The 3-4 defense in the NFL seems to be gaining more and more teams every single season, and the trend doesn't look like one that will lose popularity anytime soon. And why should it? If operated correctly, it can reek havoc on most offensive coordinators.
As LeCharles Bentley, a former two-time Pro Bowl center, said at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2010: "A 3-4 defense allows you to create more mismatches. You can be as exotic as you want to be. Defensive coordinators can become mad scientists. Bill Belichick (whose Patriots ran a 3-4 in 2010) and Rex Ryan are prime examples of that. Those blitz packages they can throw at you are unbelievable."
A 3-4 defense requires a few things to function properly. It requires two good pass rushers from the linebackers; it requires two middle linebackers that can react immediately to a play without the luxury of extra time to dissect what's being run against them; it requires two giant defensive ends that can control the line of scrimmage, absorb blockers and stop the run. The last requirement, however, is the key to running a successful 3-4 defense: nose tackle.
"If you don't have a good nose guard, you don't have a 3-4 defense." Bentley said. "You can build everything else around it. You can have a great pass-rusher. You can have a great safety like Troy Polamalu. But if you don't have a solid nose guard? You can't run a 3-4. That's the whole basis of the defense."
But good nose tackles are hard to find. Scratch that. Good nose tackles are almost impossible to find. At least from a Chiefs perspective it is, because since the team implemented the 3-4 defense, the Chiefs have yet to find a solution at the most pivotal position. But they're not alone.
Unfortunately for Chan, it's not that simple. Sure, a team can get by with mediocrity out of their nose tackle, and some defenses, such as the Chiefs, can even get by with being above average. Without a nose tackle, however, a team cannot execute a defensive properly. Just look at the Chiefs; the whole defense is filled with good players and Pro Bowlers, and yet they continue to be a middle of the pack defense. They will continue to be a middle of the road team, too, until the nose tackle position is resolved.
So what can the Chiefs do to fix this problem? It doesn't appear that Scott Pioli is overly concerned with addressing the concern via free agency this offseason, so it seems that the only way Kansas City will hope to rectify this concern is in the draft.
But drafting a nose tackle is often a precarious task, simply because statistics don't often speak to how well a player can perform at that position. As Tim Graham wrote for ESPN: "To look at their stats, nothing suggests a nose tackle's significance to a defense. They don't register many sacks. They're not among their team's tackle leaders or turnover creators.
"Wilfork, for instance, is considered an elite nose tackle. [In 2010], he had no sacks or quarterback hits and was fifth in tackles for the Patriots. He forced one fumble and didn't recover any."
That's why college performances can sometimes not tell the whole story of a nose tackle's significance to their defense when the draft approaches. That's also why college scouts for the NFL are so important in the process, and why tape must be watched religiously for the purpose of determining if a player can be a professional nose tackle. And the scouts have suggested a few names that teams should consider:
Dontari Poe: 6-4, 346 lbs, Poe has the size to be a NFL nose tackle. And if there was any question if Poe had the strength to handle multiple offensive lineman, the Combine removed any doubt. Poe put on a Combine for the ages, benching 225 lbs 44 times. But what was most surprising was the 4.87 seconds he ran the 40 yard dash in.
While it's undeniable that Poe is a gifted athlete, scouts have become less convinced that Poe has the motor to play nose tackle. While I don't want to get hung up on his underwhelming statistics, many scouts have complained about Poe taking plays off and not trying as hard through the course of games. Many scouts think he would make a better 3-4 defensive end than nose tackle. We'll just have to wait and see.
Alameda Ta'amu: This Washington senior has been moving up draft boards as April ends, which is common for nose tackles as scouts recognize the need for the position throughout the league. I've seen mock drafts where Ta'amu goes in the second, and the surprising ones where he's gone in the first. Either way, he is regarded as one of the top 3-4 nose tackle prospects, if not the best true nose tackle in this year's draft.
Nicolas Jean-Baptiste: The successor to 2011 first-round draft pick Phil Taylor, Jean-Baptiste secured the middle of Baylor's defensive line during what was a very successful season. Standing at 6-2 and weighing 335 lbs, Jean-Baptiste has the prototypical size to be a nose tackle in the NFL. Jean-Baptiste had 30 tackles and 4 sacks during the 2011 season.
"Wilfork, for instance, is considered an elite nose tackle. [In 2010], he had no sacks or quarterback hits and was fifth in tackles for the Patriots. He forced one fumble and didn't recover any."
That's why college performances can sometimes not tell the whole story of a nose tackle's significance to their defense when the draft approaches. That's also why college scouts for the NFL are so important in the process, and why tape must be watched religiously for the purpose of determining if a player can be a professional nose tackle. And the scouts have suggested a few names that teams should consider:
Dontari Poe: 6-4, 346 lbs, Poe has the size to be a NFL nose tackle. And if there was any question if Poe had the strength to handle multiple offensive lineman, the Combine removed any doubt. Poe put on a Combine for the ages, benching 225 lbs 44 times. But what was most surprising was the 4.87 seconds he ran the 40 yard dash in.
While it's undeniable that Poe is a gifted athlete, scouts have become less convinced that Poe has the motor to play nose tackle. While I don't want to get hung up on his underwhelming statistics, many scouts have complained about Poe taking plays off and not trying as hard through the course of games. Many scouts think he would make a better 3-4 defensive end than nose tackle. We'll just have to wait and see.
Alameda Ta'amu: This Washington senior has been moving up draft boards as April ends, which is common for nose tackles as scouts recognize the need for the position throughout the league. I've seen mock drafts where Ta'amu goes in the second, and the surprising ones where he's gone in the first. Either way, he is regarded as one of the top 3-4 nose tackle prospects, if not the best true nose tackle in this year's draft.
Nicolas Jean-Baptiste: The successor to 2011 first-round draft pick Phil Taylor, Jean-Baptiste secured the middle of Baylor's defensive line during what was a very successful season. Standing at 6-2 and weighing 335 lbs, Jean-Baptiste has the prototypical size to be a nose tackle in the NFL. Jean-Baptiste had 30 tackles and 4 sacks during the 2011 season.
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