It's weird because Travon Walker is FAR better with his hand on the ground in a 4-3. Josh Allen is more comfortable in a 3-4 rushing from a standup position (JHA is more effective in a 4-3 hand in the dirt than the reverse of Travon standing up for what that's worth) which is a catch-22 as the 2 best players/pass rushers thrive in opposite schemes.

I'd prefer a 4-3 as I feel it better fits our LB talent. We'll be in base nickel most of the time and Foye & Miller are the 2 I would utilize there. Have Muma back up both spots, and if we're in a "true 4-3" personnel I would have Lloyd play the SAM linebacker and have him walked up to the Line of Scrimmage so he can rush the passer a little more.

The biggest question is at DT. Arik Armstead needs to play the 3 technique or inside in any fashion. This NONSENSE of him playing DE or on the edge needs to stop. He's not Calais Campbell and is a waste of $17 million a year playing out of position. If he refuses then just cut him, or better yet suspend him for conduct detrimental to the team; hit him in the wallet if he won't play the position that helps the defense and the team win. If he wants to Hugh Douglas and cash checks on the edge to "extend his career" he can do that elsewhere and seek a trade or sit in the press box suspended for thinking he's above the rest of the unit.

We need a true NT or someone who can collapse the pocket. We are SOFT in the middle of the Dline. If the 2 LSU DT's can't develop into the 2 guys on the interior at the Nose & 3T we're in trouble as we spent some high picks for it to still be a huge need. Hamilton flashes but also gets pushed around a lot of the time; he's solid enough that I wouldn't replace him but I would definitely seek an upgrade rather than pay $10 million a year for average production. We also are lacking a true CB2; and after this season both safety spots will need to be addressed as I think Cisco won't be worth his price tag and Antonio Johnson/Darnell Savage just aren't the long term solution at SS.


if we want to get fancy with things; id consider a 3-3-5 type defense with a Dline of: Walker-Hamilton-Armstead with LB core of: Foye-Miller-Josh Allen and then 5 DB's (2 CB's - Campbell & Montaric Brown; 2 SS/Nickel types to cover the slot and set the edge vs the run - Savage & Johnson for now. and then a Ballhawk FS - Cisco for now) This alignment makes them versatile enough that they won't have to substitute as much, they'll be better equipped to defend TE's and the prevalance of spread offenses/multi WR sets the league is trending towards. And most importantly, it puts both Walker & Allen in the position that best suits their skillset!! It would require a commitment and drafting players at the SS/nickel spots that have the athletic traits to play the spot. There would definitely be growing pains the first year or two, but once they learn the playbook and have the experience and chemistry to communicate for unusual situations they see I think it would really pay dividends as they'd be drafting "tweener" guys that best fit this scheme that would likely go overlooked and slide down in the draft as they're not a fit for teams running a traditional defense. This is exactly how the Seahawks Legion of Boom, the 2002 Bucs "Tampa 2" defense etc. got built. They picked a scheme that works against league trends on offense, but utilizes players not prioritized by other teams around the league so they could build an effective unit while burning less resources.

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