Gentlemen, and to Coach Riggsbee in particular, thank you. With all the talk of hybrids, 3-high, and DBs as LBs, I was beginning to think that I (as an enthusiastic teacher of the 4-3) was in the dark ages. It's such a boost to know that good coaches in the US still run it. I'm in England, and we run a simpler game, but you can't stop coaches bragging about their systems knowledge, regardless of where they're from! The 4-3 is such a flexible defence, coupled with Quarters it's the closest thing to 'catch-all' that we're going to get. Best of luck!
I think 3-4 is weak against run-oriented offenses, in my opinion, because the matchups of o-lineman on linebacks usually is never good. My best example for this is how Michigan and Georgia last 3 or so years has beat the living soul out of 3-4 and 3-3-5. It seems 4-2-5 and 4-3 variations did the best to slowing down the offensive firepower of those two.
