Vikings backup quarterback Kelly Holcomb spent four years in the AFC North, where half the division plays the unconventional defensive scheme that uses three linemen and four linebackers as opposed to four linemen and three linebackers.
"To be honest with you," Holcomb said, "I wish they'd do away with the 3-4. I hate the 3-4."
The 3-4 can be a nightmare for a quarterback, and usually is for a young one. Vikings starter Tarvaris Jackson, 24 with five NFL starts, faces two of them in three weeks -- in Dallas on Sunday and Nov. 4 at home against San Diego.
"I've faced a 4-3 pretty much my whole life, and I practice against it every day," said Jackson, whose only regular-season experience with the 3-4 came in relief duty against the Jets last season. "So, yeah, it's a lot different. You just have to study a lot more film, and then hope you recognize what they're doing when you get to game day."
In a 4-3 scheme, quarterbacks normally can identify the linemen as the four primary pass rushers. But in a 3-4, all bets are off. The versatility of the four linebackers, particularly the bigger ones on the outside, makes it harder for an inexperienced quarterback to distinguish the pass rushers from the cover men.
"A lot of times, you think you know which one is going to rush, and then the other guy comes flying in," said Holcomb, who got his fill of the 3-4 as a Browns quarterback facing the Steelers and Ravens a combined four times a year. "The 3-4 also gets you to commit your blockers early. So you set your protection scheme, and then those linebackers start walking around."
Holcomb remembers being fooled when he was with the Colts early in his career. Indianapolis was playing the Steelers, which had four of the league's best linebackers in Levon Kirkland, Chad Brown, Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd.
"I set my protection," Holcomb said. "And then, at the last second, Kirkland, Brown and Greene all walked over to one side."
Ouch.
The 3-4 also can be strong against the run. In fact, three of the league's top five run defenses -- No. 3 Baltimore, No. 4 Pittsburgh and No. 5 New England -- use the 3-4. Dallas ranks seventh and San Diego eighth. That will come in handy against the Vikings, who have the No. 1-ranked running attack (170.2).
Alignment isn't the only problem in dealing with the 3-4. The outside linebackers are some of the best athletes in the league. And many times they're as big as the ends in a 4-3. In fact, a lot of them are former college defensive ends, such as the Cowboys' DeMarcus Ware (6-4, 252) and the Chargers' Shawne Merriman (6-4, 272).
Two years ago, when current Cowboys coach and longtime 3-4 proponent Wade Phillips was San Diego's defensive coordinator, the Chargers had the 12th pick in the draft. The Cowboys had the 11th.
Dallas took Ware. The Chargers took Merriman. They now have a combined 57½ career sacks, including 5½ apiece this season.
"We knew we were going to get Merriman or Ware, and we were excited," Phillips said. "Dallas took Ware, so we took Merriman. That was great. Then I went to Dallas and I turned around and I've got Ware. Either one was great with me."
And maybe not so great for young Tarvaris.
Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com
Athletic, speedy linebackers make the 3-4 defensive scheme particularly challenging. Dallas' DeMarcus Ware dominates the position.
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