Should Ravens Switch to a 4-3 Defense?

[ravenspower]

or atleast bring in a coach who runs a 4-3 like Steve Spagnuolo? Im not suggesting they should hire him but i would like to see a coach who can run the 4-3. Chuck may or may not take coaches with him from the ravens staff. and it looks like the ravens could just bring in somebody new all together. I dont what the ravens to get rid of the 3-4 but find a coach who can utilize all our defense of personel which i think is one of the best in the leauge and switch it up week to week according to the game plan.

The Ravens have the players on the team already to run the 4-3. We have tackles that are huge and can take up space in the middle (ngata,cody,Mckinney) we have defensive ends that can get pash rush and play they run ok. (Suggs,Kruger, Redding,Mcphee, Kindle?)

And with an aging Ray Lewis in the Middle this will Free him up more with all the beef up front taken on more blocks in the gaps. Our outside LB's will be faster next year and our young secondary is improving great with Webb turning into a shutdown corner.

I think our passing defense will be better next year with or without ed reed. Webb turning into a lockdown corner takes away one half of the field. I believe our front 7 in a 4-3 base defense could stop the run better than our 3-4 front 7.

[HoustonRaven]

No. And no, they don't have the players for it either.

[PGCountyRaven85]

Change to a 4-3? We already run a lot of 4-3 type alignments.

[GOTA]

Spags has already been hired by the Saints.

Where are you going to play Cody or Ngata in a 4-3? Do you want Suggs to go back to DE full time? It can be done but is a 4-3 the best system with players who have been drafted to play a 3-4? The Ravens don't play a pure 3-4 anyway like they did under Nolan. That's why Ray was getting blocked in that system but wasn't once Rex modified things. I'm not quite sure what the advantage would really be.

[Bhcforlife]

I don't see how the personnel fits a 4-3. Need to have interior guys on the DL who can rush, and OLBs who can cover, right now I don't see the Ravens having guys that fit either of those descriptions. A healthy Ngata gives you some pass rush but Cody and the others don't provide anything in that area...and they literally have nobody at OLB who can cover like a 4-3 would require them to.

[JAB1985]

Why would we switch anything? we were 3rd in the league overall. Were best as a 3-4 in my opinion. Ngata and Cody taking double teams allows us to be better in coverage as well as pass rushing.

[wickedsolo]

No. And no, they don't have the players for it either.

To answer the OP, I say no they shouldn't and likely won't run a base 4-3.

However HR, I disagree. The Ravens have the personnel to run both a base 4-3 and a base 3-4. In fact, it happened a lot more than folks realize. Most of the nickel and dime packages had 4 down lineman. The Ravens ran a lot of defensive schemes with 4 down lineman, 2 LB's and a jack. A lot of the Ravens' defensive players are capable of several schemes.

RE - Suggs
DT - Ngata/Redding (assuming he stays)
DT - Cody/Art
LE - Kruger/McPhee

Sam - McClain
Mike - Ray
Will - Ellerbe/JJ/BA


It's completely feasible and wouldn't be a major ordeal. However, Dean Pees is a 3-4 guy and will undoubtedly continue in the tradition of using 3-4 off-shoots and hybrid schemes.

[Ravenswintitle]

They should switch to Organized Chaos again

[DarthCorvax]

Yes. Soon as we can add Justin Tuck and JPP

[pslholder96]

We already run a little bit of both the 3-4 and 4-3. If it's not broke don't fix it. Our defense has been at the top of the league for years. There's nothing to gain switching to a 4-3 strictly.

[Jeremiah W]

3-4 vs 4-3 base is over rated. As long as we stop the run, most of the big games will be played in a nickle base anyway. The Ravens have always used a variety of formations.

IMO defense is much more about the players than the scheme. Can your front 4 get pressure, can your CBs cover 1 on 1, do you need both safties deep or can one be a box player and still match up? If you have a hole in your defensive personel the scheme is almost always going to be trying to cover that up and not mixing it up and keeping the OC guessing.

[The Excellector]

The versatility of the defense is what makes it so confusing for opposing offenses.

[UKRavenGordon]

We finished the season playing more 3-4 than 4-3 I think, typical after I posted my thread on Suggs being a DE he starts playing as a LB more again!

We definitely have the personnel for both though. I'd argue that JJ is a better 4-3 OLB than 3-4 OLB because he's a far better run blocker than pass rusher.

[blah3]

I would prefer a 4-3. Frankly I think the D would be better. I think the personnel are better suited for a 4-3.
The most versatile guy on the D now is Ngata. And Ngata isn't as good as a DE as he is a DT. Suggs used to be pretty versatile either rushing or dropping back in coverage, not as much now though.
It's pretty established Ray is best when you can keep lineman off of him. In a 3-4 set, they get to him much more often.
Cody, is not really a good enough DT to run the 3-4.
I know we run a hybrid, but that is only as effective to the extent you have versatile personnel. Back in Suggs younger days, coupled with A Thomas it was fabulous. But the Ravens are not nearly that versatile anymore.
The personnel fits a 4-3.

[mommathurgoesthatman]

I don't see how the personnel fits a 4-3. Need to have interior guys on the DL who can rush, and OLBs who can cover, right now I don't see the Ravens having guys that fit either of those descriptions. A healthy Ngata gives you some pass rush but Cody and the others don't provide anything in that area...and they literally have nobody at OLB who can cover like a 4-3 would require them to.

In a 4-3 you need interior guys that can get push up the middle. Ngata and Cody and get push in the middle. In a 4-3 you want your two DT to draw in three blockers from the o-line. this will free up your DE's for one on one match ups against tackles. We have the players for this

[mfdoom42]

These threads always make me LOL. The Ravens already run a 4-3 on a good deal of their plays. I don't know how many times it has to be said that the Ravens have a hybrid defense and don't have a traditional "base" formation. We have a very diverse group of players so it makes sense to run a diverse set of formations.

Ngata can play 4-3 DE, 3-4 DE, DT, NT, and really any position you come up with on the line. Cody is a NT, but even some 4-3 sets utilize a NT/UT set up instead of just 2 DT's. McPhee can play 4-3 DT, 4-3 DE, and 3-4 DE. Jones can play 4-3 DT and 3-4 DE. Suggs, Kruger, Kindle, and probably McAdoo can play 3-4 OLB and 4-3 DE. McClellan learned to play ILB this year out of necessity but I could see him being a very versatile player capable of filling in at any LB position.

[The Excellector]

They don't currently have the linebackers to successfully run the 4-3 full-time.

[blah3]

They don't currently have the linebackers to successfully run the 4-3 full-time.

So how does running a 3-4 help with the LB situation?

[mommathurgoesthatman]

They don't currently have the linebackers to successfully run the 4-3 full-time.

I dont think we have LB's for a 3-4 etheir. Is JJ really a 3-4 starting outside LB? Ray Lewis isnt really a force in the middle like that. Suggs i wold say is that hybrid DE/LB to fit in a 3-4. He is the only idol LB we have for a 3-4 IMO

[mommathurgoesthatman]

These threads always make me LOL. The Ravens already run a 4-3 on a good deal of their plays. I don't know how many times it has to be said that the Ravens have a hybrid defense and don't have a traditional "base" formation. We have a very diverse group of players so it makes sense to run a diverse set of formations.

I think the OP is talking about running a traditional Base 4-3 not hybrid like we run