEs who fit the mold of OLB in a 3-4 and let them sit on the bench for a couple years/redshirt to develop... Or you could just try to recruit speedy LBs and some smaller DTs (not 330 lb behemoths, etc)...

Cal, ND, Bama, Georgia (kinda), lots of others

It's uncommon because it's tough to recruit for.


As for the OP, I also wish they would fix recruiting for the 3-4. Maybe they could have more position rankings, and a player could be included in more than one ranking.

For example:
Jimmy G.
6'4" 315 lbs (****)
#11 DT
#2 NT

or

Joe S.
6'3" 235 (***)
#25 OLB (4-3)
#6 OLB (3-4)

Just an idea...

[paul allen]

Maelstrom, good point, and not many teams run the 34...I think about 15, a few run the 335, and a few use other schemes with 3 D-lineman in their primary defense. But, the 34 might be getting more popular in college as some coaches think that it's a better base defense against the spread. A few of the teams that run it are ND, Alabama, USC, GTech, Georgia, and Cinci...

It certainly makes sense that the lack of teams running it accounts for the smaller number of 34 type recruits, but even so I would like to see more 34 type recruits.

You also make a good point about switching DE's to OLB and waiting for them to mature on the bench, but a big problem with that is that the
DE's pass coverage ratings are too low even after they've had some time to mature...so, I'd like to see more DE's that can cover a little bit...

Also, re: my point about the drop in AWR ratings when putting OLBs at DE and DEs at DT in passing downs, the point also applies, to a lesser extent, to teams running the 43 b/c 43 teams also put OLBs at DE and DEs at DT on passing downs at times.

[paul allen]

good idea bdarnell, multiple ratings based on scheme would be nice...they could also inclue more "Athletes" to fit the 34

[STLcardz-NDirish]

I plan on using ND to for my dynasty and I have always used the 3-4 since 08. Just recruit normal OLBs DEs and DTs as you would for a 4-3. its a video game, the prototype 3-4 defender in real life wont have the same effect as in the game. but I pefer a Big DT, Balanced DEs, one Run stopping MLB, one pass rushing MLB, and speedy OLBs. This keeps eveything tight in the middle and speed on the edges. Works great for me.

[Playmakers]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Formation subs.....

That way you aren't actually changing their position your just plugging them into a specific formation....

I haven't tested it yet but maybe you guys can move a DE to OLB via formation sub and see if that effects his speed and awarness ratings

If it doesn't then that might be one way around it without actually switching his position and immediately taking the ratings hit