So why did we switch to the 3-4?

[justice98]

That's what's happening. However, when the previous administration leaves you with 4 draft picks that certainly doesn't make it any easier. It's going to take a few years to purge the roster of all the overpaid, underachieving veterans who've played here for so long.

You can't complain about the limited draft picks, then trade 2 of 'em for the QB.

[Homercles82]

You can't complain about the limited draft picks, then trade 2 of 'em for the QB.

2 over 2 years. You find a QB in the second round we could of drafted that would be a day 1 starter. Otherwise you have Rex Grossman as a starter or still have Campbell.

[maskedsuperstar]

You can't complain about the limited draft picks, then trade 2 of 'em for the QB.

Would you rather have Campbell? Its a QB league.

[DCsportsfan53]

The one thing the early part of this season has taught me is that most of the Skins fanbase deserves Snyderball. 1 loss and so many people are ready to blow everything up. This is a roster that has lacked top flight talent and depth for YEARS. It doesn't matter what scheme we're running, it's going to take a few years before we have a roster capable of competing at the higher levels of NFL play. Sack up and let it happen for once.

[Enter Apotheosis]

The one thing the early part of this season has taught me is that most of the Skins fanbase deserves Snyderball. 1 loss and so many people are ready to blow everything up. This is a roster that has lacked top flight talent and depth for YEARS. It doesn't matter what scheme we're running, it's going to take a few years before we have a roster capable of competing at the higher levels of NFL play. Sack up and let it happen for once.

Well said.

This is such bs. This team isn't rebuilding for a long term. Get that out of your head. WE GOT MCNUGGET because we want to win it. WHY WASTE A PICK FOR MCNUGGET?

Good teams constantly rebuild. The acquisition of guys like Donovan McNabb and Jammal Brown were about shoring us up in the short term so that we could compete (and we have done that in each game this season, even if the results weren't ideal in two of them). They absolutely do not mean that our front office has forgotten about the long-term.

[Warhead36]

I didn't like trading picks for McNabb at the time but I'm okay with it now. I think McNabb has shown he can play for at least a few more years. Now my big concern is, can we build a team around him in time for him to win a ring? I could see him bolting at season's end to a team with more talent like Minny or Zona.

[SOCOandSKINS]

I want to add that Carter looks way out of place haynesworth messed up not coming in when he should have to learn the defense and noone is talking about Alexander he is a good versatile player but he is not a linebacker the man 300 lbs now come on how smartt are our coaches

[RandyHolt]

Our aging pickups on offense told me we were in a win now Dan Snyder special mode.

But our move to a 34 without the 34 experienced players to run it, tells me we are in rebuilding mode.

I am getting mixed signals from the new regime.

I am starting to find humor in watching Andre Carter in open space.

[onedrop]

Then why trade two high picks for a 34 year-old QB?

because this is a thread about DEFENSE. take your McNabb bashing to the appropriate thread.

[FatboysSkins]

I hear alot of people saying a new system takes time to develop, you can't build a 3-4 defense with four draft picks, and the 3-4 is fitted to Orakpo and Landrys talent sets. I call bs yeah it will take time to develop if NO ONE ON THE DEFENSE FITS THE SCHEME. Every player on our defense is fitted to the 4-3 especially Orakpo and Landry. Wether 3-4 or 4-3 a simple move of Landry to SS was all that was need for his potential to be seen. Orakpo is better in the 4-3 because he is able to use his speed alot better especially with AH demanding a double in the middle hence the 11 sacks as a rookie last year. Andre Carter is absolutly out of place in the

3-4 which wax the whole reason we got him from the 49ers in the first place and if we are staying with the 3-4 he needs to be cut now for the benifit of the future. I don't really understand why they would switch now especially with so many other areas that needed attention rather then our defense. They coulda always switched next year we they coulda had more options in the draft or maybe even free agency. I feel like if we still had the 4-3 set we could really be superbowl contenders because we only gave up 17 points a game last year. Throw in some new blitz packages and we would be in business due to the fact our offense can give us 3 touchdowns a game now.

[FatboysSkins]

I want to add that Carter looks way out of place haynesworth messed up not coming in when he should have to learn the defense and noone is talking about Alexander he is a good versatile player but he is not a linebacker the man 300 lbs now come on how smartt are our coaches

Yeah Alexander looks is 300lbs but he looks better in open space then AC.

