Who are the 4 starting LBs?

[BrooklynBills]

did you not watch the defense under pettine? their base formation was a 4-3 under. EDIT: apologies- I misread the exchange above

 

it may have looked like a 3-4 but that's only bc the strongside lb would be at the line of scrimmage like this:

 

 

we went through this the past 2 years. get your best front 7 players on the field and there's no need to really worry about who is a de or who is an olb. all the fronts are more or less "hybrids" anyway.

 

I imagine they'd like to re-sign spikes. have mario-dareus-kyle on the line in the middle, have bradham and kiko on the edges, and spikes and brown in the middle. sub spikes in db heavy packages. i'm assuming hughes is gone.

The problem with putting Bradham and Alonso on the edges is that neither can rush the passer. The RE in 43 under needs to be a speed rush type of player, like Chris Clemons was in SEA the last few years.

 

43 under personnel is typically

1 NT (Dareus)

2 300+ DL (Kyle Williams, Stefan Charles or Mario)

1 speed rusher type DE(Hughes)

1 34 OLB type (right now this could be Hughes or Mario, but none of our other LBs fit this profile because they can't rush the QB. Think Bruce Irvin in SEA as the ideal here)

1 Run stopping MLB (Brown or Spikes)

1 athletic coverage LB (Alonso or Bradham)

 

I would think they put Hughes and Mario on the edges. 3 man line inside with Kyle Williams, Dareus, and Charles(remember how important Alan Branch was in this role last year). And Alonso and Brown as your other two LBs.

[BringBackFergy]

Jerry Hughes, Kiko Alonso, Preston Brown, and Mario Williams will be starting LBs.

 

Kyle Williams, Dareus, and Stefan Charles will be starting DL.

 

I like this front 7...I would refer to this as......"D Rex"

 

(so when the thread starts about what to name our defense this is my entry)

[BuffaloFan68]

Line - Mario, Dareus, Kyle

LBs - Hughes on one end, Kiko on the other. Brown in the middle with Harris, or Spikes or whoever....

Edited January 18, 2015 by BuffaloFan68

[frogger]

Based on who we know is currently a bill

 

Lawson Kiko. Preston Bradham

In a 3-4 scheme where basically the RE is a standing ROLB (Lawson right now)

 

What I'm hoping for is signing Pernell McPhee and Spikes

McPhee Kiko Spikes Bradham

With Lawson and Brown in reserve roles, Spikes brings so much attitude to the Bills, he sets the tone! McPhee had 7.5 sacks in a reserve role for the Ravens last year.

McPhee would also be cheaper than Hughes, 4 year 26 million dollar deal, leaving us money for the oline and a big splash player.

[uncle flap]

The problem with putting Bradham and Alonso on the edges is that neither can rush the passer. The RE in 43 under needs to be a speed rush type of player, like Chris Clemons was in SEA the last few years.

 

43 under personnel is typically

1 NT (Dareus)

2 300+ DL (Kyle Williams, Stefan Charles or Mario)

1 speed rusher type DE(Hughes)

1 34 OLB type (right now this could be Hughes or Mario, but none of our other LBs fit this profile because they can't rush the QB. Think Bruce Irvin in SEA as the ideal here)

1 Run stopping MLB (Brown or Spikes)

1 athletic coverage LB (Alonso or Bradham)

 

I would think they put Hughes and Mario on the edges. 3 man line inside with Kyle Williams, Dareus, and Charles(remember how important Alan Branch was in this role last year). And Alonso and Brown as your other two LBs.

 

yeah I agree with that too, that's how i set it up in madden lol - I just flip it so either hughes or mario play the role of OLB and the other is the DE depending how the offense lines up.

 

I do think kiko and bradham can rush the passer - obviously not as well as hughes or mario - but enough to get the job done. since they are able to cover i like the versatility bc unlike mario or hughes, they aren't as much of a liability in coverage. Also i just have a hunch they're going to lose Hughes.

 

If they keep hughes, they can let spikes walk since I think kiko/brown/bradham can carry the weight with dareus kyle mario hughes up front.

[Kelly the Dog]

Assuming Spikes is off the roster: 4-3 under, Kiko, Preston, Nigel. 4-3, the same. 3-3, the same. 4-2, Kiko and Nigel. 3-2, the same. I don't expect much 2-gap 3-4 unless Rex uses it on a passing down where the look is the 3-4, but a safety or 2 might also be lined up at one of the LBr spots allowing for some confusion on who is coming and who is dropping back. Rex will run the 4-3 under and some straight up 4-3, along with weird nickel alignments and a fair bit of dime if the team finds itself with a big lead late in the game.

This. I think Rex stays with either the Pettine style or even more of the Schwartz style with his own touches. Even when Pettine was here it was 3-4 in name only. We always had four guys on the Los. We virtually always played two DT. The two outside guys virtually always rushed the passer. Kiko almost always played a MLB position instead of a ILB position. Schwartz came in and flat out said Hughes was basically going to play the same position he did last year except his hand will be on the ground.

