Raheem Says He Doesn’t Like Drafting For Need
January 21st, 2011
Raheem Morris expained today that the Bucs draft is all about Josh Freeman
The Bucs clearly targeted a quarterback, defensive tackles and wide receivers in the draft the past two years.
Good thing they did.
But speaking today on The King David Show on 1010 AM today, Raheem Morris said he’s no fan of targeting positions in the draft.
“When you start drafting for need, you start making errors,” Raheem told co-host Shaun King who asked Raheem to identify his priorities entering the 2011 draft process.
Raheem went on to say that his only priority is to build around Josh Freeman, whether that was with direct weapons for Freeman or defensive players that could force turnovers.
Of course, the Bucs will keep their intentions close to the vest in 2011, which is what makes this draft so intriguing. Last year, it was either Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy. And the year before, it was expected they’d go after a franchise-caliber quarterback prospect, though many — including Joe — were hoping it wasn’t Freeman.
Dominik is on record calling himself a defensive general manager whose top priorities, in order, are developing a franchise quarterback, keeping him upright, and rushing the passer. Raheem is a defensive coach. Right now, Joe would be surprised if the Bucs don’t snag a defensive end or a linebacker with their top pick.
January 21st, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Sounds like “coach speak” to me. Diplomatic talk that doesn’t really answer the question so they don’t tip their hand.
January 21st, 2011 at 1:45 pm
I agree with Rah. Many mistakes in the draft are made by going for need.
I doubt it is an absolute concept though, even for Rah.
January 21st, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Make no mistake, we will take a DE with the 1st pick.
January 21st, 2011 at 2:03 pm
@bucfanjeff If they were to take one even after a run on them (and thus getting a lesser talent), they WOULD be making a mistake.
January 21st, 2011 at 2:07 pm
@Eric exactly there’s a certain Running Back in Minnesota that could have rushing records up the ying yang had we taken the BPA instead of need
January 21st, 2011 at 2:08 pm
@Matt, you make a good point!
January 21st, 2011 at 2:26 pm
@Mark We could of also had Patrick Willis
January 21st, 2011 at 2:27 pm
I hope they don’t touch an offensive player for the first two rounds, we need to fill some holes on defense and we need guys with an attitude.
January 21st, 2011 at 2:57 pm
No matter what smoke screens they toss up, I think Joe is absolutely right. It’s a DE. I think the only thing that would change that is a “run” on DEs, that has the Value waaay down. Then we draft a LB. DE is the smart move. The general concensus is that there are 5 critical positions to a sucessful team. QB,WR,LT,DE,CB. On that collection, DE is all we are lacking. Although in the Tampa 2, I would argue DT be added to
That list. What I want to see, is if they draft a 3-4, or 4-3 DE. That’s gonna tip their hand on what the new “Tampa 2.1” is gonna look like! With the Alex McGee, Carlon Powell, and Doug Worthington listings at DE, think we will look more like a 3-4. Which will also put linebackers on our list. We are starting to march in line with the Steelers/Patriots more and more. That’s not a bad thing!
January 21st, 2011 at 3:16 pm
We are goign to end up drafting a 3-4 LB this class has a lot of those with the 1st pick
January 21st, 2011 at 3:32 pm
@Matt – If after a run, they take one, then yes because that probably means that they are taking one they may not have really wanted. However, if they have their eyes on 2-3 DE’s and one is there, I don’t think it’s a mistake.
There are two sides to drafting a ‘need’ vs ‘best available’. If you have done your homework and a player you feel is very good is available and it’s a position of need, take him. Mark and staff have proven thus far to be very good at assessing talent. The last two drafts we have drafted need with QB, WR, DT and that has proven very good so far.
I don’t think the argument of drafting a ‘need’ vs ‘best available’ holds much water, more importantly, it’s how good is your scouting staff.
January 21st, 2011 at 3:52 pm
We haven’t had the greates of luck in the DE drafting, except of course for Mr. Selmon.
