Bringin' the Heat

One of the reasons I was in favor of the Bills switch to the 3-4 defensive front is the inherent ability to bring pressure on the QB in a greater variety of ways.  The "34" enhances the defenses ability to mix and max blitz packages and bring different combinations of linebackers and safeties.  The 4-3 is a little more limited in this regard - unless the coordinator is willing to drop D-linemen into coverage.

One of the things we have seen increasingly lately is more exotic defensive looks - with 1 or 2 D lineman.  Admittedly, these formations are pretty much restricted to third and long or third and very long.  But they take this concept (bringing the rush from a variety of places) to another level.

Rex Ryan has used  this last year - with only one defensive lineman.  Nick Barnett described one of their 1-5-5 packages that Green Bay used against Pittsburgh last year.  And Matt Bowen, several weeks ago, broke down a 3-2-6 look by the New Orleans Saints (see his July 6th post at NFP).

So...its pretty clear the Bills will use some 3-4 looks and some 4-3 looks - but will they use much that could be considered exotic with few down lineman and complex blitz packages?

Your thoughts...