I think we are way overthinking this subject though on which Coordinators will run a specific defense or that a particular person is married to a particular alignment.... a bright defensive mind will take the strengths of the defensive players he has and utilize the system that fits the best.. the responsibilities, base pressure points and alignments are different, but at the end of the day.. both schemes deploy 4-5 pass rushers each snap.. with the coverages and where they are coming from being varied.

Positional coaches are vital in the types of techniques they teach in the front seven in relation to the scheme than which scheme a particular DC will embrace and deploy.

3-4 naturally gives you more speed and athleticism on the field.. thus lending itself to have more variations in coverages.. thus allowing you to send pressure from different locations and dropping the coverages differently.. but Jim Johnson has proven that can be effective out a 4-3 as well..

We need creativity from the DC with a strong eye on providing proper coverage behind the front scheme.

The real issue between the schemes in stopping the run.. the 3-4 puts more of a premium on guys that can take on doubles effectively and hold onto them, not letting the olineman to get to deep into the defense.. a 4-3 is designed to naturally assist that in shear numbers along the line.. IE protecting the interior backer.. in a 3-4 the interior backers have to be able to take on blocks, get off them and make plays.. we haven't seen that in Green Bay in a couple of year.. Bernardo Harris is probably the last effective backer in doing that very thing...

Personally a fan of the 4-3 as it is a little easier to play effective defense from the inside out consistently.. meaning.. you have a lot more one on one matchups in a 4-3 than a 3-4.. little stouter at the point of attack.

I am not saying that it doesn't matter what a coaches experience or background is in.. what I am saying a good coach and especially a coordinator will be creative enough to properly utilize and max the potential of the talent at hand..

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I don't know. I just have some questions about all this. First, I'm not sure I would want to "test" Kampman in the 3-4 pre-qualifying him as a fit. I would be worried about his ability in there against the runs on the inside AND the 3-4 taking his best ability (to pressure from the fringe) away from him.
Secondly, the NT's I see in 3-4's that really work well are HUGE tough guys and you say Jolly but I could see him getting constantly doubled (which is what they do against the 3-4) and run right out of the gym. IF, in fact, he is NOT stout enough you can bet they will double him and come straight at Kampman on the ground which is far different that defending the run from the end position.

Third your LB's have to be big and fast like the Shaun Merriman's who can step up and instantly become a DE and we really have no LB's as athletic as a S. Merriman. While Poppinga shows some signs of this he would not be what I would consider an "upper tier" 3-4 LB and neither would Hawk.

If, in fact, they want to put these guys in "the best position possible to succeed" I'm not sure the 3-4 does that for a lot of these guys.

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We're not even close to a 3-4. Both mentally and physically we don't have any players who would work in the scheme, except for Cullen Jenkins.

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That's the thing. Kampy has always been very good at adapting to what a situation needs. He should have no problems shedding some pounds. He's also very intelligent.

I don't think we're too far from being a 3-4 as people on this board think. A few draft picks/FA pickups and we can have a solid 3-4.

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People keep saying players don't fit, well on that note i think that whatever DC comes in and what scheme they run will tell how much we do in Free agency. If we go 3-4 i see alot of moves this year with going after a Peppers and Suggs could be possible or even maybe some big name trades. Maybe a Kampman for Peppers trade. Never know 'll take some bashing for it but like i said you never know what would happen i think Ted Thompson is feeling the heat and might do alot in FA. I say we should go 3-4

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Good thoughts from everyone here. It would be fun to see them try a 3-4. I think Kampman could play DE in that scheme because he is very strong. I think he was drafted as a DT/DE, in fact. And I think Desmond Bishop would be a natural for ILB. On the outside you would have Chillar and Poppinga. That would leave us with Hawk and Barnett for one of the inside positions. Well, maybe one of them could be traded, or Bishop could back them up.

Nose tackle might be the biggest problem. But the off-season is long, so changes in personnel could be made. Also, I like the idea of a hybrid scheme.

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Greg - I think we can pick up a NT.

David - I don't want to see Kampy traded. He's one of my favorite players, because he's got so much heart. I know you're putting feelings aside and thinking straight business, but it's hard for me to do that.

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I like Porky's observation that Nolan ran a hybrid in San Fran. that might be one way to keep Kampy effective, although I too think like you Greg that Kampman is too good to be ineffective as a DE in a 3-4.

As for Bishop, seeing as Barnett is coming off of a torn ACL, it might be wise to keep Bishop, and have a rotation set at ILB. It usually takes more than a year for a player to completely return from a torn ACL, so Barnett might be better off being limited for next season at least.

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a 3-4 defense needs at least 3 offseason moves and with these the packers are left without any depth in this scheme.

missing:
1. nose tackle: pickett is not the guy you want to have at nose tackle.
2. defensive end: jenkins is an ideal fit for a 3-4 defense, but we need a guy next to him. kampman is way too small and isn't a fit at olb, too. i would hate to lose our best defender because of a system change.
3. olb: poppinga could play, thompson, too, the remaining guys would be desasterous at olb. you need at least one guy via fa.

if that 3-4 defense is the solution of every problem, why does 75% of the teams doesn't run it? with the player material right now i say HELL NO!!

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Does Kampman become the

"pass rush specialist" ?

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