Best 3-4 Linemen?

[MUSS]

I was wondering who would be considered the best 3-4 linemen, either for NT or for DE.

It seems like Reggie White is physically perfect for LDE, but I havent had success with him there.

[dirtypeter]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

Bethea is monster plus you get leadership that improves your generics on the line. His swim move is up there w/ the best of them. I have played w/ many dominate dline men, but I believe he and Manley are the best.

[MUSS]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

Where would you put Bethea on the Dline?

I never manually controlled him, and he was in 4-3 LDE (manley opposite). He didnt dominate over there. Where would you put him in 3-4, as LDE? I have always pretty much put manley as my 3-4 Rush OLB.

I played one game with Art Donovan at Nose and I didnt notice too much from him. Im thinking of giving up on him.

[kjell1979]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

In the 3-4, you want to strive for run support. While Reggie seems like the prototypical 3-4 DE (big strong and fast) int APF 2K8 he has too many pass rush moves to really be that effective. In this case, I tend to pick DTs and set them at DE. Manley is not effective in the 3-4 because he's not a good tackle. He's more of an end. He could play OLB in this scheme, but not end since the 3-4 is like a 5-2 with 3 down linemen.

At the nose I like William Perry. He's large and can really collapse the middle of the pocket. One of my favorites at DE is Jerome Brown. He's fast, big and can really stop the run on his side. Leon Lett is also a great run stopper too. I tend to have him at the other end. I'm also trying out Bob Lilly at the DE spot too. He's a fast run stopper so he might workout really well here.

Remember in the 3-4, the lineman aren't designed to get to the QB, they're designed to draw the OL double teams so the LBs can blitz unimpeded. Unfortunately in APF 2K8, I don't think they handle the DL is handled properly in that too often they don't hold their blocks on running plays. But for the most part that's the strategy.

[RogueHominid]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

Bethea actually played RDE in the 34--check out profootballreference.com. Also native to the 34 is Leroy Selmon. Leslie Oneill played LDE in the 34 late in his career.

Those guys aren't the big run anchors, but they're not pansies either. You just want to make sure that on pass downs you have stunts and blitzes that get them 1-1 with a T or G to take advantage of the pass rush ability.

Though he never played in one, I would think Too Tall a good 34 end just because he dominates tackles so consistently.

Also, and little known, Dan Hampton played LDE in the 34 for a year or so.

[CreatineKasey]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

Donovan is awesome if you want to spend a gold there.

Dan Saleaumua is a great NG at the bronze level.

Clyde Simmons is exceptional at bronze DE for the 3-4 system. He has bull rush and strength bonus I believe. He weighs a lot too... he's the closest thing to Aaron Smith in this game.

Personally I'm still a believer that you put your talent at the linebacker level in a 3-4, even in this game. The best defense I've ever created by far is a 1995 Steelers team. I have 7 players on defense, 4 linebackers and 3 DB's. That team is so athletic it's obscene. Anyone can sack the QB and anyone can line up on the DL on passing downs. Many people believe the opposite. They believe the D-Line needs legends on it for the 3-4 to succeed. I just know what I've seen with that Steeler team.

[kjell1979]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

In APF 2K8 you may be right about the star LBs. But in the NFL if the DL doesn't get respect and get some double teams, the LBs won't get penetration and a zone blocking scheme just eats them alive.

The more I practice with 3 star DL in the 3-4, the more I find that the generic LBs can get a decent amount of pressure. You just need to be well aware of those outside runs and gold star RBs. In that sense, it helps to have a gold star safety with run support or run read.

[sportyguyfl31]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

The best 3-4 DL in my opinion, is Art Donovan. He's tremendous.

Besides his leadership bonus, his stamina bonus is key. He NEVER tires.

That's super important, because that DT has to play through trash every down. He has a non stop motor.