Booker Reese, Adams, Holmes etc.
Wouldnt kill us if we got an experienced DE. A lower priced Peppers type. as a back up plan in case no DE at number 20 is worthy of that selection.
January 21st, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Capt. Tim- Yup. Players like tweener DE\OLB’s are on the table this year. Rah wants to actually get some production out of his 3 man front and could possibly end up moving to a 3-4 defense completely if he continues to acquire personnel which would fit it. I seem to remember floating this theory of the Bucs going after more 3-4 oriented personnel and possibly switching to that as base defense altogether and getting laughed at by people on here, including Joe. Now its being reported by Pewter Report that, indeed, Rah has his eye on big 3-4 defense type linebackers in the draft. I guess its not such a laughable concept now.
January 21st, 2011 at 4:05 pm
gitrlvr,
We laughed, cause they didn’t have or get the players for it then. Now, if they do draft/sign players for it, then that’s another story.
January 21st, 2011 at 4:11 pm
It would be awesome if akeem ayers fell to the Bucs. He could play Sam in the 4-3, OLB in the 3-4, or even put on a few pounds and become 4-3 DE.
January 21st, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Eric
Totally agree with you! We could use a rookie and a young Vet DE and we have the ability to go out and do just that. It even fits into Dominik’s statement of not being “big” in FA and building thru the draft.
Would I like to see us get a good 3-4 LB? Yeah, it appears to me that is where we are heading to with Coach Morris’s defense anyway. Would be nice to have a defense that could play both 4-3 and 3-4 well with the players we have in house. That would make it hard to “game plan” us.
January 21st, 2011 at 4:27 pm
They would have never drafted McCoy, Price, Geno Hayes, Dakota Watson, or have Roy Miller playing at 305lbs if they were going to run a 3-4 defense.
Our front 7 doesn’t work with a 3-4. Never will.
I think Raheem is trying to get more stout at the point of attack while still maintaing the ability to rush the passer with just 4…… i.e. guy’s like Alex Magee that are 20lbs heavier than the traditional Tampa 2 DE. They may play the run better on early downs than in the past.
Don’t forget…we had Kevin Carter at LDE for a few seasons @305lbs and he played very well in this system- especially against the run.
January 21st, 2011 at 4:28 pm
At the time I brought it up. They had already acquired 350 lb 3-4 nose tackle Frank Okam as well as Magee and Worthington who are DT type guys in a 4-3 but as Capt. Tim pointed out are already being used as DE’s. Im not saying I think the Bucs may abandon the 4-3 altogether but I think its becoming a real possibility that they may eventually move to a base 3-4 defense while still playing the 4-3 situationally as some NFL defenses already do.
January 21st, 2011 at 4:32 pm
gitarlvr,
My bad then. I thought you were referring to much earlier. It does seem that way.
January 21st, 2011 at 4:33 pm
I cannot believe all the people wanting to switch to a 3-4 defense right now. WTF is wrong with you guys? You want to win right now but you want to switch defensive philosophy? It doesn’t work that way. I realize that 3-4 defenses are in vogue right now but a 4-3 is and always will be a superior base defense. They absolutely did not draft McCoy and Price with the intentions of switching them to 5-Techs in a 3-4, and if they did, they should be fired.
Besides all that, the personel is not on this team to make the switch. Don’t you think that if they thought Okam was a stellar NT that they would have played him there? We don’t have a single 3-4 Outside or Inside LB on the roster.
Anyways, as far as the draft goes this year, my vote is for Adrian Clayborn. I realize that he didn’t have a stellar season his senior year, but all the talent and technical skills are right there. Plus, he is one mean SOB. He will be a beast in the NFL, mark my words. He probably won’t be there at 20 because I fully expect him to destroy people at the Senior Bowl, so they may have to move up a few spots to grab him.
