3-4 or 4-3? Defense???

[kcarr]

I have used 4-3 and 3-4 both and played both concentrating on zone and on man. With any of the 4 combination available there, 3-4 man, 3-4 zone, 4-3 man, and 4-3 zone you can build a pretty good defense. The key is personnel. If you redo the 1st draft you should really look to build your defensive line as in the later rounds you can really put together an entire line with calais campbell, tony bake, dre moore, and athya rubin. There are some other good players you can add in depending on what you want to do but if you struggle with defense and want to simplify those 4 should be fine and if your are running a 3-4 you can eliminate bake from the mix although I would still take him because he does add some real talent.

against the pass one thing that is vital, way more so than DBs is pressuring the QB. In a 4-3 this is simple, it is all about personnel. Bake, Moore, and Campbell should be able to handle this for the most part and if they start to struggle just use the DLine adjustments and they will get there.

In a 3-4 you need to get a bit more complicated subbing players in and moving them around. Calais is a good enough DE even in the 3-4 that he can get some pressure and dre moore as your other DE will help. If you draft bake and possibly quentin groves, angelo craig, or maybe cliff avril then subbing them in at LB as blitzers really boosts your pressure.

As for defensive backs the easiest way is to stick to either man or zone and concentrate on that a large majority of the time throwing in the other option just to keep the offense off balance on occasion. It is easy to find corners who are good at one or the other but tough to find any who excel at both.

[d_rohr]

kcarr, I appreciate the info. That is actually quite helpful.

I did redo the draft a couple days before your post and ended up with Campbell, Moore, and Bake. Right now, I'm running Spagnuolo's Pressure 4-3 and focusing on man coverage since the playbook favors it anyway. I have yet to call any plays but I foresee a pretty formidable defense.

I will keep you guys posted with my progress...

[redbird294]

I've had success with both, but I play a lot of man coverage.

With a 4-3, put more money in the D-line than the LBs. Big run stoppers in the middle, speed rushers on the end. I can get by with a trio of VMI linebackers behind them and save cash that way. In my Vikings career, I had Allen, Cox, Lopez and Williams on the line. I didn't need stud LBs with those guys. I liked the Campbell, Bake, Moore and Rubin suggestion. Solid foursome, although doesn't Bake have ridiculously low learning.....? I don't remember.

3-4 is the opposite; put more cash into the LBs. I get one stud NT with 2 draft specials at the ends. You know, the guys compared to Jarvis Moss and Ogunleye. They have 91 potential under the versatile/3-4 DE philosophy, and they're cheap to get in the later rounds when you start winning. Seymour types work well too. I've found that 4-3 rush ends don't do well as 3-4 DEs unless they have good strength, like Xavier Cox. If you have several good DTs, you might be better off moving one of them to DE. The LBs should be your main focus.

The secondary depends on how you want to play--man or zone. With zone, you'll probably want better tackling CBs and faster safeties. With man, you'll want lockdown CB's, a SS who can occasionally blitz (especially with the 46) and a FS who can cover a lot of ground (go for Centerfielder FS), especially since you're going to be in cover 1 or 0 a lot. Man coverage corners in the later rounds are tough to find depending on the draft path you're on. Zazzali and Sweetney? Hard. English and Jones? Much easier.

With the Cover 2, it's simple....Cover 2 CB, Zone Coverage SS, Centerfielder FS. Set it and forget it. If you find it hard to get decent safeties in the draft, move a cornerback with decent tackling skill to safety. Since you won't be blitzing, it's better to have the better hands from converted CBs in the middle of the field for interceptions.

[kcarr]

Generally I would agree with redbird but looking at the spagnola pressure defense that you are using I think I would probably try to keep an elite linebacker around as well. Someone who can do it all, cover, stop the run, and rush the passer. This playbook will allow a lot of blitzing from your linebackers and such a player could really excel in this playbook.

[kcarr]

I decided to go back and play a couple games in an old career I had with the spagnola pressure defense and I think I have developed the best d ever with it. I had already played a couple games of year 2 with it and was 1 and 1 when I picked it back up but today's games have really been something else.

I am halfway through the second and we have allowed 5 first downs in the 6 quarters and have not allowed a point. The 1st game was no real surprise winning 49-0 over buffalo but now I am halfway through a game against the raiders coached by gary hammermill and am up 38-0. Could have been 41 but I tried for a TD when I knew it would be close as to whether or not I would get another shot for the FG and Bowe dropped the pass right as time expired. In this game against hammermill we have 4 ints already and 5 sacks, should be 6 but the game does not count it as a sack if you force the fumble but we also have a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Our defense also has a touchdown. Sure Hammermill does not have a great team to work with but this is the worst I have seen one of his teams play.