Miami plays a 3-4. They tried to get Danny Lasanah off the practise squad. Seems like he must be a very good fit for a 3-4. Thompson was very high on him and got rid of White to keep him. His size is very similar to Harrison of the Steelers. Could be our future 3-4 OLB.
Maybe the 3-4 idea was in the works for a while and got some players who could play there. They picked Lasanah and Bledsoe up for the practise squad, Bledsoe is the right type for a NT. They got Anthony Toribio who was on the Miami practise squad, a 3-4 team! They brought in Rodney Allen who is the right size to play 3-4 DE. Everyone wondered why we got him from Intense football league. Apparently he has shown good ability to rush the passer. This is further evidence that they were stockpiling on players who could play 3-4.
In the draft, we traded up for Jeremy Thompson. He is perfect for the OLB in a 3-4. He is athletic and has long arms. He can rush the passer and i've read somewhere that in college that he was often asked to play in coverage too.
I know i'm probably reaching but when you look at these little things, it seems like that they've been thinking about changing the system for at least a year.
Looking at our players in the 53 man squad and practice squad i can see why McCarthy thinks we can convert to a 3-4.
The way i see it atm:
ROLB - Danny Lasanah/Jason Hunter
Sam ILB - AJ Hawk
Will ILB - Nick Barnett/Brandon Chillar/Desmond Bishop
LOLB - Aaron Kampman/Brady Poppinga/Jeremy Thompson
DE - Cullen Jenkins/Justin Harrell
NT - Ryan Pickett/Fred Bledsoe
DE - Johnny Jolly/Rodney Allen/Anthony Toribio