TJB Podcast: A Look at the 3-4
Back again with another podcast! I KNOW you have been waiting for this more anxiously than Talladega Nights!
Since there has been a lot of discussion and interest in the 3-4 lately, Andy and I took some time to talk about how it works, and how it applies to the “New Look Mangini Jets.” Please forgive the “Andy sounds like he was swallowed by a robot” sound quality, but I am looking into alternatives on how best to set this up. Right now, I am just using googletalk and Audacity. Anyone who knows how to do this the right way but on the cheap, please let me know. As far as the podcast, beware it is a bit long, the MP3 is about 13 Meg and if you think you have a good idea for the podcast, send us an email, and we might use it! Just email thejetsblog@gmail.com.
If you would like to see a diagram that I stole, you can get a better sense of some of the terminology (B gaps, “lining up on the 9″) of the 3-4 …
Tell us what your take on the Jets and the 3-4 in the comments.
Great and informative stuff! The obvious question marks are Vilma and Robertson. We've been assuming that D-Rob plays “read and react” covering the “A” gaps. But, what if his responsibility is to blow up the strong side A gap? D-Rob's strengths are his explosion off the ball and his great upper body strength which makes him good at hand-fighting. He would penetrate and occupy the strong-side guard and center every time, he might even be able to split them now and then and make tackles in the backfield. The weak-side guard, if they run that way, will have to double team the weak-side DE, who will naturally be shading towards the strong side. So, you'll have 2 ILB's ready to fill the weak-side A gap. If D-Rob is forced to occupy the center while covering both A gaps, his lack of size and weak knees will be exposed. Better to have him do what he does best–penetrate and get into the backfield.