stillers4me
09-09-2012, 08:25 AM
Lawrence Timmons, a usually reluctant voice of the Steelers’ defense, figured he’d draw the critics’ wrath last season if he failed to measure up to lofty expectations of the team’s $50 million investment in him.
For the most part, Timmons was steady. He was reliable and durable.
Yet if numbers matter, he was hardly spectacular on a defense that amassed the best statistics in the NFL for the third time under coach Mike Tomlin. Timmons’ 93 tackles were considerably less than his team-high 135 in 2010 — a reflection of the defense’s strategic shift with outside linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley rendered largely ineffective by injuries, particularly during the second half of the 2011 season.
Safeties Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu were challenged to plug the dam. They racked up a combined 191 tackles, an alarming number for a defense that measures its heart rate on the pulse of its linebackers.
The numbers, though, are hardly reflective of Timmons’ most challenging season. The former No. 1 draft pick was asked to abandon his comfort zone as he flipped from inside to outside linebacker........
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2484037-85/timmons-season-linebacker-defense-inside-outside-steelers-guys-tackles-2011#ixzz25yjdXHGM
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For the most part, Timmons was steady. He was reliable and durable.
Yet if numbers matter, he was hardly spectacular on a defense that amassed the best statistics in the NFL for the third time under coach Mike Tomlin. Timmons’ 93 tackles were considerably less than his team-high 135 in 2010 — a reflection of the defense’s strategic shift with outside linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley rendered largely ineffective by injuries, particularly during the second half of the 2011 season.
Safeties Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu were challenged to plug the dam. They racked up a combined 191 tackles, an alarming number for a defense that measures its heart rate on the pulse of its linebackers.
The numbers, though, are hardly reflective of Timmons’ most challenging season. The former No. 1 draft pick was asked to abandon his comfort zone as he flipped from inside to outside linebacker........
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2484037-85/timmons-season-linebacker-defense-inside-outside-steelers-guys-tackles-2011#ixzz25yjdXHGM
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter (http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=d-D-nM8emr4ALpacwqm_6l&u=triblive) | triblive on Facebook (http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=d-D-nM8emr4ALpacwqm_6l&u=triblive)