I agree 100% bring in BJ RAJI BABY!

also very important is to solidify the corners and to find a good SS and FS. The SS in a 3-4 is big and physical, whereas a FS is generally more of a coverage guy.

1st – Raji (NT)
2nd – Chung (FS)
3rd or 4th – Kevin Ellison or Curtis Taylor (SS) – not sold on Barrett yet
-How about a corner / 3-4 DE at somepoint. At that point, we’d go:

DE – Draftee / Clemons back-up
NT – Raji
DE – Marcus Thomas
LOLB – Woodyard, crowder
LILB – Spencer Larsen
RILB – DJ
ROLB – Doomerville, Moss back-up

SS – Draftee (K.Ellison / C.Taylor), Josh Barret back-up
FS – Chung – maybe Delmas

Corners: Champ / Jack or Josh – time for Dre to come off the bench

For some reason, I don’t feel as confident as I did with Clady…the “safe pick.” And maybe that will come in time, but all the articles here over the past few days have stressed the importance of the nose tackle. The ultimate importance of the nose tackle in the 3-4. The fact that the nose tackle can become “the achilles heel of the 3-4.”

I want to be darn sure that a rookie can perform before I put that much hype, trust and/or excitement into the guy. Plus, a lot of people are overlooking the back-up issue. What if he were to go down? Someone would be needed to fill the hole left by the vacancy.

I don’t want to sound like the pessimist here, and maybe I am being a bit pessimistic, but I think taking the wait and see approach is probably best for the time being. Heck, I expected a little too much last year and maybe I want to try and temper that enthusiasm this season.

Well, looks like as soon as the big coaching search is done we now have a whole new “NT search” beginning right before our eyes. It never ends!

I don’t believe, however, they would let Boss go if they go with the 3-4. While his performance was good, but pedestrian, in the 4-3, with his speed and range he could very well flourish in the 3-4.

A lot of mock drafts have had the Broncos going for Maualuga or Laurainits in the draft, but if they are serious about the 3-4, I think Raji could become the favorite there because, as you said, the NT is the key. You need real talent there. A couple huge reasons the 3-4 worked in the days of the “Orange Crush” could be found in the forms of Rubin Carter and Greg Kragen.

At LB, the present Broncos may have (dare I say?) even more talent than that of the ‘70s and ’80s. Of course, no one can exceed Gradishar or Mecklenberg . . . to say that would be ridiculous. But that could be D.J.’s breakout opportunity with his size and speed. Woodyard is as fast as Tom Jackson, and a better tackler. Larsen hits like a mortar shell, as did Joe Rizzo. And Boss is bigger, faster, and rangier than was Bob Swenson. They are deeper, too, with Winborn and Green in the wings.

I have been on of the biggest opponents of the 4-3 in this team, but if they can get a good NT and decent backup, along with a decent safety to go back there with Barrett, I could actually get excited about this defense.

a truck load of money to come here AND draft BJ Raji with our first pick. Then I would let them share the NT minutes, and every once in a while put them on the field at the same time (Haynesworth at a 3-4 DE or both at DT’s for when we go to a 4-3 every once in a while). That also solves the back up problem.

that we will know for sure if we will be planning to use a 3-4 before draft day? Is this the type of thing that will be kept secret for as long as possible? Or maybe something that will not be decided until draft day depending on who is available? I don’t know enough about coaching to know what to expect. Anyone have any insight?

Always love reading your stuff on defense.

I thought the hire of Nunnely from SD was huge. He’s already worked through a successful transition from 4-3 to 3-4 and worked Jamal Williams into a rock solid NT.

The LBs don’t need to be as talented as many of the 4-3 LBs are in other schemes, mainly because there is an extra LB on the field.

So, if a team has a better-than-average LB corps, does that provide some cover while a new NT gets up to speed or does the NT learning curve negate the better LB’s?

However that doesn’t mean Goodman should draft a player he doesn’t think will pan out at nose. That’s what it all comes down to for me. If Goodman thinks Raji is our guy, then we have to draft him. If Goodman thinks Raji won’t pan out (or if Raji is gone by 12) he needs to find someone else and ensure we get him.

I am very interested in your reply to purplesocks above.

If McDaniels follows NE with regards to drafting. The DL looks like the most important position.

DE Ty Warren 13th overall 2003
NT Vince Wolfork 21st overall 2004
DE Richard Seymour 6th overall 2001

So I definitely think they’ll target BJ Raji in the 1st. (though I didn’t like that Mayock called him out this week)
 With the exception of Mayo this year NE seems to get by with over the hill LB’s for the most part and still gets quite a bit of production out them.

I would also love to see Chung and/or Delmas at safety.

what does that mean to the team as a whole to expect next year?

So once we get the key NT our Defense will be “terrific”
Our Offense seems to be terrific and I think McDaniels will only help
ST- who knows

So if we get a NT our team will have a legendary O, terrific D and possibly better ST.
I see uncapped potential next year….

I agree with the “shotgun approach” as my high school history teacher would say when someone answered the same question with different responses.

This draft is interesting….I think there are only a couple real difference makers and the rest are pretty average.
I hope we do our due diligence and make sure we are not reaching for a player that we want to be someone but really isn’t…

K.M. for the 12th!

how did the divisions and playoffs/wildcards work when there was not 32 teams in the nfl??

Would it be possible to transform a large offensive lineman to DT. Seems like more big people on offense in this draft. I would assume the biggest issue would be the height.

Can we move Champ to FS and get the CB from oakland as a FA

But I belive there is just to many ifs in trying to switch to the 3-4 at this time. If I were to have my choice I would go for the sure thing and drafta top notch LB try to hit paydirt with a couple of safties and bring in some depth with the other positions. A couple of decent FA grabs and the 4-3 would be set and ready to do. I can understand the big push by everyone to make the change to the 3-4 because of how dismal our D was this season but I do not belive it had as much to to with the scheme as it did with the talent and the coaching decisions. Everyone here may call me a stark raving mad idiot but I do belive the 4-3 can work just as well as the 3-4 and we will not have to throw all our cards in one place in order to try and make it work. The draft is much to important(and iffey) to try and find a nugget on a mountain of coal. Remember Maluga is out there and in this entire draft he looks like one of the few sure fire picks. If he is what almost every scout out there is saying he is, that pick alone would make our 4-3 defense much better. One last thing about the 4-3 it is obviusly the better D to run when stopping those inside running attacks that most NFL teams like to use.

how much difference is there between the ROLB and LOLB?? -blitzing and zone whys + strongside/weakside??
how about RILB and LILB?

how are they positioned?
i assume they would not be symmetrical…

thanks for taking the time.

What happens if we don’t find a dominant NT? Can the 3-4 be played by 3 one gap players up front, and have the LB’s cover the other gaps?

What I look forward to with the 3-4, or at least hope happens, is seeing us rush four men and getting an advantage by overloading one side. I see this with Pittsburgh all the time. Not knowing where the fourth rusher is coming from, the o-line ends up with one guy trying to block two players while somebody at the other end of the line guards empty air. You get a man advantage without having to commit an extra rusher.
If in addition to that you also sometimes commit an extra rusher, sending five instead of four, you have
a real chance of harrying the QB into making critical mistakes.