January 21st, 2011 at 4:35 pm
Draft another punter! *Thumbs up and wink*
January 21st, 2011 at 4:43 pm
DRB- First off Watson and Hayes can very easily play inside linebacker in a 3-4. Your inside backers in a 3-4 don’t have to be mass monsters. They are the guys who will be relied on more for the pass coverage and sideline to sideline stuff. As far as drafting DT’s to play DE in a 3-4— THAT IS WHAT TEAMS DO!!!! I don’t know why some people don’t understand that. Most 3-4 DE’s are converted college DT’s. Gerald McCoy ALREADY WAS playing DE in a 3 man front this year. So obviously they did draft him to do that at least some of the time. The same thing applies to Brian Price. He easily has both the strength and quickness to play 3-4 DE. Miller, admittedly, is not big and strong enough to be your prototype 3-4 immovable object nose tackle but, guess what, they went out and got Frank Okam who at 6’5″ 350 lbs. is the very definition of a 3-4 NT. When it comes to defensive backs you don’t have separate types of players for either scheme so the Bucs are already set there. The reality is that the Bucs are only 2 big pass rushing OLB’s from being able to implement a 3-4 defense. They already did so situationally this year. It didn’t work out as well as hoped because they were forced to use guys like Stylez White and Tim Crowder as stand up OLB’s and they weren’t very good at it. Im not saying the Bucs will make the switch, just that its very real option for them if they want to do so.
January 21st, 2011 at 4:49 pm
I agree with him to a point. I think they grab 2 DEs in the first 1-4 rounds because the draft is heavy in that area.
However, if the top 10 DEs are taken before they pick, you don’t draft for need and grab the next one. At that point you grab one of the next highest players on your board (that also happens to fill a need) LB for example.
I don’t buy this need vs best available argument. It is NOT one or the other, it is a combination.
The Bucs board might have a QB or a power RB rated a little ahead of a LB in round 2 but I bet money they take the LB.
It goes both ways
You have to fill needs but not at the expense of drafting a 4th rounder in round 2 just because that position was molested in round 1.
Either way, I like how open Mark D and Raheem seem to be, but as far as I am concerned, from now until the day after the draft any question about the draft should be answered with “We’ll talk to you about it after the draft, anything else?”
(boring for Joe if they did that though)
January 21st, 2011 at 4:52 pm
McCoy and price both played DE numerous times. I don’t think we will be a full time 3-4. Or a full time 4-3. In the NFL now, varity and Flexibility is the key. A guy who is a 3-4 end, or a 4-3 Dt, is a valuable guy. I also totally agree with Eric, we need a FA DE. One thing to think about. DE and DT usually take 2-4 years to come of age. Its the slowest positions to learn in the NFL. Don’t be surprised if Crowder,Bennett, or McGee take off this year. Lots of times, teams give up on D-lineman, then they excell with their next team. Patience is the key with D-line. I want to draft a talented one to start the process, and then sign a guy who can help us now! Then, if our guys improve, we are sitting Sweet !
January 21st, 2011 at 5:00 pm
1. This draft is loaded with DE’s, it won’t be a mistake taking one
2. They are NOT going to a 3-4, they have drafted DTs for a 4-3 and have only played with 3 down due to a lack of pass rush. It was out of neccessity and thought Black could be a great edge rusher.
2a. That said, being able to have versatile players to mix it in sometimes doesn’t hurt… like having Okam and McCoy inside and Price on an end and a blitzing LB from somewhere else.
3. Please don’t play the game of “we could have drafted him or him or him or him or him………………” EVERY team can do that every year for their entire history, it is pointless.
3a. It is kind of like whining about the refs for one call in the Detroit game when in fact the Bucs got some breaks against St Loius and had no business beating the Redskins…. it all comes around.
Bottom line:
They draft TWO DEs in the first few rounds and a LB
January 21st, 2011 at 5:02 pm
Capt Tim & Eric
I agree absolutely about signing a FA DE. There are a handful of 26-27 year old DEs who are FAs that are damn good.