Best 3-4 NTs

Donovan
Jerome Brown
Fridge
Dan Saliamua

Best 3-4 DE's

Chris Doleman
Reggie White
Too Tall
Clyde Simmons
Leonard Marshall

---in the 3-4 if you want to play with a legend DE, you need a power guy at that position.

There are also some DE's that can play the Rush OLB spot.

Doleman is FANTASTIC at this, as is Dexter Manley



My approach to the 3-4 is:

Stud DT
Pass Rush LB, or a DE at the Rush LB Spot
ILB who I manually use
Good Tackling Safety
Cover Corner
Run support..wrap up tackler Corner

OR

DT
DE
LB
Rush LB
Safety
Safety

[CreatineKasey]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

I may as well put my 3-4 build.

DT

LB
LB
LB

Then however many DB's you want... minimum of 1.

[kjell1979]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

This is mine:

Bronze: DE, NT, CB
Silver: DE, CB
Gold: FS

The good thing about this build is you can switch to a 4 man front for passing downs and get a decent amount of pressure.

[s38s38s]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

In the 3-4 line man (in this game) rarely are the ones to get pressure, on their own. If pressure is what you're going for, then this is what I do...

Personally I find the fattest generic NT, and roll with Manley, and 2 stud pass rush LB's (one gold, one silver, or two silver), In my scheme when I choose to send my OLB, both he and Manley are one on one, and can really cause trouble for opposing teams...IMO Manley is the best Bronze Defensive player easily...he and my LB's really produce in that scheme.

[TexasBorn1]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

Too Tall Jones has always been great for me in the 3-4

He's always in position to make the play because he dominates whoever he's up against

[cardinalbird5]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

Donovan is awesome if you want to spend a gold there.

Dan Saleaumua is a great NG at the bronze level.

Clyde Simmons is exceptional at bronze DE for the 3-4 system. He has bull rush and strength bonus I believe. He weighs a lot too... he's the closest thing to Aaron Smith in this game.

Personally I'm still a believer that you put your talent at the linebacker level in a 3-4, even in this game. The best defense I've ever created by far is a 1995 Steelers team. I have 7 players on defense, 4 linebackers and 3 DB's. That team is so athletic it's obscene. Anyone can sack the QB and anyone can line up on the DL on passing downs. Many people believe the opposite. They believe the D-Line needs legends on it for the 3-4 to succeed. I just know what I've seen with that Steeler team.

What happens when you face someone who likes to use 3+ WR the whole game? I don't like to waste picks on more than 2 or 3 LB, because guys online run a lot of 4 or 5 wide. I'd say you should switch your weaker MLB for a solid NT.

[kjell1979]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

Running 4 or 5 wide doesn't bother me that much. Having 3 stars on the line generates a lot of pressure even if they specialize in stopping the run.

[topdowninvestor2023]

Re: Best 3-4 Linemen?

If you want to run a 3-4, run a 5-2 and sub in pass rushing OLB's as the DE's lol because the D-linemen in this game don't handle the gaps correctly if it's a 3-4 and you get gashed to death by the run if the other team runs I-formation and has a decent running back. The vanilla zone blitzes also suck for a 3-4 because they drop linemen into coverage rather than just voiding the zone like the 5-2 does in the game.

Another problem is 3-4 outside linebackers don't have any moves or the leverage that they should so they usually just get stuck to the offensive tackle or they try to circle around the tackle (which takes forever) when they block them if you run a 3-4 rather than a 5-2 with OLB's subbed in as DE's. If you use the OLB's as DE's in a 5-2 instead, they'll actually beat the tackles at times because they have the leverage to blow past them since their hand is in the dirt.

The best 3-4/5-2 team I've ever built so far has Elvin Bethea subbed in as the LDT, Otis Wilson subbed in as the RDE, Carl Banks subbed in as the LDE, Ronnie Lott at Free Safety, and Joey Browner at Strong Safety. The generic D-linemen are "balanced" and the rest of the generics on defense are "coverage".