Wishful Thinking

by Jfoley17 on Nov 1, 2011 11:40 AM EDT

Here's a thought; why don't the Colts swap to a 3-4 next off-season? I would love to see the chin (Bill Cowher) be here in Indy. Bare with me here... We move Jerry Hughes to 3-4 OLB and Drake Nevis to DE keeping Freeney at DE as well, meanwhile we draft Manti Te'o to fill out the other ILB spot next to Angerer. Also we draft Alameda Ta'amu to solidify the NT role. The set up would look something like this:

RDE: Dwight Freeney/Jamal Anderson DT: Alameda Ta'amu/Fili Moala LDE: Drake Nevis/Eric Foster

LOLB: Phillip Wheeler/Ernie Simms ILB: Manti Te'o, Pat Angerer/Adrian Moten ROLB: Jerry Hughes/Kavell Conner

RCB: Jerraud Powers SS: Chris Rucker/Joe Lefeged (LaRon Landry) FS: Antoine Bethea/David Caldwell LCB: Kevin Thomas

This would allow us to save some money and let Mathis walk (BLASPHEMY) if he is willing to play OLB for a reasonable price that would be swell. My gut's telling me he'd go somewhere else like the Patriots.
Freeney would have to bulk up and accept a new role.
With an EFFECTIVE blitzing scheme our corners wouldn't have to cover for nearly as long. We have been leaning towards man cover corners as of late, which would be ideal for a 3-4.
Also, we could go out and get LaRon Landry in Free Agency; he has plenty of experience in a 3-4 scheme and would be bring a physical play style not seen since ~~Richard Simmons~~ Bob Sanders was here.
As I stated earlier I'd love to see a defensive minded coach land in Indy. Someone like Bill Cowher, Dick Lebeau, Chuck Pagano, Rob Ryan, Mike Zimmer (4-3), etc.
Mike Zimmer seems to be the most likely because the least amount of change would be made to our current roster, but I'm for change... clearly.
I will admit there are plenty of flaws, one being I don't see how we could snag both Manti Te'o and Alameda Ta'amu in next years draft without heavy draft day trading.

In conclusion, I like the 3-4 scheme better than the 4-3, But I doubt the change ever happens.

Poll

Would switching to a 3-4 be a good idea?

No, but maybe after Freeney and Mathis are gone.

19 votes

No, you're a big fat stupid head.

15 votes

Yes, changing scheme would help win another Superbowl before Manning Retires.

8 votes

Yes, but with a different roster.

7 votes

I like it, but the Dude does not abide. (FO won't make the change)

8 votes

57 votes | Poll has closed

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.

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Comments

freeney’s cap # is 19.1 mill next year

by PeytonIsGOAT on Nov 1, 2011 12:07 PM EDT reply actions

Good point. 19m for freeney as a 3-4 defensive end?!

I think we should keep the 4-3, with new defensive coach like zimmer Otherwise I agree with most of your points, but if you go 3-4, then trade freeney, save the money and sign an OLB that actually pressures the QB !!
can’t trust Those OLB you mentioned…

by Nojan on Nov 1, 2011 6:36 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Very true

I didn’t realize we were paying him that much for Freeney I knew it was bad but wow. Phillip Wheeler was a pass rushing specialist at Georgia Tech I do believe, but we would still need that premiere pass rusher which may or may not be in this years draft I would have to look it up. Jerry Hughes is still… well Jerry Hughes, I still think he would thrive in a 3-4 but seeing as we tried to shop him and no one wanted him worries me.

"It's ludicrous these mortals even attempt to enter my realm!" - Mike Tyson.

by Jfoley17 on Nov 2, 2011 6:36 AM EDT up reply actions

Are Freeney and Mathis still on the team?

I haven’t seen them for 3 games now.

"The number 2" Projected Colts wins and number of students from Tennessee attending Vanderbilt.

by PV Mike on Nov 1, 2011 12:35 PM EDT reply actions 4 recs

so so true.

