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Dolphins to incorperate some 3-4?

Disgustipate

Disgustipate

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According to SportingNews, who I wouldnt trust as far as I could throw.

Click here, in Left Bar at bottom

"LE Adewale Ogunleye's contract situation needs to be resolved before training camp. Ogunleye is a legitimate star, and if he isn't signed, there isn't a good alternative on the roster. The team has toyed with playing some 3-4, but no one on the defensive staff has worked with the system extensively."


Now, if this is true(Which I find a little dubious), I think it could be useful.

I think we'd end up using it like we used our Tiger Nickel Package..Something we'll shift into Pre-Snap with our base 4-3 personnel a handful of times against certain teams.

I think we can switch from our base 4-3 without much effort. Bowens would make a pretty good NT. Our DE position would be wierd, but I dont think it'd be a problem. Ogunleye or Bowens might be small for a 3-4 DE, but the Falcons did the 3-4 with smaller DEs. I'd assume Chester or Zgonina would be the other DE.

Linebacker, I'd imagine we would keep our regular linebackers, and add Jason Taylor to the outside. Zach and Greenwood are a little small to be 3-4 backers, but we have good blocker-absorbing linemen, and it isnt going to be our base.
 
even if we did go through some growing pains working in zone D, it's something we have to go through. I, for one, am sick and tired of seeing the Dolphins D 'solved' by some team mid-season and then victimized by every other offensive coordinator the rest of the season. This could be the major contributor to our famous late season swoons -not a lack of effort by the players. Anyone remember how we got continually screwed by the spread offense a few years ago after the Jets figured that one out? Or how after the Niners figured out they could line up and run the ball down our throats -especially when they used mildly complex blocking schemes -and every other team we faced the rest of the season did the same thing? The ability to play effective Zone D, the ability to throw some wrinkles out there and keep the opposing O guessing, is what has made defenses like the Patriots so effective.
 
i think david bowens, jay williams and maybe otis grigsby, which i´m very excited to see btw, are good enough to be called good "alternatives", but thats just IMO
 
The Zone coverage thing in my mind was something that had to be done. It's different from the 3-4/Tiger Nickel ordeal.

Being stuck in one coverage has killed us. Playing in poor weather conditions in man coverage can kill you. Look at that Buffalo game in 2002. The reciever gets a big advantage in those matchups.
 
Going to a 3-4 would be awful. I doubt we would switch to one. I think Jason Taylor is better off at DE than at OLB in a 3-4 and our linebackers are too small.
 
A 3-4 would be good in certain situations because if JT lined up at OLB he would be able to generate speed while going at the RT instead of instantly contacting the RT (which slows him down immediately). is this the tiger formation?
The OLINE then has to deal with the 3 DTs and Ogunleye/Taylor flying at the QB.

The only thing is, is that for this to work, more base 3-4 packages would have to be developed too and used in the game so its harder for offenses to predict when taylor and ogunleye will rush the passer. But the main questions are How are they in terms of 3-4 OLB skills? How much would size really be a factor?

Imagine both of them gunning for the QB at the same time without instant contact from olineman. With taylors speed and moves? Ogunleyes power? sick combo.
 
Finfan80 said:
even if we did go through some growing pains working in zone D, it's something we have to go through. I, for one, am sick and tired of seeing the Dolphins D 'solved' by some team mid-season and then victimized by every other offensive coordinator the rest of the season. This could be the major contributor to our famous late season swoons -not a lack of effort by the players. Anyone remember how we got continually screwed by the spread offense a few years ago after the Jets figured that one out? Or how after the Niners figured out they could line up and run the ball down our throats -especially when they used mildly complex blocking schemes -and every other team we faced the rest of the season did the same thing? The ability to play effective Zone D, the ability to throw some wrinkles out there and keep the opposing O guessing, is what has made defenses like the Patriots so effective.
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zone was used a lot last year if i remember correctly. I also remember opposing O's making a lot of mistakes because of it and i loved it.
2 years ago we played almost exclusivley man coverage and that sucked to watch. Burned out our DBs if you ask me. i love zone
 
Tiger formation is a nickel package. Same kind of thing. The line besides JT shifted over, Zach moved to LOLB, JT MLB, and Seau didnt move.

