Darnell Dockett ‘hated’ Cardinals 3-4 defense under Ray Horton

While Dockett says it’s nothing personal, he “hated” the scheme run by ex-defensive coordinator Ray Horton, according to the Cardinals official website.

“Personally, I had nothing against Ray,” Dockett said. “But I hated that scheme. I really hated it. I played it because I needed to.

“But this defense is based on guys and what their ability allows them to be good at. What they were drafted for.”

Dockett is very pleased with Bowles’ design because it allows the defensive front to be much more aggressive, getting after the quarterback.

Under Horton’s 3-4, Dockett and his linemates were told to eat up offensive lineman at the point of attack to keep the linebackers running free.

New defensive line coach Brentson Buckner feels it’s important to let the lineman get after the passer, per the article:

“We want to take advantage of their God-given ability,” Buckner said. “We don’t want to handicap them by the things we do. We want to line them up, make sure they have good technique, and let the dogs hunt.”

In the past two seasons under Horton, Dockett has seen a massive drop in his sack numbers because of the scheme. In that time, Dockett had five sacks while in the previous two years under a more aggressive game-plan, Dockett registered 14.5.

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