Mike Nolan's career as a defensive mind in the NFL has largely been defined by his preferred scheme - the 3-4 alignment - but the new Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator stated the team will remain in its 4-3 scheme during a teleconference to announce Nolan on Wednesday.
Here's a few highlights from the official Atlanta Falcons Twitter account (Full audio will be available Wednesday afternoon at the Falcons official site):
Nolan and Smitty watched some film the other day and Smitty asked Nolan what he saw. Nolan sees a team that's built for 4-3.
— Atlanta_Falcons (@Atlanta_Falcons) January 18, 2012
Nolan: We're not trying to move this defense toward a 3-4. We're trying to make the current 11 guys better the best we can.
— Atlanta_Falcons (@Atlanta_Falcons) January 18, 2012
Nolan: I'd rather have 10 guys get four sacks than have four get 10 each.
— Atlanta_Falcons (@Atlanta_Falcons) January 18, 2012
Nolan stressed throughout the call that he wanted to work with a system that was the best fit for the players on the roster, which he stressed was a 4-3. Could that mean the Falcons plan on re-signing one or both of their free agent defensive ends, John Abraham and Kroy Biermann?
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