would come from getting more LBs/undersized DEs on the field at the same time. I think these benefits would be immediately undermined if (a) we didn’t have the size up front or in our ILBs or (b) Reed and Tapp weren’t able to make the transition from having a hand in the dirt. Even if we had the personnel, we’d probably have at least a year of transition where players were still learning their new assignments.

He’s almost too small to be a 4-3 DE. I think he’d have to be a LB in a 3-4.

Average DE in a 3-4 is 6’ 5/8" and weights 300.41666 lbs.

Now someone collect the data for a 4-3 line. Then we can add Bench Press, cone drill, 40 time, and squat.

I like the idea. It would make a possible transition later easier. But it would also give us two different looks. Seems win-win to me.

Just not a 70/30 split.

First, the transition from 4-3 to 3-4 can be hard on guys. 4-3 DEs can have hard time going to 3-4 LB and vice versa. The team would also be changing schemes for the second time in two years and it might take some time to get everyone on the same page. Mebane seems to have had trouble in his move between 1-tech and 3-tech DT; if wonder how much trouble he may have if forced to move to a 3-4 DL.

Second, our personnel might not fit. While I think we’d have plenty of talent at the 3-4 LB (maybe too much), those are the easiest postions to fill (in the 3-4) and the key cog in the 3-4 defense is the NT. We need a big fat guy that’s going to demand double-teams, overpower undersized C’s and stop the run. Mebane may be that guy, but he’s undersized. Cole and Red are big enough to do the job, but I question their ability squish the pocket and demand double-teams. They almost might be liabilities against the run. Redding and LoJack might be good fits at 3-4 DE, but I’m not too certain.

To be safe, I think we’d need to draft a couple of new DL. 2010 seems like a good year for DL, but we’d probably have to use one or both of our 1st-rounders to get the job done. I question whether that should be a priority when we’ve got more pressing issues on the offense (at QB, LT and RB).

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/23/collier-explains-art-of-3-4-defense/

Its an interview with former Denver DC Joe Collier:

On the NT:

“The nose tackle and the inside linebackers, those are three guys that are very important. But when you go through it, the nose tackle is probably the single-most important guy.”

“He has to be physically capable of playing the position and mentally tough enough to do it over the long haul. I used to ask Rubin Carter’s son, Andre, all the time where he wanted to play in the NFL and he’d always say, ‘Anywhere but nose tackle, because I saw how my dad walked around the house on Mondays.’

On the DEs:

The two defensive end spots traditionally are filled by players with the body types the Broncos don’t have on their roster. The Steelers and Patriots start defensive ends who are at least 6-foot-5 and at least 285 pounds. New England starts two 300 pounders in Ty Warren and Richard Seymour.

On the ILBs:

Collier said the two inside linebacker spots have to be filled by players who can move well enough to get to both sides of the field. But he added that if the work is done correctly in front of them, those two players often can make the transition the easiest from a 4-3 defense they have played in college or elsewhere in the NFL.

On the OLBs:

The two outside linebacker spots require some work as well. The weak-side linebacker on the outside, who lines up away from the offense’s tight end, usually on the defensive right, is the primary pass rusher.

This often is a former college defensive end. The Steelers feature the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in this spot in James Harrison, who is 6-foot, 240 pounds, but is a refined rusher who also can hold up in the run game if necessary

In the other outside linebacker spot – the strong side – the Patriots and Steelers play 260-pound players there. The Steelers line up LaMarr Woodley, another refined pass rusher who played end for two of his four seasons at Michigan and had two sacks in the AFC Championship Game, who checks in at 6-2, 265

.

There’s a lot of really good stuff in that article.