Quote:1.  I agree in terms of athletic ability, Jack is a freak.  But I think that athletic ability is best utilized in a scheme that doesn't have him head up on a TE or T.  That was one of the reasons he didn't get much playing time at OTTO.  The team would take him out on those run downs.  If you put him at LOLB in a 3-4, you would have that all over again, and while he has the speed and agility, I don't think he has the length to be an effective pass rushing LOLB.  Furthermore, putting Jack at LOLB  makes Fowler a question mark.  I also think Jack's athletic ability is mitigated when he has to take on guards, a certainty in a 3-4.  That effect is exacerbated with Telvin Smith.

 

2.  That Ravens D of 2000 was a 4-3, not a 3-4.  Sam Adams and Tony Siragusa were the DTs, and Michael McCray and Rob Burnett were the DEs.  Those huge DTs allowed Ray Lewis to roam free at MLB.  A few years later, circa 2003, they transitioned to a 3-4.  As far as the contemporary nature of the schemes, Seattle and the Giants went to multiple Super Bowls with a 4-3 scheme, and Belicheck, a former 3-4 guy with the Giants, Cleveland, and New England, has transitioned his scheme to a 4-3 in recent years.

 

3.  Roy Miller is not 325. 

 

Jack would strictly be a inside linebacker in a 3-4. Also I don't believe Jack being taken off of the field on run downs to be an indictment of his play on against the run. This staff had a loyalty to Skuta to the point that he's regularly had more snaps than Jack and anyways he is a pretty good run defender. I'd say Jack has generally played well against the run when given the opportunity, aside from bitting on a few counters, though I chalk those up to being a rookie and learning the game than him not being good in run support.

 

My mistake on the early era of Baltimore's dominant defense. I blanked on Marvin Lewis being there before Mike Nolan and Rex Ryan. Though since 2000, both Pittsburgh and New England (while under Crennel and Pees) won multiple Super Bowls while using a 3-4. Green Bay won their only championship once Capers came in and switched their defense while Baltimore won their second title under a 3-4. I think you can win championships under both styles of defense. Also just to reference this particular year, the top 10 defenses in both yardage and points allowed are each split evenly (5-5) between 43 and 34 defenses.

 

Roy Miller is listed at 318, not 325, but assuming he completely comes back from his injury, I think can handle a zero gap just fine.

 

Anyways, I just wanted to add that I too would rather stick with a 4-3 over a 3-4 since I do prefer that style of scheme. However, if we had the opportunity to bring in someone like Wade Phillips to lead our defense, I wouldn't hesitate to make the transition as I think by and large we have the personnel to do so.

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