NFL.com’s Michael Lombardi made some noise today by casually referencing that the Panthers would be switching to a 3-4 defense this season in a season preview. This came as a big surprise to many because Lombardi is pretty well regarded and there had been no mention of the Panthers doing such a thing by any of their beat writers or coaches this offseason. The potential move did make some sense as Head Coach Ron Rivera has his background as a coordinator of 3-4 defenses.

However, any potential move to a 3-4 would not be a good fit for their personnel. The Panthers have three talented and high paid linebackers in Luke Kuechly, James Anderson, and Jon Beason, and one experienced (and highly paid) backup in Thomas Davis. However, none of those players could play 3-4 outside linebacker because they aren’t good pass rushers. They would all have to play 3-4 middle linebacker, which would create a huge logjam and leave one talented and highly paid linebacker without a starting job and leave Davis without a role at all.

On top of that, their top pass rusher, Charles Johnson, also a very highly paid player, would not fit a 3-4 well at all at 6-2 275. They don’t really have another proven pass rusher so switching to a scheme that their only good pass rusher wouldn’t fit wouldn’t make any sense. Greg Hardy, the opposite defensive end, would fit better as a five technique than a rush linebacker at 6-4 300, while defensive tackles Ron Edwards and Sione Fua would be fits as nose tackles, leaving Terrell McClain to be the other five technique.

However, this would leave the Panthers without another player to play opposite Charles Johnson at outside linebacker. Either nickel rusher Antawn Applewhite, inexperienced players Eric Norwood and Thomas Keiser, or 4^th round rookie Frank Alexander would have to be the other rush linebacker. Alexander is the most talented pass rusher of that group, but he, like Johnson, is not a good fit for a 3-4 at 6-4 271.

Given all this, it makes sense that beat reporter Steve Reed of the Associated Press refuted the report on Twitter later today. It appears that Lombardi did not know what he was talking about and was just posting speculation, based on Rivera’s history, as fact. While Rivera may feel more comfortable with a 3-4 team, he’s also an intelligent coach who knows that his personnel wouldn’t fit a 3-4 so he adapts and makes due with a 4-3. It’s possible that he could try to transition the team to a 3-4 over time, but unlikely given that his best defensive player, Charles Johnson, who signed a massive 6 year, 76 million dollar deal last offseason, would not fit the scheme.

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