[RichmondRedskin88]

Maybe I'm the only one but I laugh when I read that our 3-4 is suppose to be based off the Steelers. I mean really?

[Ryman of the North]

Read that sentence again...

Name one free agent DT who made it past the franchise tag last year. now name one who doesnt suck that team was willing to let go. yeah thats what I thought.

[amm11387]

Thank you!

the real answer is because they (and we if we're realistic) all knew this wasn't a sb year. They're thinking long term, it's not about this season. It's about establishing an identity and course for the future of the redskins and then building it brick by brick. Do we have good 3-4 personnel? No, not really. Are we as bad as we've played so far? No, it takes time. Look at last year's gb team. They had some of the same roster problems, they tried aaron kampman at 3-4 olb but he struggled all year because he lacked the athleticism and lateral mobility for the position (sound familiar?). They were terrible early on but gradually got better and more comfortable as the season moved on. They acquired more pieces in the offseason, trade kampmann and they look good so far this year. It doesn't happen overnight, i'm glad we have a coaching staff and front office who actually have a long term plan they're putting in place and sticking to. Switching right back to the 4-3, cutting this guy or that tonight...i'm just glad those kinds of thoughts are contained to the fanbase nowadays.

If shanahan truly believes that the 3-4 is best in the long run he's much better off making the switch now, seeing who fits and who doesn't in a transition year. Come the 3rd or 4th year of his tenure, with a few drafts of their own coming of age, in his mind, it will be worth it. It's not about today or this season. You never have solid 3-4 personnel until you make the switch, is there a better time to switch then in the first year of a fresh identity?

[GaryGreenMonk]

because it's more successful in today's NFL vs. teams that pass a lot.

Don't forget about Tom Brady beating our old defense 59 to 6 or whatever it was.

the 3-4 is designed to deal with QB's like Brady, Brees and Manning.

[FatboysSkins]

because it's more successful in today's NFL vs. teams that pass a lot.

Don't forget about Tom Brady beating our old defense 59 to 6 or whatever it was.

the 3-4 is designed to deal with QB's like Brady, Brees and Manning.

That wasn't solely our defense though turnovers and the inability to move the ball on offense also contributed to that as well. IMO I think that isn't a fair assessment to place all the blame on the 4-3 defense for that blow out.

[GaryGreenMonk]

That wasn't solely our defense though turnovers and the inability to move the ball on offense also contributed to that as well. IMO I think that isn't a fair assessment to place all the blame on the 4-3 defense for that blow out.

well it's also incorrect to blame the 3-4 for our lack of correct personell.

Most of the best defenses are 3-4

[redskins55]

Some folks really have short memories..

I was not in favor of turning into a 3-4 defense but I'm rolling with what ever the head coach decides. Now lets not get carried away here... Our defense last year was not good! People keep saying that our defense was good, pahleez.. It was good at times, but some people should please stop talking like we had one of the best defenses in the league. We had a weak schedule and we limited opponents yards until it was time to win the game then we would let opponents run up and down the field and score. So that tells me that opponents last year were very poor offensively, or conservative in play calling because they knew that we didnt have an offense. Now that we can score, teams will be more aggressive on offense this year. And if we did run a 4-3 this year i believe the same result would probably happen. Until we get some young playmakers on the defense expect our defense to give up plays no matter what scheme we run.

[boobiemiles]

I knew our defense would be a huge problem this year. As the season goes along, teams will see our weakness and destroy us. Why the 3-4, not sure really. It worked for the Steelers, and a few other teams. But a whole bunch of teams have won he SB with a 4-3, Colts, Saints, and Giants come to mind.

[prufRock]

The real answer is because they (and we if we're realistic) all knew this wasn't a SB year. They're thinking long term, it's not about this season. It's about establishing an identity and course for the future of the Redskins and then building it brick by brick. Do we have good 3-4 personnel? No, not really. Are we as bad as we've played so far? No, it takes time. Look at last year's GB team. They had some of the same roster problems, they tried Aaron Kampman at 3-4 OLB but he struggled all year because he lacked the athleticism and lateral mobility for the position (sound familiar?). They were TERRIBLE early on but gradually got better and more comfortable as the season moved on. They acquired more pieces in the offseason, trade Kampmann and they look good so far this year. It doesn't happen overnight, I'm glad we have a coaching staff and front office who actually have a long term plan they're putting in place and sticking to. Switching right back to the 4-3, cutting this guy or that tonight...I'm just glad those kinds of thoughts are contained to the fanbase nowadays.

