The "transition" won't be much of an issue.
-Jared Odrick played as a gap penetrating Under Tackle in a 4-3 at Penn State
-Randy Starks played similarly in Tennessee before coming to Miami
-Cameron Wake is a glorified defensive end by trade anyway and that's how he makes his name
-There won't be a big difference in what Paul Soliai is asked to do
-Transition from the position Burnett's played to Will backer is pretty easy
-Koa Misi is probably best suited to be a Sam in a 4-3 anyway
-The only "transition" issue would be Dansby at Mike because he's not played it before in a 4-3
The problem won't be transition. The problem is the roster. I keep saying this, the Dolphins don't have the defensive ends to run this scheme. They need to work on that in the next draft or free agency. It's imperative. They have a whole mess defensive tackles (Soliai, Starks, Odrick, McDaniel, Randle, Baker). That's fine. But they have THREE true defensive end types, all three of whom are under-sized. Cam Wake is 6'3" and 250 lbs, Olivier Vernon is 6'2" and 261 lbs, and Jamaal Westerman is 6'2" and 257 lbs, runs a 4.78. Jacquies Smith, Derrick Shelby and Jarrell Root are all undrafted free agent rookies. By rights none of them should even make the team.
And what sucks is that only in Cameron Wake's case do you find consistent pass rush from those defensive ends. Westerman certainly never proved a good pass rusher in New York. He looked pretty good as an early down run protector as an outside linebacker...sort of a poor man's Jarret Johnson. No coincidence the Jets replaced him with the real Jarret Johnson this off season.
The key to all this is Olivier Vernon. I don't know how the Dolphins watched him play for the Hurricanes and came to think of him as a 2012 nickel pass rusher. That just isn't how I'd see him. My *hope* would have been that he would have the *potential* to grow into that role, eventually. He is only 21 years old and he's pretty athletic, after all. But that's not what he is right now. Right now he's a hellishly strong run defender that can reduce on pass rushing downs and isolate against a guard in pass rush, use his strong hands to prevent the guard from bullying him with strength, and then use his significant speed advantage to blow by him and consistently get after the passer. This is how I hoped Miami would use him, until he continues to develop as an outside rusher. But to toss him right in as a nickel edge rusher in 2012...that's a leap of faith. Maybe they're right. Maybe they're that confident in their ability to coach him during training camp, to coax more consistent ability out of him.
But it's a leap to me, and it's something that will in my opinion drag down TWO positions in the nickel defense. I say that because I really do believe Vernon could've been excellent as a sort of Wallace Gilberry/Pernell McPhee type pass rusher over the guard on passing downs, but instead we're going to have Jared Odrick do that and I doubt he'll be more effective.
You've gotta look toward the Giants in my opinion if you want to see how to make this defense work best. They have a ton of players with a certain prototype, that being 6'4" to 6'5" players that range around the 265-275 area with 4.70 speed. Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka all fit that mold. Miami doesn't really have a single player in that mold.
Already in the 2013 NFL Draft I'm pegging Miami to grab another TRUE pass rusher/defensive end, that fits that Giants mold. I'm looking at 6'4" and 273 lbs Bjoern Werner of Florida State, who is to me right now the best defensive end prospect that could enter the 2013 NFL Draft. Miami could have the opportunity to get him though even if they don't have a high pick, because I'm not sure yet whether the rest of the NFL will agree with me that he's the best. We'll see. Wouldn't be the 1st or 50th time I've been hot on a guy that nobody seems to like and then soon enough everyone adores him too. I am also looking at 6'6" and 278 lbs William Gholston of Michigan State. I don't have him exceptionally high right now, but he has the ability to get up there and then some. If there's a player that I would be willing to make an exception for on the size standard, it's James Gayle of Virginia Tech. He's not that far off at 6032 and 256 lbs, and he is just an absolute joy to watch play the game of football. Right now he is my second best defensive end that could enter the 2013 NFL Draft, behind only Werner.
I know you're going to hear about Barkevious Mingo, maybe Jarvis Jones. I like them. No doubt about it. But I'm not interested. We just signed Cameron Wake to a long term deal. This is not the kind of 4-3 the Colts ran all those years with Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. We have our Cam Wake. Time to get something a little different. Bjoern Werner would be perfect.