And it's now my sig
by Bronn on May 17, 2011 4:56 PM EDT

by Sparhawk on Nov 1, 2011 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions

I can't see this happening, especially without a good pass rushing LBs, and don't say Hughes

Yes, he’s built to be an OLB rusher, but that can’t be proven. And no, I don’t count preseason for anything other than practice.

Pat McAfee for President 2016
RIP Steve Jobs - Thank you for the Mac computers that I mortgaged my house for.
Anthony Calvillo - 72,382 passing yards - pro football's all-time leader

by KBUnitz on Nov 1, 2011 12:41 PM EDT reply actions

There is another thing your forgetting also, Te’o is only a junior and most likely isn’t coming out this year. Players for Notre Dame tend to finish their schooling, they have the highest rating of graduates of any other school.

Plus, Freeney would be a linebacker in a 3-4 system. We would need to overhaul the whole defense if we were to go that route, setting us back a even more years before they’d be respectable. The best thing to do is stick with a 4-3 defense and find someone who can utilize the talent we currently have. I sometimes think people forget how effective our defense can be if ran properly….. Remember the Bucs, during their Superbowl run, something like that.

by Next Man Up on Nov 1, 2011 2:44 PM EDT reply actions

Hell, our D and Chicago’s during the runs to Super Bowl XLI. The Tampa-2 is a good system, it’s just being mangled by Coyer. I never thought I’d miss Ron Meeks.

by TrueBlue87 on Nov 1, 2011 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions

My take

I don’t think the Cover-2 is designed to stop a spread offense. Look what Drew Brees did to us in the SuperBowl.

Offenses go 4 or 5 wide, and force defenses to adjust. In turn, we’re forced to put LB’s on athletic TE’s, small quick WR’s, and even fast pass-catching RB’s out of the backfield.

Football evolves. Athletes evolve. Strategies evolve. I’m not saying the Tampa-2 is completely extinct, but I really don’t think it’s the best approach.

A defense needs 3 things to be successful in today’s game: Big tackles to stop the run. A combination of pass rush/coverage skills, and complexity. The Colts only have a pass rush, and the Tampa-2 lacks complexity. You tell Tom Brady what defense you’re running pre-snap, and he’ll pick it apart with only 8 men on his team. A 3-4 provides complexity. Then the team just needs a run-stuffing DT, and a pass rush/coverage skill combo.

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check out the new Colts blog!

by kmbryant09 on Nov 1, 2011 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions

You can creat complexity with 4-3. Bring mr. Zimmer and leave the defense to him

by Nojan on Nov 1, 2011 6:40 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 1 recs

4-3 can bring plenty of complexity and can stop the spread

If it couldn’t stop the spread then almost no college teams would use it since that is what the majority of schools run these days (or at least incorporate the spread) and yes i know the college and pro games are different animals but look at the sport of football, its mainly a bunch of copy cats and schemes go back and forth between the pros and college all the time. the other advantage of staying with 4-3 is that since the 3-4 is gaining popularity you should have more access to 4-3 players.

by khaostheory117 on Nov 1, 2011 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

by saying that is what the majority of schools run these days

i mean the spread offense

by khaostheory117 on Nov 1, 2011 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Understandable...

I’m all for keeping a 4-3, but not the Tampa-2. Seasoned QB’s know exactly what the Colts are going to do because it’s difficult to create a variety of looks from a Tampa-2 base.

But your college example isn’t the greatest. College offenses average like 40 points a game, the games are usually track meets because the defenses are so far behind the offenses. Only the few elite teams (LSU, Alabama) have good defenses, and that’s usually because they have such dominant collegiate athletes.

www.Coltsider.com
check out the new Colts blog!

by kmbryant09 on Nov 2, 2011 9:47 AM EDT up reply actions

Ummm do you ever watch college football?

not many teams average ludicrous numbers like that. oklahoma, okie state, oregon, and a few others average that much per game. There are actually quite a few teams with great or at least above average defenses.

by khaostheory117 on Nov 3, 2011 4:16 AM EDT up reply actions