5 Reasons Why the 3-4 is Here To Stay

The 3-4 defense has been around the league for decades and became popularized in the NFL when Chuch Fairbanks,  HC of the Okalahoma Sooners,  was hired to coach the New England Patriots in the early 70's and he brought his 34 concepts with him.  And for all you ex high school players that may remember the Oklahoma drill of 1 OL,  1 DL and a back between 2 bags,  thats where it came from and how it got its name

Its the business season in the NFL and time for Steeler Nation to start all the speculations about which direction their beloved franshise is heading.  From who will be signed to who should be signed.  Which players arent playing up to expectations to which players will.  But the one constant subject thats come up for 3 straight years is,  Will the Steelers be transitioning into a 43 defense ??. 

Here are 5 reasons why they wont be switching any time soon..........

1.  Dick Lebeau --

If you took a poll of a hundred coaches,  players,  and fans it would hard to think that the mad scientist wouldnt garner at last 90% of the votes as the best DC in the league today.  Inventive,  imaginative,  disciplined,  and tough are all ways to describe his ferocious,  attacking style of defense.  The 34 defense allows an extra "athlete" (LB) on the field at all times which gives him the versatility to be as creative as he is.  Its been stated several times around the league that you can always count on Lebeau to show a blitz look in the 2nd half of close games that hasnt shown up on field all year.  His success doesnt only come from 50 plus years of experience as a player and a coach,  but his ability to keep opponents guessing.  Lebeau,  now in his seventies,  seems as youthful and dedicated as he did over a decade ago.  Steeler Nation cant expect him to be around forever but as long as he keeps this well oiled machine running at high efficiency its hard to imagine anything less than a Joe Paterno like run well into his 80's if he's still having fun.  If and when that inevitable day does come,  Steelers need to look no further than one spot down the coaching depth chart to LB coach Keith Butler who has had the oppurtunity to study the mind of a genius and incorporate the exact same philosophies Lebeau has.

2.  The Plan --

There are several glaring and several not so glaring differences between the 34 and 43.  The biggest difference that shows up is in terms of style.  A 34 defense is a downhill attacking style of play that relies on pressure and stops on 3rd down.  The high intensity style relies on limiting an opponents time of possession for success.  The Steeler offense isnt built to be the strength of the team by outscoring opponents while the defense sits on heels hoping to have possession of the ball last in the 4th QTR to win the game.  Its a system that relies on execution and the run game to control the clock which works hand in hand with what the defense is trying to do.  Every coach has a plan thats supposed to make all 3 phases of the game work as one,  thats the Steeler way.  Most 43 teams that dont utilize press coverage sit on their heels playing field position percentages waiting for an offense to sputter or make a mistake. 

3..Personnel -- The Front 7

As much as we like to think every member of the Steelers defense is scheme indifferent,  its just not reality.  We just saw Woodley and James Harrison set the Steeler sack record for OLB's,  but its tough to imagine they could do it with a hand on the ground.  Its a completely different style of play and skillset on an NFL level and isnt as great as if they were in a 4-3 role.  Part of what makes that pass rush great is the element of deception.  Seven or 8 players roaming around presnap on passing downs not allowing a QB to know which players are coming and from where.  If you pay attention to presnap alignments,  its not uncommon for the OLB's to rush inside and the ILB's to rush outside.  Add to that the lack of depth at what would be the 4-3 DE position makes this unit alot less than what they could be.  Steelers also lack an interior pass rush presence.  While we'd like to thing Ziggy Hood could be that guy,  and Im a fan,  I'll reserve judgement until he's actually issued a set of pads.  Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith are not and would not make quality 3 technique players with intentions of pressuring the QB on a consistent basis.  The skillset they have and have been taught are best suited for the roles they are in.  Its like putting a Honda engine in a Porsche

4.  Behind the scenes --

Since roughly 1983,  give or take a year when Chuck Noll implemented it,  the Steelers have run a 3-4 base defense.  Theres a little more to it than running an extra LB on or off  the field on Sundays.  It also means its 26 years of not only training and grooming players and depth,  but training and grooming coaches,  scouts,  and a GM to have the eye to understand and recognize the projected skillset when acquiring a player.  Do I think they could recognize a quality 3 technique suited for a Tampa 2 ???  Sure I do,  but I also know their training and areas of expertise are finding players they've seen most and are trained to look for. 

5.  Its already there --

What really is the concept of 4-3 defense.  In reality,  its a base way of running cover 2 to incorporate and tie together your front 7 to your back 7 and have a plan of what makes them best work together.  For years,  Steelers ran a predominant cover 3 game which allowed the safety to creep into the box.  It means a 7 yard cushion with outside technique on the corners to force routes away from the sideline and into the zone help,  the FS manning between the hashes and checking into coverage looks based on formation and tendency,  and anarchy from the front 7 where noone knows whose coming and whose dropping.  Its the perfect defense against 2nd 5 b/c it puts 8 in the box to play the run and puts an extra cover at the sticks.  The versatiltiy of a player like Troy Polamalu allowed that.  as offenses evolved with pass catching TE's and RB's,  the days of the 230 lb run stuffing 3-4 safeties ala Louis Oliver and David Fulcher are a thing of the past.  Due mostly to rule changes and the evololutions of offenses,  scoring is at an all time high and defenses are forced to become more creative and thats exactly what the Steelers are doing.  Since Tomlin has arrived,  the Steelers have,  more than ever before,  began using back 7 4-3 cover 2 philosophies with the same old zone blitz looks from the front 7 out of a 30 front.  It means,  they still incorporate a pass rush while playing base cover 2 behind it when they want,  but as we all know they switch up coverages at will.  Its bend but dont break coverage with balls out pass rush up front.  Its the perfect storm if you can pull it off and they seem to be doing a good job of it.  It takes away from press man looks from the CB's (and not having to pay the CB's like press man players) and keeps them from entering the financial world of bidding on players like Dwight Freeney and Jared Allen. 

As confusing and choppy as that may sound,  all it really is in summary is they already run the 4-3 concepts Mike Tomlin wants to run,  only they do it in the secondary.  As a DB coach,  thats his area of emphasis on shutting down a pass attack.  Now couple that with the ferocity of a 3-4 rush and thats why the Steelers defense,  and more specifically pass defense,  is better than its been in 3 decades.  I blame the late transition in scheme in large part on the Carolina Hurricanes #1 fan and resident bell ringer,  Bill Cowher,  for not adjusting or evolving with the league around him.  These days,  you wont find much difference after the snap of what the Bucs do in Tampa and the Steelers do at Heinz field.  (And no,  TB does not run a base tampa 2 if you were wondering).  The only thing thats different is how they approach rushing the passer.  Even the run fits are largely similar. 

At least thats the way I see it.