Well the main thing is they totally improved against the run last year, which was essential.
I don't know many 3-4 defenses where the DL guys get a lot of sacks, so I can't really blame these guys for the lack of pass rush.
I blame the interior LBers for not being strong enough to blow up a one-on-one block, and for not timing their A-gap or double-A-gap blitzes. I blame Capers a bit for not generating more pass rush a la Greggy Williams for the Saints. And I blame Ted Thompson for not trading Aaron Kampman for a 2nd round draft pick and then taking a guy who's built to play a 3-4 OLB.
But I have wondered how good we'd have been with this DL, from left to right, last year had we stayed in a 4-3.
DE- Kampman DT- Raji DT- Pickett DE- Jenkins
You're right that 3-4 DL don't get many sacks. But they disrupt the pocket and get pressure on QBs, which only Jenkins was able to do, and when he was fresh.
And about the ILB, I don't know... Barnett had 4 sacks, as much as Patrick Willis and more than Ray Lewis, despite not playing a lot of snaps early on. Chillar had 2, and he lost time also... I thought the ILB cross blitz was actually one of our best plays... Barnett himself had a blast doing it against DAL and SEA...
And one more thing. If we stay 4-3, we don't draft CM3.
And call me crazy, I love Aaron Kampman (see here:
http://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/kampman-not-as-good-as-advertised/comment-page-1#comment-8542. See the whole debate if you will). But CM3 is quite frankly the best pass rusher I've seen since Reggie White in GB. He's a beast, he could very well be the best in the league in a few years. And I would absolutely trade Kampman for CM3.
Plus, like some other said, our personel actually fits better in the 3-4 than in the 4-3:
Jolly=3-4
Pickett=3-4
Jenkins=4-3
CM3=3-4
Barnett=good in both, but he had quite a year last year...
Hawk=3-4 (compare Hawk in 08 to Hawk in 09 and you'll know what I'm talking about)
Jones=3-4
Chillar=3-4
I'll even throw in Kampman=4-3
Fact is, we had 2 DEs to work the 4-3, but absolutely no depth whatsoever after them, and we didn't have any DT for the 4-3. Our guys weren't very good in generating pressure, which was still a problem in the 3-4, but in the 3-4 they could hold the point of attack, and become a stout run D...
BTW, I didn't thought it would work at first, and I'm actually more of a 4-3 guy, I think it's much harder to pull nowadays, with every college using smaller linemen, but nothing is better for a D when the 4-3 DL can generate pressure everytime.
But I believe we're better off with the 3-4... Now with film of themselves playing Capers' version of the 3-4, I believe they'll be better. Capers' playbook is thick enough to still have some new plays that aren't out there, so the element of surprise isn't totally out. And I believe that practice and familiarity are way better than a supposed surprise...