First 3 rounds for 3-4 D

[NATI BENGALS]

Here is a nice draft if we had plans in place to switch to the 3-4.

1st Ellis, Campbell, Or Gholston --All possibly DE's in 3-4. Ellis and Campbell could be NT
2nd Pats Sims -- NT
3rd Bruce Davis -- OLB/DE in 3-4
3rd Johnny Dingle -- DE in 3-4 Maybe NT


LDE -- Justin Smith, Calais Campbell
NT- Peko, Pat Sims, Myers
RDE -- Fanene, Johnny Dingle, Frostee

LOLB-- Jeanty, Bruce Davis
MLB-- Ahmad, Dhani
MLB-- Odell, Landon
ROLB--Geathers, Eric Henderson

16 players to make up a strong front 7, with lots of quality depth coming off the bench. We would have plenty of room to fill out our secondary.

Or Maybe

1st Gholston OLB/DE 3-4
2nd Tyson Jackson DE 3-4
3rd Red Bryant NT 3-4
3rd Johnny Dingle DE 3-4 Maybe NT

LDE-Justin Smith, Tyson Jackson
NT- Peko, Red Bryant, Myers,
RDE-- Fanene, Frostee, Dingle

LOLB-- Gholston, Jeanty
MLB-- Ahmad, Landon
MLB-- Odell, Dhani
ROLB-- Geathers, Eric Henderson

Either one I think we be a good start to move to the 3-4. And could you imaging a 3-4 OLB blitz with Gholston, Geathers, Justin Smith, Peko, and Fanene bringing the heat. Would be sweet.

Sorry I was bored and was just thinking about a 3-4 switch. I will probably dream about our D pressuring the QB.

[CincIndy]

It is highly doubtful that we resign Justin Smith, but I agree that a switch to 3-4 WITH the right DC is a good move

[Jasonew6]

Ellis and Campbell would be DE's in a 3-4. Gholston would be an OLB.

If we re-sign Justin, we will not switch. Justin is a pure 4-3 DE. He is too small to play DE in a 3-4, and I don't think he's quite athletic enough to play OLB.

Pat Simms will probably be gone by pick 46. I have seen him projected in the Top 20.

[gbengals]

Justin Smith is a 4-3 DE, not a 3-4 DE. And he has also said when talk first came up two years ago about the chance to a 3-4 that he would not be a good fit in that scheme. The second MLB you have is also a concern, since we dont know his fate yet. I would love to see him back but who really knows what the commish will do.

[lost33cause]

You're way off on the type of player needed to run the 3-4. The DE's in a 3-4 need to all be about the size of Peko and the NT needs to be the size of like Albert Haynseworth or Sam Adams. All 3 of the linemen engage defenders and cover 2 gaps while the LBers go for the QB.

[NATI BENGALS]

Well since Casey Hampton plays NT in a 3-4 defense and he is 6' 1" 325 and Peko stands at 6' 3" 319 I really dont see a difference. Peko could be 325 on a good day. Hampton (7 years NFL) is older than Peko (3 years NFL) but once Peko starts getting that veteran strength he could be a force in the middle. There is no reason to rule a player not worthy of playing a position until you see him play it. There is not a doubt in my mind that says Peko couldnt play NT.

I dont see too much of a difference between Justin Smith and the Steelers DE's. He could bulk up 10 lbs and be just about the same size as them. He has the strength, makes a lot of tackles in the running game and creates pressure. There are these things called coaches that show/teach a player what they are supposed to do. We could run a 3-4 and Justin's role/job barely change from last year.

Imagine an overload blitz on the left side of the line, Justin Smith with his hand on the ground lined up on the LT and Gholston and Brooks rushing from either/both sides. That would be a hard trio to block all rushing one side of the offensive line. And we could have Peko and Fanene pushing the other side of the O-line with Odell and Landon dropping into pass coverage along with Hall, JJ, Ndukwe, and White. I think it would work. And it would be good.

The funny thing is I didnt even put Geathers in there. Geathers adds a whole different dimension of pass rush by himself. We should easily be able to generate a strong pass rush with the right blitz schemes and personnel matchups in the 3-4. I feel Landon proved he can get 100 tackles and Odell did in his only year, Ahmad sure looked like he was a solid 100 tackle type LB in his limited action. We have the best young CB duo in the NFL they will be able to handle their own with help from White and Ndukwe the enforcers in the middle.

Pass rush, Pass rush. They need some creative thinking and need to learn to better use their personnel. I dont care what anybody says. Justin would have had better production if he hadnt played every snap and Frostee/Fanene had rotated in more plays than they did. There is just something about a fresh guy off the bench rushing the passer in the 4th quarter that intrigues me more than a guy who has played every defensive snap and is probably a little fatigued (yes Bengals athletic trainers/coaches fatigue is actually real). I mean it seems like simple logic to me.

sorry about that i'm done now.

[rkellydugan20]

I dont see any circumstance where Campbell the 6-8 280 lb freak of nature from Miami would ever be a DE in a 3-4 scheme. He reminds me of Mario Williams, not so much of Richard Seymour or Aaron Smith or Igor Ishlansky (however you spell his name).