The Bucs will HAVE to spend when a new CBA is signed so I have a feeling they will snag one of these guys.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:06 pm
“As far as drafting DT’s to play DE in a 3-4— THAT IS WHAT TEAMS DO!!!! I don’t know why some people don’t understand that. Most 3-4 DE’s are converted college DT’s.”
No sh!t sherlock. Nobody is disputing that, what I am disputing is where you draft those guys. You DO NOT use a top 5 pick on a 5-technique, BOTTOM LINE. Now if Raheem wants to dabble with the 3-3-5 some more and waste McCoy and Price’s pass rush talents that’s his own funeral.
Most of you guys talk about Steve White like he can walk on water and then turn it into wine and he has stated time and time again how against the 3-3-5 he is, but in this particular area you just ignore what he thinks.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:09 pm
Also Gotbbucs- How many teams have switched to a 3-4 in recent years. How many were already stocked with nothing but 3-4 personnel BEFORE they switched? All these teams that switched did so while having to improvise with rosters that had guys used to playing a 4-3 defense. In some cases it worked(Green Bay) and in some it didn’t(Buffalo). The defense is already a hybrid 3 man front so its kind of like your arguing that they don’t have the personnel to do something they are, in fact, already doing. The only question is will they draft\sign the right type of linebackers this offseason to do it more and do it right. Your assertion that the Bucs don’t have the personnel is just plain wrong. They do have the defensive line personnel. They don’t have the proper outside linebackers but they can easily draft\sign those guys this offseason. If they draft the right guy in the first round(tweener) he will be able to play DE for them in a 4-3 front AND OLB in a 3-4. This kind of versatility seems to be what Raheem wants for his defense and its the right way to go. ITS NO COINCIDENCE THAT 3 OUT 4 REMAINING DEFENSES IN THE PLAYOFFS ARE 3-4 DEFENSES!!!!
January 21st, 2011 at 5:12 pm
gitarlvr, both teams in last year’s Super Bowl ran 4-3’s so don’t give me that BS.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Gotbbucs is right:
“Now if Raheem wants to dabble with the 3-3-5 some more and waste McCoy and Price’s pass rush talents that’s his own funeral.
Most of you guys talk about Steve White like he can walk on water and then turn it into wine and he has stated time and time again how against the 3-3-5 he is, but in this particular area you just ignore what he thinks.”
Agree.
And I am a big fan of Akeem Ayers, UCLA LB. So I hope the Bucs draft him.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:17 pm
To those of you who think we will be changing to a 3-4,
Why would we have drafted two prototypical 4-3 DTs last year? Now, I’m not saying that those DTs can’t play in the 3-4. And I could be wrong about calling Price and McCoy prototypical 4-3 DTs. I realize that we ran some 3 down line man sets this year (not sure if they were 3-4s or 3-3-5’s), I just know Steve White hates when they do that. lol
Basically, I’m asking you guys, what makes you think we are switching to a 3-4 on a permanent basis?
To be honest, I’d welcome it. Seems like all the best teams in the NFL run the 3-4.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:17 pm
…and we do not alreay run a 3 man front. Raheem threw that stupid defense in there to give teams different looks from time to time because he didn’t have the horses yet to sit in his base defense and be effective at rushing with the front 4. Don’t you think he learned anything from what happened with Jim Bates? Will it be the traditional Tampa 2 front four? No. He is assembling a bigger version that is more equiped to stop the run.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:21 pm
Im in perfect agreement with you Capt. Tim.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:26 pm
You need to look again gotbbucs. The 3 man front is not something Raheem is doing out of desperation only to be abandoned. In fact Raheem didn’t have the quite the right linebacking personnel to run that defense and did it anyway. So its obviously something he aspires to and not something he did because he had to. That 3 man front was played A LOT this year and its not going anywhere. Clearly Raheem wants that 3 man front to be an integral part of his defense. You are holding onto the past.
