as a fan who hates the 3-4 defense and thinks it wastes the talents of The D-line i hoped for a switch to the 4-3 and using Dockett as a passrushing DT and Williams as the stay at home plugger.Getting another DE with Campbell who has pass rush ability and can hold up versus the run like Okafor from Texas,Werner from FSU,Simon from Ohio State etc;
The 3-4 is an odd man front to slow down the running game.
It's basically the Cardinals' running down defense---but, teams now pass so much on first down that 34 DCs have been opening games and series in 4 man fronts, the way Ray Horton did versus Atlanta.
Every team plays a 4 man front---which means every team needs rush DEs.
This is why it drives me crazy to hear fans say over and over, "Well, he's not a fit in the 34."
If he can pressure the QB from the DE position in a 4 man front---he's a fit on any team.
Very few 34 teams have been lucky enough to find 34OLBers who can slide down to DE and rush the passer from a 4 man rush...like the Steelers do with Woodley and Harrison....and the 49ers do with Brooks and Smith.
The Patriots were having a very difficult time getting DE pressure in their 4 man rush because their 34OLBers weren't big or strong enough to be effective rushing the edge at DE...
This is exactly why last year they drafted DE Chandler Jones in the 1st round. Jones will never play 34OLB---he is their RDE in passing situations, which these days is practically all the time.