ChiefsPlanet - Poop College FB: Georgia switching to 3-4

No one here cares about SEC football, but it will be good to have another big time program producing 3-4 ready players.

They hired the Dallas DL coach to be their new DC.

Quote:

Grantham to install 3-4 set

By Marc Weiszer - [email protected]

Published Sunday, January 17, 2010

Players on Georgia's defense have appointment viewing today when Dallas tangles with Minnesota in the NFL playoffs.

They can tune in to the 1 p.m. game to get a sneak peek at how the Bulldogs might look next season under new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who is still coaching the Cowboys defensive line until season's end.

"I will be watching it a little bit closer just knowing what their defense is like and how their secondary reacts to things," cornerback Brandon Boykin.

Grantham will switch Georgia's base defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4, meaning that there will now be three down linemen and four linebackers.

"We're going to attack blockers up front and we're going to rush the passer," Grantham said. "Our outside backers are going to be what we call edge-setters. They're going to be aggressive; they're going to be coming."

It's a departure for the Bulldogs, who haven't run the 3-4 since the 1994 season.

"I think they'll be very aggressive," said Tony Grantham, Todd's younger brother and the outside linebackers coach at Navy. "I think that's something that he believes in, that you have to be physical on the defensive side. Every time they step on the field they're going to try to physically challenge the other team, but I think they're also going to mentally challenge the other team and do some different things with schemes."

Grantham has coached the 3-4 in the NFL under Dom Capers in Houston, Romeo Crennel in Cleveland and Wade Phillips in Dallas.

"The positives of the 3-4 would be there are a number of NFL teams, if I'm not mistaken, maybe 12 of the 32 that run the 3-4," said former Cleveland Browns general manager and current Alabama football radio analyst Phil Savage, who spoke to Grantham several times this fall. "There are very few colleges out there that run the 3-4."

"That could be an attraction recruiting-wise in terms of players that have aspirations to go to the NFL."....

.....Grantham's challenge heading into spring practice will be fitting Georgia's personnel into the defense he envisions.

"It's a difficult transition," Savage said, "but it can be done, primarily because there are so much three-wide receiver sets now and so much spread offense, that you're really not in a base 3-4 that often. I'd say 50 percent of the time you're in nickel (five defensive backs).

"In Alabama's case, they were in dime, the six-defensive back package a lot this year. They'll take those defensive ends and see if they can stand up and do some things on their feet versus being in a three-point stance, but I think with Todd's background and versatility, he'll play to the strengths of what is on campus and what is coming in recruiting-wise."

Georgia coach Mark Richt stressed the Bulldogs' defense will still use multiple defensive formations.

"I know it's going to be a sound system, a very aggressive system and there's going to be a bunch of boys excited about turning that thing loose and getting going," Richt said. "I'm sure the Bulldog Nation is going to be fired up to see it, too."

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