Timmons at OLB?

[Prouncey53]

With our new-found need at OLB since the departure of Harrison and apparent falling-off of LaMarr Woodley,would there be any chance we move Lawrence Timmons to the position we originally intended for him to play upon drafting him?

Now while I understand the chances of this are minuscule at best due to his awesome production at ILB, it does merit some thought. With the majority of the 3-4 pass-rushing OLB prospects being projected in the top 15 and generally just towards the top of the draft, and the ILB class being somewhat deeper with viable prospects in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, would it not make sense to move Timmons to OLB along with Woodley and draft an ILB to play along side Larry Foote? As I said before, Timmons has been awesome at ILB, however his pass-rushing abilities have often shown sparks of greatness as well.

One could only wonder the possibilities of having Timmons on the edge rushing the passer, as originally intended. While it will probably not happen, its interesting to speculate..

[Dwinsgames]

NO !

[salamander]

Didn't Timmons fill in at OLB at one point and suck at it?

[Pristas]

NO !

This.

[Prouncey53]

Didn't Timmons fill in at OLB at one point and suck at it?

Yes he was mediocre at best, but it was also on a week's notice with only a week's worth of practice.. not an entire offseason. I'm not supporting the idea, just thought it would be interesting

[zulater]

You don't gamble away a strength on an unknown like that.

[Steeldude]

With our new-found need at OLB since the departure of Harrison and apparent falling-off of LaMarr Woodley,would there be any chance we move Lawrence Timmons to the position we originally intended for him to play upon drafting him?

Now while I understand the chances of this are minuscule at best due to his awesome production at ILB, it does merit some thought. With the majority of the 3-4 pass-rushing OLB prospects being projected in the top 15 and generally just towards the top of the draft, and the ILB class being somewhat deeper with viable prospects in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, would it not make sense to move Timmons to OLB along with Woodley and draft an ILB to play along side Larry Foote? As I said before, Timmons has been awesome at ILB, however his pass-rushing abilities have often shown sparks of greatness as well.

One could only wonder the possibilities of having Timmons on the edge rushing the passer, as originally intended. While it will probably not happen, its interesting to speculate..

You want a rookie to start at ILB vs a rookie at OLB or at least Worilds at OLB? I am not an expert, but I believe I remember reading that ILB was more difficult to learn vs. OLB. Also, Timmons was horrible at OLB. What you would be doing is downgrading two positions(OLB and ILB). The safest route is to let Worilds play it out and draft an OLB. If for some reason the Steelers grab Jarvis Jones then I say let him push for the starting job.

[DarthSpartans20]

Timmons is the most consistent player on your defense. That would be like moving Heath Miller to fullback.

[Prouncey53]

You want a rookie to start at ILB vs a rookie at OLB or at least Worilds at OLB? I am not an expert, but I believe I remember reading that ILB was more difficult to learn vs. OLB. Also, Timmons was horrible at OLB. What you would be doing is downgrading two positions(OLB and ILB). The safest route is to let Worilds play it out and draft an OLB. If for some reason the Steelers grab Jarvis Jones then I say let him push for the starting job.

Good points, and obviously if Jarvis Jones were available there would be no need for any of these speculations. But it could definitely also be argued that the OLBs in the 3-4 are much more important to the success of the defense than the ILBs, and possibly every other position. While I'm not saying it would be a smart move, it could make sense if Worilds didn't work out well at OLB. Hopefully he does, and we draft a solid OLB in the early rounds though

[Seven]

There is some validity to your question but overall it just doesn't make sense. From what we've seen Timmons is a much better player on the inside than he is on the outside and creating one hole by filling another isn't really making progress. Best bet is to let Worilds have his shot and if a pass rushing gem falls in our laps during the draft take him.

[Dwinsgames]

There is some validity to your question but overall it just doesn't make sense. From what we've seen Timmons is a much better player on the inside than he is on the outside and creating one hole by filling another isn't really making progress. Best bet is to let Worilds have his shot and if a pass rushing gem falls in our laps during the draft take him.


Worilds in a perfect world would have to win that job in training camp , I am not convinced at this point that he is a better player than Adrian Robinson ( in terms to playing the right side anyways ) training camp should sort this out provided they allow it to be a competition based on skill level and not draft status and salary

[blackngldblood]

I just hope that Worilds is reading all of this stuff basically saying he is an incompetent bum. If I'm not mistaken, prior to last season, alot of folks were saying some pretty terrible stuff about Timmons and he came out and shut em all up this year.

Keep on giving Worilds something to think about this offseason......

