Any Chance of Playing Some 4- 3 Next Year?

[st pete gogolak]

Our base D seemingly forever now has been a 4 - 2 - 5.  If Dorian Williams makes the same jump between first and second year as Bernard (yeah, I know, BIG if), why not play some 4 - 3 - 4 to get Milano, Bernard and Williams on the field at the same time, simply as a change of pace?
 

Better yet, if we move to 4 - 3 as our base D, it can solve some immediate problems on D without signing a bunch of FA’s or depending on rookies to start.  Is there any reason Taron Johnson can’t be full time starting FS?  Good tackler, ball hawk, veteran.  Keep Poyer another year as SS. CB’s are Douglas and Benford.  Elam can come in as nickel, maybe even play some press against slot or TE to take advantage of his supposed strengths.  Milano, Bernard and Williams at LB with Spector giving some vet depth.  Up front, Rousseau, Oliver, DQ (only FA signing) and Miller. 
 

Of course, still need to go heavy on D in draft (after going WR in #1).  Find next year’s replacements for Poyer, Jones and Miller early and draft some CB’s late.  Ideally, you’d like to find a starting DE to allow Miller to play third-down pass rushing specialist (maybe find a way to squeeze money for AJE).  
 

is it ideal?  No. But I think it’s realistic given the cap constraints.  

[SWATeam]

I generally would like to have Taron Johnson on the field.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

4 minutes ago, st pete gogolak said:

Our base D seemingly forever now has been a 4 - 2 - 5.  If Dorian Williams makes the same jump between first and second year as Bernard (yeah, I know, BIG if), why not play some 4 - 3 - 4 to get Milano, Bernard and Williams on the field at the same time, simply as a change of pace?
 

Better yet, if we move to 4 - 3 as our base D, it can solve some immediate problems on D without signing a bunch of FA’s or depending on rookies to start.  Is there any reason Taron Johnson can’t be full time starting FS?  Good tackler, ball hawk, veteran.  Keep Poyer another year as SS. CB’s are Douglas and Benford.  Elam can come in as nickel, maybe even play some press against slot or TE to take advantage of his supposed strengths.  Milano, Bernard and Williams at LB with Spector giving some vet depth.  Up front, Rousseau, Oliver, DQ (only FA signing) and Miller. 
 

Of course, still need to go heavy on D in draft (after going WR in #1).  Find next year’s replacements for Poyer, Jones and Miller early and draft some CB’s late.  Ideally, you’d like to find a starting DE to allow Miller to play third-down pass rushing specialist (maybe find a way to squeeze money for AJE).  
 

is it ideal?  No. But I think it’s realistic given the cap constraints.  

it is an interesting idea to Shift Taron to safety and play with Williams, Bernard, and Milano on the field more— or at least use that package more often.

 

i do think though they are going to need to sign or draft more safeties regardless, and I really think we need a better backup to Taron as the nickel. When he is out, the entire defense Can’t function.

[GunnerBill]

No. The nickel role Taron plays is critical to our D. 

 

We will continue to be a nickel base.

[LABILLBACKER]

I'd like to see it occasionally but the biggest problem with our D is not the 3....it's the front 4.  As usual the 2nd half and playoffs saw a drop off in qb pressure. 

[CaptnCoke11]

15 minutes ago, SWATeam said:

I generally would like to have Taron Johnson on the field.

They can just shift him to like a slot safety in that instance.  Happens a lot around the league.  Defenses have adapted to the spread and there’s been a lot of two/three tight end sets.  Teams are also passing a lot from these heavier sets.  Having bigger bodies on defense that can play run and pass will be essential in those cases.  

Edited February 3 by CaptnCoke11

[vanislebills44]

if by any chance williams comes on like bernard did, u would seemingly have 2 play more..no 2 ways around it 

[Allen2D̶i̶g̶g̶s̶TBD]

I think we'll continue to play some 4-3 looks situationally depending on the opponents' personnel group.  We run more nickel than any team in the league and I don't think that's going to change unless Taron gets injured or we struggle to stop the run.  If Dorian Williams continues to improve and we resign Dodson, I would feel pretty good about the linebacker position heading into next season.

[MJS]

I do think that we will play with 3 linebackers more next year. The league is trending towards bigger sets with more tight ends. The Bills will need to adjust.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

They do play 4-3 at times.

Taron Johnson is a top 3 player on the defense. You want him on the field as much as possible. 

I assume this is to get Dorian on the field. Honestly it will be hard if Milano and Bernard are healthy.  They both play 95%+ of all the snaps.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Well, 7 players on the field won't get you a penalty, like 12 will.

*
I will see myself out now.

Me                        : 😕

Rest of TBD-TSW: 😠👉🏽

[section122]

A couple of things....

 

The Bills in the grouping you gave don't really have a sam lb in that alignment.

 

Taron is so critical bc he isn't your typical slot cb.  He is a hitter and operates as an lb sometimes and covers tes.  He allows a certain amount of flexibility that many players dont.

[Heathcliff]

21 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

I'd like to see it occasionally but the biggest problem with our D is not the 3....it's the front 4.  As usual the 2nd half and playoffs saw a drop off in qb pressure. 

I feel the elephant in the room is not discussed as much as it warrants. So much draft capital on the D-Line over the years, no true critical time difference makers, and we don’t talk about coaching. Has our D-Line coaching been an issue not developing all these guys?  I guess we’ll know more next year. 

[SCBills]

21 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

No. The nickel role Taron plays is critical to our D. 

 

We will continue to be a nickel base.

I tend to agree, but I could be persuaded to being interested in an increase of 4-3 consisting of Bernard, Milano and a Dorian Williams if he makes a Bernard-like jump in his second year. 
 

That’s a ton of speed and athleticism at linebacker. 

If Taron Johnson could become a nickel/safety hybrid, able to come up in the nickel and drop back in the 4-3, that could be a welcome new wrinkle. 

[Don Otreply]

19 hours ago, MJS said:

I do think that we will play with 3 linebackers more next year. The league is trending towards bigger sets with more tight ends. The Bills will need to adjust.

Should what you say become the norm I can see that happening in the league, but McDermott is pretty wed to “his zone style” come hell or high water so to speak, an “adjustment” like that on Sean’s part would be a bit of a surprise imo, just look at the playoffs, he gets caught with his pants down every post season for the lack of effective adjustments, I say this as a gentle critique, in which I think for the most part Sean is pretty obviously an above average HC, and by win loss record, the best the Bills have had in the modern era. 

[TheyCallMeAndy]

22 hours ago, SWATeam said:

I generally would like to have Taron Johnson on the field.

We all would, but if you want to extend his career they need to stop using him as a LB so much. He’s had many concussions. 

Also, if we re-sign Dodson or if Williams makes the kind of growth we hope to see, we definitely will want to get those guys on the field. 

[BearNorth]

After seeing the return to action of both Tre White and Von Miller aren't we being a bit optimistic that Milano will be 100% by opening day.  His injury was no minor ding.

[gonzo1105]

I actually think it’s a possibility if Williams reaches his potential. I don’t think they would use it all the time but all 3 LBs would be extremely athletic coverage LBs who can spy mobile QBs and cover TES and RBs. 
 

Johnson has had a lot of injuries and wonder how much his body can hold up in the long run 

[Thrivefourfive]

Putting another player on the field at D line that can’t do his job and taking off DW42 or Dodson would be a mistake. The Bills would have to draft or bring in a player that makes a consistent impact on the D line. Everything this team has done up front tells us that that’s not happening. 

[SoonerBillsFan]

I said 3-4 with how our LB Corp is shoring up.