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COPYRIGHT 2005 Century Publishing
DALLAS COWBOYS COACH BILL Parcells loves the 3-4 defense--so much, in fact, that there were years he played it even when he didn't have the correct personnel.
San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan is a big fan of the 3-4, even though he's used other aligmnents as often as he's employed the three-linemen, four-linebackers scheme.
New England Patriots Bill Belichick likes to mix up his formats. He'll even throw in a 2-5 or a 5-2 setup; they all seem to work for him and the Patriots. But the team's base is usually the venerable 3-4.
This year, about a dozen teams are going with the 3-4 as their primary defensive look, a trend that probably developed more because of New England's success than any philosophical reason. Still, after a steep decrease in use of the 3-4 in recent years, it has become fashionable once again.
"A lot of teams have been successful in the 3-4 defense, so that's what we're going to do," Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Ferguson says. Consider that in 2003, the Cowboys used a 4-3 and ranked No. 1 in defense, giving up just 16.3 points a game and reaching the playoffs. Last year that 4-3 crumbled and so did Dallas, which gave up 25 points per game and went 6-10. As a result, Parcells has gone back to his old standby alignment, and he might have found a stud for it in end-linebacker...
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