HGO- As Capt. Tim said they are probably not switching on a permanent basis. Ultimately I think Raheem wants to have a defense that can play 3-4 or 4-3 at will as dictated by what the opposing offense is doing.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:48 pm
The perfect template for what I believe Raheem is doing is the Ravens defense. They switch between 3-4 and 4-3 at will. Sometimes going entire games in one front or the other. Sometimes switching between fronts from play to play and confusing the crap out of their opponents. This seems to be what Raheem aspires to make out of his defense and I don’t see the downside of it. The Bucs are only 2 good DE\OLB tweeners away from being able to dominate at this style of defense.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Gotbbucs “I realize that 3-4 defenses are in vogue right now”
And any other Buc’s fan here. Please tell me what defense the brand spanking new Tampa Bay Buccaneer Franchise ran in 1976.
Was it that in vouge now new fangled defense? The unheard of 3-4? or was it something else. as I recall we drafted a very good DE named Selmon who played in this very in vouge way way back in nineteen hundred and seventy six..
The circle just keeps coming back around dose it not? 0 degrees is also 360 degrees. or am I remiss?
January 21st, 2011 at 6:13 pm
If Raheem is trying to run both a 4-3 and a 3-4 then we will more than likely be mediocre at both for quite some time. They will be trying to teach two defenses to a team full of young players. It can only slow the development of ever player on that side of the ball.
I personally want nothing to do with the 3-4, big suprise there huh, but I am a major traditionalist when it comes to football. I believe in limiting the play book and getting exceptionally good at what you do on a smaller scale. The less you throw at a guy the faster they can play the game. You don’t have to throw a ton of tricks out there if you’re great at running your base defense.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Gotbbucs- Your wrong on this one dude. Go read the article on pewter report.
Or you can wait and I’m sure Joe is working on a post about this even as I type. Rah\Dominik has already stated they are absolutely open to drafting 3-4 linebackers. You might not like it but you are swimming against the tide because its the direction the Bucs are moving in. Other teams in the NFL already run hybrid defenses with much success. As I said the Ravens are a perfect example. If you draft smart players they will be able to handle the complexities. Sure it can take a little longer for a guy to develop but payoff is bigger when you have a such a versatile defense.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:56 pm
We already played 4-3 and 3-4 this year and it was awful but bearable. We werent absolutely horrible. I welcome the idea of drafting LBs for 3-4. Teams will only be more confused. Raheem knows what he is doing, quit fussing about it.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:58 pm
RastaMon calls Michael Clayton’s GM to the stand…..Rich
You draft the 5th WR taken with the 15th overall pick…..
leaving so many other 1st position player waitng by their phone
He…Eric Curry…and Keith McCants…should have there names carved into the bottom of the pirate ship in the north end zone….
January 21st, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Ok, I read the article, I really hope those two know what they’re doing because our 3-3-5 set looked horrible last year to me.
January 21st, 2011 at 7:11 pm
I don’t like the idea of Watson and Hayes as MLB’s in a 3-4.
if we do continue to use a hybrid defense hopefully we will get a punishing middle backer soon
January 21st, 2011 at 7:14 pm
your right on that one gotbbucs- It didn’t look very good at times. But that can be remedied by adding the proper linebacker(s). It’s looking like the bucs will have a better chance of drafting a quality tweener DE\OLB at pick #20 than a dedicated 4-3 DE. It would be a different story if the bucs had the first pick and could draft Daquan Bowers but at the back of the first round in recent years its seemed a lot easier for teams to find a good tweener or 3-4 OLB than a true 4-3 DE.
January 21st, 2011 at 7:18 pm
why not Michigan? Hayes reminds me of Pittsburghs Lawrence Timmons. Small and fast as hell. Somebody has to be the sideline to sideline speedster in the 3-4 when your outside linebackers are the bigger slower bruisers.