I dont think they would use Ogunleye as a linebacker. It seems like the 3-4 idea is born from the idea that they might not have Ogunleye. Taylor is also faster then Ogunleye, and has played a little bit of linebacker. Havent we seen Taylor in coverage a few times, before? I remember him deflecting a ball vs. the Patriots in 2002 while downfield covering a TE.
 
Disgustipate said:
The Zone coverage thing in my mind was something that had to be done. It's different from the 3-4/Tiger Nickel ordeal.

Being stuck in one coverage has killed us. Playing in poor weather conditions in man coverage can kill you. Look at that Buffalo game in 2002. The reciever gets a big advantage in those matchups.
Click to expand...
yea two completely different topics zone / 3-4 and yea it was painful to watch miami stuck in one coverage scheme for what it seemed like every game.
Someone was always getting beat.
 
Disgustipate said:
Tiger formation is a nickel package. Same kind of thing. The line besides JT shifted over, Zach moved to LOLB, JT MLB, and Seau didnt move.

I dont think they would use Ogunleye as a linebacker. It seems like the 3-4 idea is born from the idea that they might not have Ogunleye. Taylor is also faster then Ogunleye, and has played a little bit of linebacker. Havent we seen Taylor in coverage a few times, before? I remember him deflecting a ball vs. the Patriots in 2002 while downfield covering a TE.
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That would be an interesting option if ogunleye's not here, the 3 - 4. I do remember seeing JT in coverage and that pass deflect by him.. he needs to be used in other ways becaue he can kill you in so many ways. hes a pretty unique Defensive end.
 
ON a diffrent note of tht article, i read something that got me kind of worried
Many veterans have questioned Carey's work ethic, a bad sign for a guy who is supposed to be a major factor in revitalizing the line.
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I thot we were hearing just the opposite. I sure hope there wrong on this one:shakeno:
 
F*ck it.

If it ain't broke, don't f*ck wit it. Miami's defense was EXCELLENT last year. It was overshadowed by a horrible offense. Miami does not have the LB's to play in the 3-4 except for Seau, but he is 34 or 35 now. Zach would be manhandled every down in that defense on run plays. With the personnel Mimai has, they have to stick to 4-3. They have too much talent for a 4-3 scheme to toy around with a 3-4.
 
David Bowens and Jason Taylor could both play OLB in the 3-4 but the problem is they wouldn't necessarily do it well. Junior Seau is fully capable of playing inside linebacker in the 3-4, but Zach Thomas would tend to get swallowed.

And most importantly, none of our defensive linemen have experience playing in the 3-4 defense. Tim Bowens you would think would be ideal for a nose tackle position but he hasn't played it before and now you talk about teaching an old dog new tricks...I don't know. Also Larry Chester and Jeff Zgonina would have to be the DEs...or Jay Williams could replace one of them....or lets say we experiment with this when we DO get Ogunleye back he would make a not bad 3-4 DE however he still has no experience playing the position, and he has zero minicamps under his belt this offseason and it looks like he'll miss a good part of training camp as well.

The point is with Ogunleye our defensive line is far more balanced and dangerous than our linebackers, and so why would you move to a 3-4 alignment? Without Ogunleye I still think we're better off in the 4-3 because lined up in the 3-4 I believe teams would be able to run on us...and the point of the 3-4 I thought was to be able to stop the run.
 
i think the point of the 3-4 is to confuse the opposing teams offense. While certinly this team has relied on the DE position to pressure the passer,the loss of Ogun would hamper that. Haveing 4 Lb on the field is great if yout Nt can control two players and your Lbs are strong at the point of attack. Jr can handle this greenwood would have to play more physical. As well we would have to have some play from Moore and or Jenkins in the mix. I agree that Zach would have to float from inside to outside.Jt would do fine but i am not sure our Lbs as of now are big,and or physical enough to use the 3-4 on a regular basis.
 
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