 

That said we really don't know a couple key elements. I do think that we will re-sign Hughes but that is up in the air now. And will be a big factor in the defense we play. Rex will very likely want Spikes or David Harris but I don't know how much either will warrant on the open market and we can not get either. That will play a big part, too.

[Tintonfallsbillsfan]

I think you should look at it as edge rushers and linebackers

kiko,bradham and brown will man the inside in some combination

[hondo in seattle]

One of the more intelligent discussions in a while. Thanks for starting it Beerball.

 

So much depends on the fates of Spikes and Hughes that it's all guesswork right now.

 

This will be interesting to watch because Rex is pretty flexible and will build the defense around the talent on the roster.

[voodoo poonani]

Any two LB sets should be Kiko and Brown. They are the only two with the ability to play run and pass.

 

Any three LB sets should include the former plus Bradham.

 

The fourth LB will most likely be Hughes or Lawson. If we lose Hughes, Justin Houston perhaps.

[NoSaint]

they will play 4 LB sets, not sure why you're getting bunched up

 

In those 4 LB sets who ya got?

 

Related question, who are the 3 d-linemen?

I would guess we see 3 lineman and 4 lbs about 10% of the time and half those will be either a safety or DE sliding into an edge role with hand off the ground

 

I think nearly never do we see Mario- dareus- Kyle with 4 true lbs behind them but it'd be Lawson, kiko, brown and bradham if I took a stab

[Kelly the Dog]

Any two LB sets should be Kiko and Brown. They are the only two with the ability to play run and pass.

Any three LB sets should include the former plus Bradham.

The fourth LB will most likely be Hughes or Lawson. If we lose Hughes, Justin Houston perhaps.

Bradham can play both. He was our best pass defender. Houston will cost more than Hughes.

[r00tabaga]

Bradham hurt by 34

Lawson helped

Hughes helped

Mario hurt by 34

Kiko is a legend & can thrive in any system

Dareus & Kyle could thrive

[Beerball]

I would guess we see 3 lineman and 4 lbs about 10% of the time and half those will be either a safety or DE sliding into an edge role with hand off the ground

I think nearly never do we see Mario- dareus- Kyle with 4 true lbs behind them but it'd be Lawson, kiko, brown and bradham if I took a stab

better topic would have been who are your front 7 and how do you see them shifting depending on D/D, opponent etc but that's what you get when I post so early in the morning!

[Green Lightning]

If you play 4 LBs, Kiko - Spikes - Brown and Bradham. Kyle is odd man out. He doesn't have the length or skillset to play the 5 DE position or bulk to play Nose.

[Kelly the Dog]

If you play 4 LBs, Kiko - Spikes - Brown and Bradham. Kyle is odd man out. He doesn't have the length or skillset to play the 5 DE position or bulk to play Nose.

I don't think there is a chance they do this. it's not going to be a common 3-4. When we played in 2013 Kiko played MLB, and Moats (later replaced by Bradham) played WLB and Lawson SLB. Carrington or Branch played on run downs and usually Hughes on more than half the plays as a pass rusher on the line. We always had two DT. We didn't play a 3-4.

[Green Lightning]

I don't think there is a chance they do this. it's not going to be a common 3-4. When we played in 2013 Kiko played MLB, and Moats (later replaced by Bradham) played WLB and Lawson SLB. Carrington or Branch played on run downs and usually Hughes on more than half the plays as a pass rusher on the line. We always had two DT. We didn't play a 3-4.

I would suspect that's right, but taking Hughes off the field save for pass rush plays is a loss. He can set the edge, blow up run plays as well as rush the passer. He's a complete DE and it seems a waste to make him a rush specialist.

[vincec]

Hughes, Kiko, Brown, Bradham

Ding - Ding - Ding.

[Bangarang]

they will play 4 LB sets, not sure why you're getting bunched up

 

In those 4 LB sets who ya got?

 

Related question, who are the 3 d-linemen?

Who says we're playing 4 LB sets though?

 

I already answered that Lawson was strong, Kiko weak and Brown middle.

 

You're likely going to see a 4-3 under like we had with Pettine. Plus, we're going to be in nickel a lot.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Bangarang

[Kelly the Dog]

I would suspect that's right, but taking Hughes off the field save for pass rush plays is a loss. He can set the edge, blow up run plays as well as rush the passer. He's a complete DE and it seems a waste to make him a rush specialist.

I wasn't suggesting that at all. You're right. I was simply stating what we did in 2013. We virtually never ran a conventional 3-4 and it was always more of a 4-3, and there is no way I see Rex changing that. He all but said as much, although he is going to mix it up a lot.

[sjjr]

Have to think Lawson will see more time on the field as strong side LB. Maybe Randell Johnson can develop and the be the future at this spot.

 

Could be hard to keep Hughes on the field as a starter. He would be more of a situational pass rusher and tough to re-sign at the value he's looking for.

 

Kiko and P.Brown start with Bradham first backup. Rivers might get cut.

 

Mario would be weakside with K.Williams and Dareus. Re-signing a guy like J.Wynn would be cheap to be the third down lineman with depth from Charles, Bryant and maybe another draft pick or FA.

 

This D will be tough in whatever scheme it's in..Go Bills