January 21st, 2011 at 7:22 pm
but they’re both undersized speed guys. i could be wrong because I honestly don’t know a lot about 3-4 defenses, but it seems to me with only 3 down lineman one of your middle backers at least has to be a brickwall type of run stopper
January 21st, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Well ideally you want guys who are fast and strong but you want those guys in any defense. But typically in a 3-4 your ILB’s are smaller and faster than your OLB’s. Your outside linebackers are your bigger guys who can put their hand in the dirt and play DE when in a 4-3 alignment. Your ILB’s shouldn’t be big slow brutes or they will be a liability in pass defense. Obviously the ideal is someone like Ray Lewis, who is(was at least in his prime)fast as hell AND a hell of a thumper. Obviously Geno is a very small guy but if the Bucs could scheme things to try and keep guards off of him as much as possible he could wreck shop with his speed. Dekoda is a very strong guy for his size and would probably fit the 3-4 ILB mold a little more closely.
January 21st, 2011 at 8:41 pm
You guys are dumber than you sound if you think that are switching to a 3 man front anytime soon (excluding the zone dogging that they may do which of course ends up with a 4 or more man rush). They have 3 recent eraly draft picks that are prototypical undertackles, none of those three players fit the 3-4. It would epitomize idiocy (which shouldmmt shock me with Rah Rah) to draft McCoy and Price and convert to a 3 man front.
Dont get me wrong I am not totally opposed to it but for their recent drafts. I believe that there is only 1 Tampa 2 team left b/c offenses are improving against the Tampa 2. Tomlin is a convert.
Dont give me this Rah has modified the Tampa 2 business, the vulnerabilities are essentially the same, and they are substantial if you dont pressure the qb.
BTW – 4 of the top 5 defenses are left, 1 of the top 5 offenses if left. Defense is paramount today which means – you better draft for need (defense) sheep!
January 21st, 2011 at 8:57 pm
I know I’m showing ny age, but Sapp, Brooks, and Lynch were nit our First number1 rated defense. Sapp and Brooks weren’t the first Buc to win NFL defensive player of the year. Leroy Selmon, Wally Chambers, David Lewis, Richard Wood,Mark Cotney, Mike Washington- Damn! That Defense was the Physical I’ve ever seen. Took us to the NFC championship. And that was a 3-4 defense. 4 linebackers around 250#. everyone was a hitter- I left out cecil Johnson and Dewey Selmon. Later joined by the” the terror” Hugh Green! That defense actually scared the Eagles so badly in the playoffs, that their backs and Wr didn’t want to catch the ball- Jaworski was talking about that defense a while back- toughest he faced! Again, a 3-4 Buccaneer defense! Buuut, that defense needed a great DE ( Leroy Selmon), Like the Tampa 2 needs a great DT. If you can, go back and read up on that Defense. By the way- another great discussion from everyone today! God, I miss football already!!!!
January 21st, 2011 at 9:04 pm
Then I see a Thomas Post-lol!! Amazing how he predicts so confidently, when he has been absolutely wrong about every thing he has ever said or thought! Lmao! geez bud, you need to listen, not predict. If you really wanna be impressive to your new love, ya gotta get a Lil smarter about football! Just Trying to help! I told you are was proud of you for giving up on Lil Chucky. At least your new crush, Raheem, Is going to be around for a while! Good choice!:)
January 21st, 2011 at 9:06 pm
why dont anyone look at the defense that he ran at kansas state when he had the leading sacks by linebackers in the conference ,you might get an idea what he is trying to do
January 21st, 2011 at 9:45 pm
DHop, please don’t remind us of the fact that Patrick Willis could’ve been manning the middle of our Linebackers…… Thanks Gruden! I probably won’t get over that until death. All I’m asking from Mark and Rah is to have another productive draft as was last years. If so, our needs will be met!
January 21st, 2011 at 10:01 pm
I think most of you are making way more of this than there is. Raheem said he was open to drafting anyone, including 3-4 LBs…. big deal. What is he supposed to do, rule players out in January?
They dabbled and played a bunch of alot of things last year… so what. They had NO PASS RUSH AGAIN so they tried to do things to create one
OR
they just did things to drop so much into coverge that the pass would be prevented that way.
