New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick brought up the Pittsburgh Steelers while making a point about New England's success as an NFL "outlier" of sorts.
Speaking as a guest at the Salesforce World Tour event in Boston, Belichick discussed the Patriots' sustained success. He reached back to 2000, when two NFL teams ran a 3-4 defense, he says -- the Patriots and Steelers.
Pittsburgh, of course, ran Dick LeBeau's 3-4 scheme, the principles of which still remain in the Steelers' defensive sets under new coordinator Keith Butler.
As ESPN Patriots reporter Mike Reiss reports, Belichick told the crowd that half the league played a 3-4 defense by 2005. By then, the Patriots had won three Super Bowls under Belichick.
"We've had to find different ways to capitalize on the talent that's available," Belichick said, via Reiss. "Otherwise, we're going to get like the fifth-, sixth-, seventh-best guy at whatever the position is. So we've tried to take more of our way in areas that are less populated."
Though the 3-4 defense has been around for a while, the point here is that good NFL franchises are adaptive, especially when it comes to utilizing talented players.
Sounds like the Patriots and Steelers were playing a predominantly 3-4 defensive front before their peers.
The Steelers can relate to Belichick as they undergo their own lineup changes. Under Butler, they can mix and match 3-4 and 4-3 sets. Outside linebackers can play defensive end. Safeties can slide into a linebacker spot in nickel coverage.
In the upcoming draft, the Steelers could take a defensive tackle somewhere high, but that tackle doesn't have to be a traditional nose tackle, which is considered a need. Perhaps he could play across the formation.
Belichick might approve of such versatility.