Buffalo Bills fans should be apprehensive about a move to a 3-4 defense. It's a hard

transition to go from a Tony Dungy-style 4-3 defense to a 3-4 scheme.

The biggest difficulty is it's hard to find an elite nose tackle to clog the middle. The

3-4 also ideally puts big men — 285 pounds and up — at defensive end. If they're

295 pounds, even better. The inside linebackers should be in the 240-pound range. The outside

linebackers should be athletic guys in the 255- to 265-pound range.

One could argue that it's a bit easier to find outside linebackers at 255 pounds who can

rush the passer than to find elite defensive ends at 270 who can rush the passer.

Nevertheless, in the 4-3 defense, there's more wiggle room in terms of the prototypes on

the defensive line and at linebacker.

This year 13 teams played the 3-4 as their base defense. Washington is considering shifting

to it with Jim Haslett as the new defensive chief. He has coached both the 3-4 and 4-3 in his

career.

Three teams in recent years have cycled through a head coach in the process of switching

from the 4-3 to the 3-4. They were the Jets (Eric Mangini), the 49ers (Mike Nolan) and the

Browns (Romeo Crennel).

Kansas City struggled mightily in its transition this year. The Chiefs had Bills castoff

Ron Edwards playing nose tackle and finished 30th in the NFL in yards allowed. Former No. 5

overall pick Glenn Dorsey is out of position in the 3-4 for the Chiefs. He's better suited to

4-3 tackle than 3-4 end.

On the plus side, the 3-4 is a bigger front, and the Bills need to get more physical in the

AFC East, which is a smash-mouth division. Each of the top five-ranked defenses in the NFL

this year in points allowed played the 3-4 scheme.

And the 3-4 gives pass protection schemes fits due to the uncertainty of which linebackers

are rushing the passer.

Another potential plus: With a looming lockout in 2011, the Bills could have three drafts

before playing a second season with a 3-4 front.

All things considered, I'd rather see the Bills stick with a bulked-up 4-3, using a Jeff

Fisher-Gregg Williams scheme.

Gailey deal

There's still no word on the value or length of Chan Gailey's contract with the Bills. The

guess is it's worth $3 million a year, the same as Dick Jauron's deal, and it's probably for

at least four years, due to the prospect of no NFL in 2011.

No Martyball

ESPN reported this week that Marty Schottenheimer indeed was interested in coaching for the

Bills, and that Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. was not keen on him.

Sources we contacted backed up the contention that Schottenheimer, 66, would have liked to

return to the sidelines in Buffalo. Bills GM Buddy Nix is friends with Schottenheimer. So why

no Marty? One possibility that seems logical is the Chargers' ownership gave a less than

flattering endorsement of him to Wilson. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did give a strong

endorsement of Chan Gailey to the Bills, according to sources in Dallas. Schottenheimer is a

defensive guy. The Bills wanted offense. He also would have been a more expensive option,

although how much more is hard to say.

The elder Schottenheimer's role adds another element to the refusal of Brian Schottenheimer

to interview in Buffalo. If dad wanted the job, the son was much more likely to beg off.

Declare for draft

A total of 53 players declared for early entry to the NFL Draft in April. That equaled the

previous high number set in 2008, but it was fewer than many expected. Given the looming

potential lockout of players in 2011, there was plenty of speculation a huge wave of juniors

would opt to cut their college careers short. Last year 46 players entered the draft early.

"I tell a lot of them that it's short-term gain for long-term loss if you come out early,"

said NFL draft consultant Gil Brandt. "I look at so many of these guys who stay and then wind

up like Brian Cushing and Michael Oher, and look at the great rookie years they had."

Cushing was defensive rookie of the year for Houston. Oher started at right tackle all year

for the Ravens.

There were 15 underclassmen taken in the first round of last year's draft, and there may be

even more in the first round this year.

The top junior prospects include quarterbacks Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame) and Sam Bradford

(Oklahoma), defensive linemen Gerald McCoy (Oklahoma) and Derrick Morgan (Georgia Tech),

linebacker Rolando McClain (Alabama), offensive linemen Anthony Davis (Rutgers) and Bryan

Bulaga (Iowa), and defensive backs Joe Haden (Florida) and Eric Berry (Tennessee).

Onside kicks

With the Jets playing the Colts today, we have to pay tribute to Jim Peters, former

Bills beat writer for the Courier-Express, from 1963 to '71. Peters, who died Friday, was a

great journalist and a consummate professional, as many, many former Bills will attest. He did

great work on the Sabres beat and covering high schools for both the Courier and The Buffalo

News. He also was one of six writers who picked the Jets to upset the Colts in Super Bowl III.

Wells Twombly of the Detroit Free Press, Stan Isaacs of Newsday, Furman Bisher of the Atlanta

Constitution, Murray Janoff of the Long Island Press and Bob Halloran of WTVJ-TV in Miami were

the others, according to the book "The Making of the Super Bowl" by Don Weiss and Chuck Day.

Loyalty is one of Marv Levy's strong traits. Here was Levy this week speaking about

the Bills on Sirus XM Radio: "Personally, I was a little bit surprised and unhappy that they

let Dick Jauron go. You can't just keep shaking it up, shaking it up, shaking it up. He's a

good coach. He taught well. He related well with the players. Yes, he'd gone through several

7-9 seasons but I think if they would have stuck with him that was their best chance to really

get the ball rolling."

Conventional wisdom suggests Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin could be had in a trade

for a less exorbitant price this offseason. The emergence of receivers Steve Breaston and

Early Doucet gives the Cardinals good complements to Larry Fitzgerald. Boldin turns 30 in

October. Expect a bunch of teams to be interested. I would be shocked if the Bills got into

the bidding with draft choices. I don't see them giving up draft choices for anything.

However, if they decided there were some veteran players who didn't fit Chan Gailey's plans,

they could bid with that in mind.

It looks like former Titans General Manager Floyd Reese will stick with the Patriots

another year as a special adviser. Reese had interviewed with the Seattle Seahawks but was

passed over in favor of John Schneider, former Packers head of football operations.

Wade Phillips took a line from his father, Bum, during his news conference to

announce his contract extension through 2011. After owner Jerry Jones said the Cowboys would

be "knocking on the door" of the Super Bowl next year, Phillips said, "We're going to kick

that SOB in, too," something Bum Phillips said regarding the Houston Oilers' quest to reach

the Super Bowl in the 1970s. Given the lockout, Jones has left himself the chance to upgrade

at minimal extra cost if Dallas doesn't advance deeper into the playoffs next year. There will

be even more pressure on Phillips, if that's possible, since the Super Bowl is in Dallas a

year from now.

Kudos to Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who lost a bet to Indiana's governor due to the

Ravens' loss to the Colts last week. O'Malley paid up by sending some crab cakes to

Indianapolis and by flying a Colts flag on his state vehicle this week, as part of the deal.

However, it was a Baltimore Colts flag, not a current Colts flag.