I don’t think a switch to the 3-4 is in our best interests in the slightest. It’s a lot of effort to build a D which has as many weaknesses as a standard 4-3.

Thomas and Powell are the only ones who really fit in on the DL in a 3-4. And even then, Powell is the only true 2-gapper on the DL right now. Thomas is definitely more effective as a 1-gapper. Peterson may be able to make the switch as a DE, but that’s questionable. Crowder would need to pack on at least 20lbs, Ekuban and Engelberger would be gone, as would Robertson, Clemons and Shaw. Moss and Doom may fit as OLBs, but I have a feeling Doom is only 50/50 to successfully make the transition. Larsen and Williams probably fit as ILBs, and you could probably put Winborn in there, but Woodyard has no place as 3-4 LB.

There are simply too many players we’d have to replace. It’d take at least two drafts whilst revamping a 4-3 would require good coaching and this draft. By my estimation, in the best case, a serviceable 4-3 could be gotten with 6 new defensive guys. A serviceable 3-4 would require 11.

Considering we’ve been interviewing 4-3 coaches for the job, bringing in a 3-4 guy seems a bit odd.

The asst HC route isn’t the only way to go, but IMO, McDaniels isn’t ready. He’s serviceable, but lacks creativity. Pats vs. Giants SB was a major meltdown for him; he should’ve made major adjustments in the second half and didn’t.

I hope I’m wrong.

I’m not saying I favor a switch to the 3-4, but it’s also important to note that Capers has not run the 3-4 exclusively. He did not do so in Jacksonville, nor in Miami 2 years ago. But if Capers became the Denver DC and decided to blow everything up, what would be so bad about that? Nothing worked this year…

Next best thing would be to draft Cody or Raji in the draft, but that likely would require a 1st round pick, which then means we would have to pass on Maualuga and Mayes, which I feel are better players and give you better impact. The other option would be to look for someone later in the draft, but true NT that can be dominate in the 3-4 are hard to find, and that is the critical point in the defense, look at SD and Pittsburgh, when their NT are playing well, they have as good of defenses that there is, but when they are hurt, those defenses can be run on all day.

which is why this may be a good year to move to the 3-4. Through draft and free agency, we can lay the foundation this offseason. The thing that scares me to the bone is NT. Broncoman makes the point above that there is no real NT FA out there, meaning we would have to draft that guy, meaning the most important guy on the defense would be a rookie. You mentioned Powell before, but even then we would rely on two rookies for the most important position on the defense. Now the real scary stuff… suppose we draft Cody or Raji and they bust, whether it be a serious injury or whatever. Talk about setting an organization back. Wow.

If we go this rout, the first round pick will be the most important pick in modern Bronco history.

With good coaching, I think this D could be fixed much sooner than expected – if we keep a 4-3 and get a good coach, we’ll be up the rankings next year. There are a hundred and one different scenarios, but I think poor coaching as well as a lack of direction really ruined this team more than the talent level last year (leadership was also a problem). For a serviceable 4-3, I’d say:

LE: Draft Pick/FA, Crowder
NT: Powell, DP/FA
UT: Thomas, Robertson, [Peterson – maybe shift back to end?]
RE: Ekuban (or Engelberger), Moss, Doom

WLB: Williams, Woodyard, Green
MLB: DP/FA, DP/FA
SLB: Larsen, Winborn, [Bailey]

CB: Bailey, Bly, Bell, Williams, [DP/FA]

FS: DP/FA, DP/FA
SS: Barrett, Manuel

Also, we could chance it on the ends, let one of the young guys start and hope for the best – may be feasible if we have a good line coach. That’s 6 or 7 new players, and I reckon 3 are “high priority” – ie high draft picks or FAs (I’d prefer an FA on the DL and draft picks at MLB and S…but getting someone like Dansby at MLB would be great as well). I think talent-wise that sort of lineup would be very passable. Powell is the sort of guy who is likely to emerge as a leader on the DL; and if we can bring in a leader at MLB we’ve got them and Larsen.

I know a lot of you are arguing that the 3-4 is “better in the long run”. But is it really? A good 4-3 scheme is as good as any 3-4 in my book and 3-4 requires more specific player builds – as I see it, especially in the front 7, most guys will fit a 4-3 somewhere but fewer fit a 3-4. And since more teams are adopting a 3-4, there’ll be more competition for “premium” 3-4 guys such as OLBs and NTs. I just don’t see the point of wasting two years rebuilding a D with a system that has as many strengths and weaknesses as a 4-3 when we could easily turn our D round in a year by sticking with the 4-3.

Dumervil looks like he’s peaked. He’s always been a one dimensional player (speed rush from the end) and watching him this past year it looks like the league has figured him out. I watched Elvis pretty closely during a few games and he looked like a rag doll on run plays. Once an offensive lineman engages Elvis, he’s done. I might want to keep him as a situational pass rusher but that’s about it. IMO, a 3-4 scheme would render Elvis expendable.

I hope they get rid of Nate Webster and Boss Bailey as soon as possible. If they can develop a pass rush, Champ may have a decent season. If they need more than a season to rebuild the D-Line, I’d try to trade Champ now and get as much value as possible.

He makes everything anti-climatic. Oh well….that’s why I watch the draft on mute from now on. ;-) McDaniel would be a better pick than Garrett. It is what it is…and supposedly McDaniel is already assembling his staff for something.

doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be the OC as well (even though Jeremy’s just the QB coach, Dennison is the OC, currently).

I like the idea of bringing in Capers as well and the fact that McDaniels realizes his possible short-comings on the defensive side (and apparently knows Capers enough to include him) shows that he may be more of the HC that we are looking for.

he’s done a great job considering he has to deal with that moron running the show in Minnesota.

I actually like my online persona, Zappa is much more interesting of a name than TimL or TimmyL. JohnnyB has a nice ring to it though. He’ll always be Guru to me though.

usually if he plans to skip a wednesday he’ll put up a notice…maybe he is just running late or somethin’ :)