Dallas Cowboys Should Switch to 4-3 Defense
The Dallas Cowboys may just have to make a change. This team hasn’t been able to get the job done on defense for the past two seasons and why should anyone believe Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will actually bring in quality help this time? He might bring in some “new faces” like he always says, but the Cowboys just need to face the facts and switch to a 4-3 defense. When you think about it, it makes a ton of sense.
The Cowboys were extremely thin at defensive end last offseason and that didn’t change before the start of the 2011 season. Jones may have signed former Cowboy Kenyon Coleman, but Dallas didn’t add any talent or depth at the position.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan’s complex 3-4 scheme calls for athletic, talented and intelligent players. Specifically at defensive end, the 3-4 requires big, strong players to occupy offensive lineman without that fourth defensive lineman there to help. In addition, these monsters have to be able to keep pressure off their outside linebackers. To say the least, the Cowboys’ defensive ends didn’t do that in 2011.
To fix this, the Cowboys need to revert back to the 4-3 defense, where smaller defensive ends will suffice. For example, the Cowboys could sign Indianapolis Colts defensive end Robert Mathis if the team switched to a 4-3. If not, the 6’2″, 245-lbs. Mathis would have to switch to outside linebacker if he came to Dallas.
Of course, every Cowboys fan loves DeMarcus Ware; he’s arguably the best pass rusher in the game. However, he can’t cover the pass to save his neck, especially in zone coverage, and he knows it. Opposing running backs, tight ends and receivers were open in the flats all the time this season and Ware was to blame most of the time. He’d be so much better as a 4-3 defensive end just pinning his ears back and rushing the passer every play. Can you believe those words? “DeMarcus Ware would be so much better.” Can you imagine?
Ware was a beast at defensive end in college; he was a finalist for the Hendricks Award as a senior, an honor designated for the nation’s top defensive end. Pass rushing is his best asset and that’s what he would be doing all the time in a 4-3.
Of course, Ware is only the icing on the cake of a switch to the 4-3. Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee would make a dynamite middle linebacker; have you seen that guy in pass coverage? Have you seen him in run stoppage? Lee is a monster and a switch to the 4-3 would make him the full-time “Mike” linebacker, a role in which he thrives.
Obviously, the best part about this would be the personnel possibilities, like the pursuit of Mathis in free agency. The Cowboys wouldn’t have to target only 6’6″, 300-lbs. defensive ends for the 3-4. Likewise, youngsters like linebacker Bruce Carter would benefit from the switch; he was brought in to start and he’d be able to move to outside linebacker to replace Anthony Spencer in a 4-3 while Lee manned the middle.
Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of a switch to the 4-3 would be Cowboys defensive tackle Jay Ratliff. When Ryan arrived in Dallas, Ratliff was moved to the hybrid nose tackle position in Ryan’s brand of the 3-4 and his production took a nosedive this year. He was an All-Pro at defensive tackle and youngsters Sean Lissemore and Josh Brent are coming along nicely. They would greatly benefit from a move to the 4-3 as traditional defensive tackles.
A 4-3 just makes sense for Dallas. Several top NFL teams that ran the 3-4 in the past decade have since switched back to the 4-3. The New England Patriots are one of them; they switched back to the 4-3 this year and, in case you didn’t know, they’re in the Super Bowl. Make the switch, Rob Ryan.
Follow Jeric Griffin on Twitter @JericGriffin
7 Rants to “Dallas Cowboys Should Switch to 4-3 Defense”
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[...] Home › NFL › Dallas Cowboys Should Switch to 4-3 Defense [...]
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[...] the 3-4 defense, Upshaw would be a perfect replacement for Spencer at 6’1″ and 273 lbs. Even if the Cowboys switch to the 4-3 for the 2012 NFL season, Upshaw would be a nice fit opposite Bruce Carter at outside linebacker with Sean Lee manning the [...]
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[...] dilemma. The team’s 3-4 scheme suffered in 2011 due to a poor pass rush and an awful secondary. That’s led to consideration to switch to a 4-3 defense, which would eliminate the need for free agent outside linebacker Anthony Spencer. If the Cowboys [...]
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[...] dilemma. The team’s 3-4 scheme suffered in 2011 due to a poor pass rush and an awful secondary. That’s led to consideration to switch to a 4-3 defense, which would eliminate the need for free agent outside linebacker Anthony Spencer. If the Cowboys [...]
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[...] Dallas Cowboys desperately need another pass rusher to complement outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware. Over the past two seasons, Ware was double-teamed frequently, but still managed to finish first [...]
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Jeric,
Dude, I started reading your article being in agreement(still am about the switch). But come on man, you said three VERY STUPID things that makes me think you have no clue about the Cowboys or football in general.
1. “he can’t cover the pass to save his neck and he knows it”, referring to Ware. What?! Sure, he can’t cover like a CB, but for his position, and size, he covers as well as anyone in the league! He’s always out in coverage (too much IMO!!!). That’s why he’s considered one of the top 2-3 defensive players in the league, because HE CAN DO IT ALL.
2. “replace Anthony Spencer in a 4-3 while Lee manned the middle”, speaking of Carter. Dude, in a 4-3, Carter would be the WLB, and a pretty good one at that. Spencer plays SLB, in a 3-4. There’s a huge size difference. Carter would be the WEAK side, not the STRONG side!
3. “When Ryan arrived in Dallas, Ratliff was moved to nose tackle and his production took a nosedive this year”, referring to Ratliff. Possibly the dumbest thing you’ve ever said! All Cowboys fans, and most real football fans, KNOW that Rat has been a NOSE Tackle since The Tuna put him there, YEARS ago. Yes, his production took a hit this year, and yes, I too believe he would benefit greatly by switching to a 4-3, but he did NOT switch positions THIS year, and has always been a NT(shouldn’t be though, but he is).
If you are gonna right football stuff and expect to keep your job and keep readers around, you need to get your s#!t correct man!
i have to agree with switching back to a 4-3, i thought w.phillips was going to but i guess j.jone ruled. anyway i think a.spencer would be better in a 4-3, plus getting rid of the old trash lb’s is a blessing but we all know that it doesent matter how good your cb’s are(i.e. jets) if you cant get pressure with the d-line your in bad shape period.