Nick Fairley's Final Impression is Enough to Consider Moving to a 4-3 Defense

[Flugel]

As some of you know, I didn't get a warm and fuzzy early impression of Nick Fairley earlier this season. However, as I saw more of him - I started to see some of the things Alo was raving about and made sure I pointed it out on occasion. Last night, I saw all the things that made him king of the trenches as well as the winning difference. If you didn't see the National Championship between Auburn and Oregon, Nick Fairley was unblockable and pretty amazing to witness.

If we could ever evolution out of the 3-4 scheme that remains unjustified, we could actually go after a playmaker like Fairley at DT. Believe it or not, Savage left us alot of dlinemen from 4-3 schemes so it's not as undoable as people think. Robaire played in both schemes prior to Cleveland. In TN he played in a 4-3 and in Houston I believe he played in a 3-4. Shaun Rogers came from a 4-3 although I'm running out of patience with his effort levels for the type of salary he's had here. Matt Roth was playing DE with a hand down in Miami's 4-3. Kenyon Coleman played in a 4-3 at UCLA I think. I don't think Rubin wouldn't have a hard time with a 4-3. Try to remember when we had MD Perry (1 gapper) workign in tandem with Jerry Ball (2 gapper, wide enough for 3 gaps). They were called Crush and Rush.

In switching schemes, now we only need to start the best 3 LBers from this group: Scott Fujita, Chris Gocong, Titus Brown, D'Qwell Jackson, Marcus Benard, Jason Trusnik. I gotta believe Bowens retires and Barton does too. Am I right to think we'd be much happier only needing to start 3? FWIW, Clay Matthews had ANOTHER son (Casey) playing last night who came up big on several occasions for Oregon. He looks like a mid round steal. He's already better than Barton. Trust me!

[Greythan]

Or we stay in a 3-4 and.... draft Casey Matthews and line him up opposite Roth on neutral/running downs and opposite Bernard on passing downs.

[Dan in Florida]

Originally Posted by Flugel

As some of you know, I didn't get a warm and fuzzy early impression of Nick Fairley earlier this season. However, as I saw more of him - I started to see some of the things Alo was raving about and made sure I pointed it out on occasion. Last night, I saw all the things that made him king of the trenches as well as the winning difference. If you didn't see the National Championship between Auburn and Oregon, Nick Fairley was unblockable and pretty amazing to witness.

One thing I do remember from the telecast last night was the commentators were saying that the Oregon O-Line was Small (I think), ...If that is true, he won't see that in the NFL. On the other hand, he played in the SEC where they generally have Large Physical lines on both sides of the ball.

[Dan in Florida]

I may have been wrong about the line size but, while researching this, I found an interesting article relating to the LINES and Fairley:

The Oregonian, in conjunction with the Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register, continues a 14-part series comparing key matchups in the Oregon-Auburn BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz. Today: The Ducks' offensive line vs. the Tigers' defensive line.

Oregon starters: Bo Thran, Sr., LT, 6-5, 281 (Gresham, Ore.); Carson York, So., LG, 6-5, 286 (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho); Jordan Holmes, Sr., C, 6-5, 300 (Yuba City, Calif.); C.E. Kaiser, Sr., RG, 6-4, 290 (Veradale, Wash.); Mark Asper, Jr., RT, 6-7, 322 (Idaho Falls, Idaho).

Stats: Oregon ranked fourth in the nation in rushing offense (303.8 yards per game) and is one of four teams in the nation to average more than six yards per carry (6.11). Auburn averaged 6.2.

Auburn starters: Antoine Carter, Sr., DE, 6-4, 256 (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.); Nick Fairley, Jr., DT, 6-5, 298 (Mobile, Ala.); Zach Clayton, Sr., DT, 6-3, 296 (Opelika, Ala.); Nosa Eguae, Fr., DE, 6-2, 258 (Mansfield, Texas).

Stats: Fairley, winner of the Lombardi Award, leads the SEC and ranks eighth nationally with a school-record 21 tackles for loss. He's second in the SEC with 10.5 quarterback sacks.