If Shanahan truly believes that the 3-4 is best in the long run he's much better off making the switch now, seeing who fits and who doesn't in a transition year. Come the 3rd or 4th year of his tenure, with a few drafts of their own coming of age, in his mind, it will be worth it. It's not about today or this season. You never have solid 3-4 personnel until you make the switch, is there a better time to switch then in the first year of a fresh identity?

Well said. Shanahan has had a year to think about what he wants and where he's going, and he hand-picked Haslett to run the defense. There's absolutely no reason to believe the defense can't improve as the season goes on. Let's see the starting rotation get stabilized and give them a chance to grow into their roles at full game speed. As long as there's some improvement over the course of the year, I'll be satisfied. If they look worse or they continue giving up points in droves, then maybe there's a deeper problem that has to be addressed, but I hope they aren't forced to change d-coordinators after this year. Over has last few years in Denver, he was swapping coordinators every year and it just made things worse.

One thing that is a little troubling is that they appear to have divergent player-acquisition philosophies on offense versus defense. Offensively, they're willing to sacrifice future picks to acquire key pieces in McNabb and Jammal Brown, but defensively, they're either trying to retrofit existing pieces or dealing with other teams' castoffs. Even the price for Adam Carriker was pretty minimal. It's almost as though they're on different timetables.

[rebornempowered]

I though the answer to this question was simple.

So the posters on ES would forget how dreadful the offense is.

[KevinthePRF]

3-4 is the longterm solution. Right now we really only have four players suited for this defense. Keomatu(sp?), Orakpo, Landry, and Hall. Everyone else is playing out of place, especially at LB. Rogers, Moore, and McIntosh may eventually fit in, but everyone else on this defense will eventually have to go to get this defense to top 10 status.

[RichmondRedskin88]

Ravens, jets, steelers, Packers and Dolphins are some of the teams that use 3-4. Also The giants use to use it when they won SB as the Big blue wrecking crew.

Most of those teams have good defenses currently

[skins2victory]

The 3-4 is garbage!!!! The weird thing is, I thought it didnt look to bad game one. Also since it was only game one, thought it would get better through out the year. Wrong, how the heck has it gone down hill so fast?? We really need to switch back to have any hope this sason at all

[nwoganja]

Well said. Shanahan has had a year to think about what he wants and where he's going, and he hand-picked Haslett to run the defense. There's absolutely no reason to believe the defense can't improve as the season goes on. Let's see the starting rotation get stabilized and give them a chance to grow into their roles at full game speed. As long as there's some improvement over the course of the year, I'll be satisfied. If they look worse or they continue giving up points in droves, then maybe there's a deeper problem that has to be addressed, but I hope they aren't forced to change d-coordinators after this year. Over has last few years in Denver, he was swapping coordinators every year and it just made things worse.

One thing that is a little troubling is that they appear to have divergent player-acquisition philosophies on offense versus defense. Offensively, they're willing to sacrifice future picks to acquire key pieces in McNabb and Jammal Brown, but defensively, they're either trying to retrofit existing pieces or dealing with other teams' castoffs. Even the price for Adam Carriker was pretty minimal. It's almost as though they're on different timetables.

Sacrifice future picks to acquire key pieces? McNabb is not a long term solution. A rebuilding team don't go to free agency and pick up players. A rebuilding team actually uses the picks and pick up young talents who will be in it for the long run.

It simply doesn't add up. Our def personnel are all 4-3 players is it not? a 3-4 def is effective when you actually have players who fit the category of 3-4. So what is the point of going to 3-4 def with 4-3 def players when you know for 100% that its not going to transition right and the whole fact that players will be in disarray. I mean come on Andre Carter looks ridiculous out there. And if this was a rebuilding team why not just lose every game and gurantee 1st pick in draft? Its stupid don't say its a rebuilding team when you know for a fact that McNabb is old and his time is due soon.