They also were not stopping the run, so they expirmented a little to help that. Guess what worked the best: the 4-3.
Anyway, I am not for one or the other and I think 3 of the 4 playoff teams playing a 3-4 means NOTHING. Last year there were two teams playing a variation of the Tampa 2 and the SB champs playing a 4-3.
The only thing that matters is talent executing WHATEVER scheme is employed.
It all comes down to talent and execution.
I do concur with the idea that McCoy and Price would be better served playing in the smae spot for 2 years. Become an absolute master in one position before spreading them out only to be average at a bunch.
It is the same concept with WR. Many (not all) learn one position their first year and then work on the others.
January 21st, 2011 at 10:52 pm
Three words Dave- Jets versus Patriots. I doubt there is a 4-3 defense in the league that could have done what Ryan’s defense did to the Patriots last week. Thats why some of us are making a big deal about this. Being able to effectively run a 3-4 front means being able to confuse and harass the Mannings and Brady’s of the league in a way that strictly playing a 4 man front just cant do.
January 21st, 2011 at 11:12 pm
I read that PR article again that’s got people all stirred up over this 3-4 thing. Nowhere in that article did Morris say that he was going to run a 3-4 defense. What I gathered from that is that they are going to draft the best player available and then adjust the defense situationaly to fit that player’s strengths. That by no means suggests that they are switching defensive philosophy. That’s just what good coaches do.
I’ve said it before but my hope is that this is going to be more like a Jim Johnson defense with interchangable defensive lineman and then a bunch of well rounded LB’s that can all blitz if need be. He would basically put everybody close to the line of scrimmage and then run zone dog and fire zone blitzes out of a 4-3 scheme. It was very aggresive and he blitzed at least one guy on almost every single snap and drop a d-lineman or two into zone coverage.
It looks like a mess most of the time but that’s kind of the point. It looks like a mess to QB’s but for the defense it’s organized chaos.
January 21st, 2011 at 11:22 pm
gitarlvr, are you talking about the same Jets 3-4 defense that the Patriots torched for 40 some points a few weeks ago? If 3 out of the remaining 4 teams ran 4-3 defenses would we still be having this discussion? This stinks to high heaven like a flavor of the month type of deal.
Where was everybody at last year regarding this 3-4 mumbo jumbo? Maybe it’s because 3of the 4 remaining teams at this point last year were running 4-3 defenses.
January 22nd, 2011 at 6:49 am
GotBucs- I haven’t read the article on the other site. As Steve White has posted a ton of times, and I talked about all season on this site, our base Defense THIS YEAR was a 3-3-5. And we won 10 games, despite setting an NFL record for number of Rookies started. We aren’t discussing some hypothetical senario that may occur. We Are discussing the defense we ran SUCESSFULLY this year. The question is- did we run this defense to protect our Rookie D-line( what I believe), or is it the Future? I think we weill run a more traditional Defense this year, but the will include a ton of 3-4. That is common in the NFL today. The Packers lined up in a 3-4 numerous times last week. I agree with Monte Kiffin on this one, Too many teams have figured out how to attack the Tampa 2 for it to be your primary scheme anymore. It has to evolve. I trust Raheem to do that. After what he did will a bunch of kids last year, he obviously knows his stuff!
January 22nd, 2011 at 10:28 am
Gitarlvr,
The Giants dominated the Pats offense with a 4-3…You just execute your scheme and your personnel.
January 23rd, 2011 at 11:39 am
do you know what a “base” defense is? apparently not or you wouldnt say that their base was a 3-3-5.
A “base” is what you run on first down or even down and distance situations. The bucs never showed a 3-3-5 base.
They may have run “games” where they dropped a d lineman and ony rushed three fairly frequently. That is light years away from a base. Bringing in Biggers and moving Ronde down in the nickel is to replace a backer like Geno Taze typically you bafoon.
You are more clueless than I originally thought.