What to know about Oregon: Auburn's Fairley is a handful but the Ducks limited Oregon State All-America defensive tackle Stephen Paea to three tackles (one solo) in the Civil War. Holmes was named first-team all-Pac-10, Thran second team.

What to know about Auburn: The line is the strength of a sometimes inconsistent Auburn defense and it begins with Fairley. Few players can disrupt and harass quarterbacks more effectively. Clayton is a solid run-stopper inside, while Eguae and Carter can make plays off the edge, so teams aren't able to put all their resources into stopping Fairley.

The Oregonian's Aaron Fentress says: It's a toss up on paper, but the dizzying pace at which the Ducks linemen are able to function in the hurry-up, spread-option is something to behold and warrants giving the Ducks a slight edge.

The Mobile (Ala.) Press Register's Evan Woodbery says: Tough call, but give a narrow edge to Oregon. You can't lead the nation in rushing like Oregon's LaMichael James did without the backing of a top-notch line.

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[The Hammer]

This guy is a human 15 yard penalty waiting to happen.
&ap=%2526fmt=18" width="644" height="390">&ap=%2526fmt=18" />BORKED

[Dan in Florida]

I'm sorry to say it but I like his fire. Our team/QB's take abuse and nobody pays for it.

Slap around QB's in our division.

Suh was hailed for his decapitating of DelHommie. Slap on the wrist from the league.

[OzDawg]

the guy that wanted players with good morals and character is gone, anyones guess who we go after now

[Enigmatic Evil]

There's basically an argument to both sides of the scheme defense.

IF we want to transition to a 4-3, I think it's paramount we draft a beast lineman in the first rounds. We need DEPTH AND TALENT on the DL if we want to move to that scheme. A key I think would be a DE who can create mass pressure off the end while Rubin and Rogers wreak havoc in the middle.

IF we want to keep a 3-4, we need a big play linebacker who is versatile enough in run support AND pass support. It's a complex scheme so we need a smart linebacker who can handle the responsibilities of the OLB or ILB postion as versatility is key.

[YtownBacker]

If the team transitions to a 3-4 there are some nice FA DEs this year. Charles Johnson, Jason Bobin, Roy Edwards, Cullen Jenkins and Kiwankuka. There's also some nice second tier guys starting with Marcus Spears.

[Legacy Fan]

Fairley's pretty good. He looks a little lean in the legs to me though. But then again, you don't see many 300 lb'ers doing this:


But I wouldn't go after him thinking you're getting Kong Suh 2.0. Fairley can fit both his legs in one of Kong's game-day pantsleg.
Definitely a top 15 talent, but he's a reach (way too expensive) at 3 or wherever Suh went last year.

[DaBrowns41]

No, the first thing we need is a DE opposite Kenyon Coleman, and another DE to groom behind Coleman and have depth.

In a 3-4 it starts with the defensive line. You could have Zach Thomas, Donnie Edwards, Shawne Merriman and DeMarcus Ware as your LB's and you'd fail with a poor DL.

The problem with drafting Fairley so high and NOT playing him in his rightful position is that his skillset doesn't benefit the most from making him play a 5 technique and take up space. He's a quick guy, he's a penetrator. He's a disrupter in the backfield.

If we are going to grab a DE to play in our 3-4 system, we had better go with Dareus.

[YtownBacker]

Originally Posted by DaBrowns41

No, the first thing we need is a DE opposite Kenyon Coleman, and another DE to groom behind Coleman and have depth.

In a 3-4 it starts with the defensive line. You could have Zach Thomas, Donnie Edwards, Shawne Merriman and DeMarcus Ware as your LB's and you'd fail with a poor DL.

The problem with drafting Fairley so high and NOT playing him in his rightful position is that his skillset doesn't benefit the most from making him play a 5 technique and take up space. He's a quick guy, he's a penetrator. He's a disrupter in the backfield.

If we are going to grab a DE to play in our 3-4 system, we had better go with Dareus.

Our run defense failed at the end of the year because too many OLmen were getting to the second level to take out our LBs and create big cutback lanes. You are 100% right when you say we got to get bigger stronger and better on the DL.