Are The Panthers Ready For a 3-4 Defense?

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for NFLSportChannel.com

Published: November 21, 2009

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... if that wasn't enough, six out of the eight teams leading their respective divisions this year also use the 3-4. Only two of the top 10 defenses in the NFL right now utilize the 4-3, and of the 14 teams that have over 20 sacks thus far this year, only four do not use the 3-4.

Since its conception by Bud Wilkinson in the 1940s, and its implementation in the NFL by Chuck Fairbanks decades later, the 3-4 defense has garnered its fair share of attention and its popularity has risen and fallen accordingly.   

There are several dimensions to the benefits and sacrifices that come with the 3-4, both in personnel and the situation in which the defense finds itself. Against a three or more WR set, the 3-4 is tricky and has many defects; but against the run, it can be lethal. 

Typically, a 3-4 defense requires a nose tackle with the strength to occupy at least two defenders and the size to plug up both 'a gaps.' The DEs on both sides have a little more lee-way; thei...

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