[Seven]

Worilds in a perfect world would have to win that job in training camp , I am not convinced at this point that he is a better player than Adrian Robinson ( in terms to playing the right side anyways ) training camp should sort this out provided they allow it to be a competition based on skill level and not draft status and salary

I haven't seen anything from Robinson. He's smaller than Worilds, from what I can gather is an inferior pass rusher and has less experience. I'm not saying he couldn't surprise come training camp, but I don't see what you have to go off of as far as saying Robinson might be superior unless it's just largely a stab in the dark based on what you've seen from Worilds.

[BlastFurnace]

NO!!!

[Dwinsgames]

I haven't seen anything from Robinson. He's smaller than Worilds, from what I can gather is an inferior pass rusher and has less experience. I'm not saying he couldn't surprise come training camp, but I don't see what you have to go off of as far as saying Robinson might be superior unless it's just largely a stab in the dark based on what you've seen from Worilds.


Robinson was a beast in pre season last year , Tomlin even said in one of his pressers when asked about him , but also eluded to the fact his game had other holes in it and called him at this point in time a 1 trick pony ( great pass rusher being that trick ) some tape on him listed in the forum or hit up youtube and get some looks at him .... he can rush the passer as well if not better than anyone else we have on the roster ...the question is has he cleaned up the rest of his game enough to make it a true battle

as for size .... he is almost a clone of Harrison in that department

[Steeldude]

Robinson was a beast in pre season last year , Tomlin even said in one of his pressers when asked about him , but also eluded to the fact his game had other holes in it and called him at this point in time a 1 trick pony ( great pass rusher being that trick ) some tape on him listed in the forum or hit up youtube and get some looks at him .... he can rush the passer as well if not better than anyone else we have on the roster ...the question is has he cleaned up the rest of his game enough to make it a true battle

as for size .... he is almost a clone of Harrison in that department

But that was from Woodley's spot(LOLB), not Harrison's(ROLB).

[Dwinsgames]

But that was from Woodley's spot(LOLB), not Harrison's(ROLB).


feel free to correct me if I am wrong , but I believe he played both spots ( I could be wrong , old age is setting in a bit these days )

[zulater]

But that was from Woodley's spot(LOLB), not Harrison's(ROLB).

I don't think Harrison even played a snap in the preseason, so I think a lot of those snaps were at ROLB.

[Steeldude]

I don't think Harrison even played a snap in the preseason, so I think a lot of those snaps were at ROLB.

I will see if I can find the article later. I thought for sure it said he was filling in for Woodley after they would sit him when the first series ended. Carter and Worilds were playing the ROLB spot. Either way I hope he can fill the role and be another diamond in the rough.

[Mojouw]

As long as were are talking about playing guys out of position, what about Chris Carter at the inside? Seems overwhelmed taking on tackles one on one at the OLB spot. His speed along with Timmons' could be interesting on that twisting stunt blitz Lebeau seems to be infatuated with.

[Chidi29]

If you do that, then you just create a hole at ILB. At outside, at least you have a guy with some experience and some hope for in Worilds. Who knows where Spence is at and where he'll be come August. I don't want to count on a guy that has never played a down and shredded his knee. He may never make an impact for us in any capacity, let alone being a starter.

[steelreserve]

I'm glad he has the versatility to do that, but I hope they would only play him there in a pinch, not as a long-term plan.

He wasn't bad as an OLB, but he's way more valuable where he is. And besides, even assuming he could be equally good at both, you'd only be trading one problem for another.

Only way I'd see this happening is if we take an ILB #1 or #2 in the draft and he just kills it and displaces Foote ... and then also one of our OLBs gets injured. That would essentially make Foote our best backup and Timmons our next-best option at OLB. Lot of things would have to happen for that to make sense.

[86WARD]

Nope. No thanks.

[Stone Cold Steeler]

Timmons thrived last year when they finally left him alone and let him focus on playing MLB instead of switching him back and forth like they did at times in previous years.

I don't think he's a good OLB anyway. He's very fast but he doesn't have many pass rush moves. He doesn't have the power to bull rush, he has no spin move or anything like that. He basically just tries to beat tackles with speed and the tackles just seem to run him up the field and have the QB step up in the pocket. He's much better inside when he can shoot through the gaps on blitzes.

[XxKnightxX]

NO !

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/007/423/untitle.JPG

[BigNastyDefense]

While it's something the coaches might consider, I don't think it happens.

Timmons is currently our best linebacker, and he's been an ILB for almost his entire career. Once Harrison established himself at OLB, the Steelers moved him to ILB because they needed to find a spot for him. He has very limited experience at OLB, and he wasn't very good at it (given it was as a fill in with little practice at the position). Leave him where he knows what he's doing.

Maybe one of the OLB prospects fall to the Steelers. Maybe Worilds shows why he hasn't been cut yet. Maybe they find a guy in a later round that shines and they can use at least in pass rush situations. I just don't think moving Timmons is going to fix anything.