Least important position on defense?

[Kiwibrown]

What is the least important position on defense?

Excluding dime defensive backs, 4th linebacker on 4-3 teams or 3rd DT for goaline sets. 

In recent years he nickel back has become a starter, increasing its value. 
Has soemthign lost value subsequently? 

Are safetys not that important as a position compared to the rest of the defense? 

[JAF-N72EX]

SLB in 4-3 and and a 4th LB in the 3-4 because of the reason you stated. The Nickel defense has taken over to combat the pass-happy league. 

[marshpit23]

1 minute ago, JustAnotherFan said:

SLB in 4-3 and and a 4th LB in the 3-4 because of the reason you stated. The Nickel defense has taken over to combat the pass-happy league. 

Enuff said. I agree! 

[43M]

Its hard to discredit any position, but if you were to ask the question "What position on defense would I want my worst player?", it largely depends on the defense you run and how your team is built otherwise.

For instance, if you run a 3-4 defense, I think you could be okay if one of your DE's isnt that good IF your other DLineman and linebackers are strong.

Same with safeties....I think if you have an elite FS, if could really help out a middling SS.

Same can be said for one of the ILBs in the 34..   Steelers kind of did it for years.....Farrior was borderline elite and Larry Foote was average at best.

Regardless, any position you have a weakness at, good teams will usually find a way to exploit it, so its hard to choose one that is the least important.    

You can look at this question from so many different angles, which is what makes it so difficult to answer.   In general, I dont think you can label any position as the "least important" .   Its a case by case basis IMO.   

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

3-4 - Nose Tackle. People like to say your JLB, or 4th LB, but that position plays most snaps. Your NT for the most part comes out in nickel packages. If you do have a good one, you can play them in nickel packages, so for me it's either the NT or a DE/DT.

4-3 - SLB. Again, this is the guy who primarily plays on run downs and comes out in nickel packages. Not that important comparatively.

[JAF-N72EX]

1 minute ago, Darth Pees said:

3-4 - Nose Tackle.

Respectfully disagree, wholeheartedly.. The nose tackle ain't ever going away brotha. The 0 and 1 gap's are the first line of attack. It's the most often used on runs and the first thing that breaks down a pocket on passes. 

[Xmad]

You can have weaknesses on the d-line and get away with it same with at one of the safety spots. You really only need 3 really good to elite defenders (preferabley one at each level of the defense) and some solid starters and you should have a solid defense.

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

43 minutes ago, JustAnotherFan said:

Respectfully disagree, wholeheartedly.. The nose tackle ain't ever going away brotha. The 0 and 1 gap's are the first line of attack. It's the most often used on runs and the first thing that breaks down a pocket on passes. 

I mean I definitely understand the position itself isn't going away, but relatively speaking it's not hard to find a guy who can eat up blockers at the point of attack. In terms of importance, I fail to see why it's more important than the other 10 starting positions.

[Iamcanadian]

1 hour ago, JustAnotherFan said:

SLB in 4-3 and and a 4th LB in the 3-4 because of the reason you stated. The Nickel defense has taken over to combat the pass-happy league. 

I also agree, the SLB main responsibility is against the run and covering TE's and teams basically only run the ball a third of the time, so their role has diminished in a passing era.

[JAF-N72EX]

5 minutes ago, Darth Pees said:

I mean I definitely understand the position itself isn't going away, but relatively speaking it's not hard to find a guy who can eat up blockers at the point of attack. In terms of importance, I fail to see why it's more important than the other 10 starting positions.

I didn't mean that you were saying the position was going away. It was poor choice of wording on my part. What I meant was that teams are always going to be finding that NT because of it's importance on defense on how the position affects the defense as a whole.

[Carmen Cygni]

There's no such thing. Even w/ the rise of subpackages as base D's, it's solely dependent on what type of personnel you have and what kind of scheme you implement from there.

 

6 hours ago, Darth Pees said:

I mean I definitely understand the position itself isn't going away, but relatively speaking it's not hard to find a guy who can eat up blockers at the point of attack. In terms of importance, I fail to see why it's more important than the other 10 starting positions.

It's dependent on what kind of 3-4 you run. Finding a "behemoth", as Parcells would put it, is not an easy task whatsoever. You need an exceptionally strong and technically sound down lineman to function as a 2 gap Zero in a traditional 3-4. They are the anchor for the entire defense in that scheme.

Now you can get away w/ not having a stud NT in a one gap 3-4, but they're are still of importance.

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

The Ravens find 3-4 NT's at the bottom of Lucky Charm boxes basically, with Kelly Gregg, Terrence Cody, Haloti Ngata, Brandon Williams, and Michael Pierce. Generally speaking, guys who fill that role aren't hard to find.

EDIT: When it comes down to it, it's much harder to find an ILB who can play in the 3-4 and do everything than it is a 3-4 NT.

[43M]

17 minutes ago, Darth Pees said:

The Ravens find 3-4 NT's at the bottom of Lucky Charm boxes basically, with Kelly Gregg, Terrence Cody, Haloti Ngata, Brandon Williams, and Michael Pierce. Generally speaking, guys who fill that role aren't hard to find.

EDIT: When it comes down to it, it's much harder to find an ILB who can play in the 3-4 and do everything than it is a 3-4 NT.

This isnt really true.

Some teams are just better at finding talent at certain positions.    

Ravens have found nice talents at 34 NT....but the Steelers have struggled since Casey Hampton retired.

Just like the Steelers have found nice talents at WR, while the Ravens have consistently struggled there.     

To a Steelers fan, finding a WR seems easier than finding a good NT.

To a Ravensfan, finding a quality DT seems easier than finding a good WR.

The reality, is, though, that alot of it comes down to scouting and development.     Some team struggle with certain positions, while others thrive.

And I dont agree that its easier to find a 34 NT than a 34 ILB.    I think both are difficult to find, but colleges these days are leaning more towards smaller, athletic DTs....so traditional 34 NTs are harder to come across than they used to be.  

[Danger]

SLB or SS depending on the team your up against.

[BleedTheClock]

They're all important because you can't hide anyone on defense.

If I had to pick, I'd say your free safety. It's awesome to have a superstar there that can cover ground and make splash plays, but a lot of defenses are designed to defend the offense with 10, leaving the FS as the cleanup guy.

But this is an impossible question, as unlike offense, you can't have a hole on defense.