Much has been made about defensive guru Wade Phillips and his plans for the Los Angeles Rams defense.

After two successful seasons with the Denver Broncos that included a Super Bowl win, Rams fans have high hopes for Phillips’ ability to maximize the talent and potential on their squad.

The defensive coordinator plans to implement a hybrid 3-4 defense, which has people wondering where that will leave Pro Bowl and All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

As an interior defensive tackle, Donald has thrived in a 4-3 base, and Phillips is far too good of a coach to put talent like that to waste.

According to Pro Football Focus, there isn’t as much of a distinction between modern 3-4 and 4-3 schemes as there once was.

“When the 3-4 was first in vogue back in the 1990s, it was a two-gap system…4-3 defenses were typically one-gap schemes with smaller bodies up front that attacked gaps and won with penetration, while the 3-4 was a system where the linebackers, not the defensive linemen, were the stars, and the big bodies up front controlled multiple gaps without overcommitting to either one. Today’s 3-4 defenses are very different animals, and predominantly one-gap systems, just like the 4-3. The NFL is generally a one-gap league these days, and there is very little two-gapping deployed as the league has trended towards smaller, quicker players across the board…” (via ProFootballFocus.com)

Related PFF rankings have only Tom Brady better than Aaron Donald this season

While the two base schemes are far more similar than they once were, there’s another reason why the change isn’t so significant. The NFL now lives in nickel defense rather than in base, because it has become a pass-first league.

“Last season, base 4-3 and 3-4 defenses combined (with just four defensive backs on the field) accounted for only 27 percent of defensive snaps, while nickel defense (five defensive backs) was at 55 percent, and dime (six defensive backs) another 10. What used to be your every-down defense is now being used on average only a quarter of the time. Even if two teams have dramatically different base defensive alignments, they are in sub packages far more often, and those sub packages are much more uniform in structure.” (via ProFootballFocus.com)

Because the base scheme is less frequently used than in eras past and both bases are predominantly one-gap systems anyway, the switch naturally has less of an impact.

“…if you can look beyond how many players have their hand in the ground, operating from a three-point stance, you’ll see that the alignment of those players has changed little despite the shift from 4-3 to 3-4. That once was a seismic shift that required a complete retooling of your defensive personnel to make it work, but in today’s NFL, it’s just a different way to shuffle the same cards.” (via ProFootballFocus.com)

There was already little doubt Phillips would do the right thing when it came to using the best player on his defense and one of the best players in the NFL. This analysis from PFF explained why the change will be fairly seamless for Donald.