Steelers poised to name Keith Butler new defensive coordinator

[Lady Steel]

The Steelers are close to naming linebackers coach Keith Butler to replace Dick LeBeau as defensive coordinator, a move that could be announced Tuesday.

Butler met Monday with Coach Mike Tomlin at the team’s South Side facility and is in the process of finalizing a three-year contract that would move him into the role handled by LeBeau for the past 11 seasons.



http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2015/01/12/Steelers-poised-to-name-Keith-Butler-new-defensive-coordinator/stories/201501120194

[Steelman]

Good luck, Keith.

[Lady Steel]

Good luck, Keith.

He's gonna need it. Steelers Nation doesn't put up with any shit. :chuckle:

[tube517]

He's gonna need it. Steelers Nation doesn't put up with any shit. :chuckle:

Fire Butler! Get it started now. :chuckle:

[Dwinsgames]

sorry If I lack enthusiasm , but I still HATE Lebeau not being here ...

where ever he goes instantly becomes my second favorite team

[Shoes]

I hope Butler works out. It will be interesting to see how this turns out…..* Tomlin is expected to have more input with the defense next season and it’s possible he wanted to have a fresh approach with a new coordinator.*

[Dwinsgames]

LeBeau, 77, was told Saturday he would not be given a new contract and he and the Steelers agreed to say he was resigning

you can call it anything you like I suppose , but at the end of the day when your contract is up and the team is not offering you a new one ... You have been fired ...

[Lady Steel]

sorry If I lack enthusiasm , but I still HATE Lebeau not being here ...

where ever he goes instantly becomes my second favorite team

Mine, too. I'm still not done mourning and am still sad. I adored Coach LeBeau. I knew there was the possibility he would no longer be with us, but it still seems so surreal.

[Dwinsgames]

well lets pray it isnt Dallas

[st33lersguy]

I like what Butler did with the linebackers so I don't have a real problem with it. As long as he doesn't run the prevent. Let's see what he can do

[Devilsdancefloor]

As much as a morn the loss of coach dad it was time this Defense was shitting the bed on a regular basis. You can argue personnel, but you can not tell me he has no say in D Players that are drafted.

[MrPgh]

As much as a morn the loss of coach dad it was time this Defense was shitting the bed on a regular basis. You can argue personnel, but you can not tell me he has no say in D Players that are drafted.

Yeah, I have a hard time imagining LeBeau saying to Colbert and Tomlin "Hey guys, this defense really needs some CBs" with Colbert and Tomlin replying "Fuck you old fart! You'll get more linebackers and like it!"

One thing that must change is that the defense needs to become simpler. This whole thing where it takes players 2-3 years to learn the defense just doesn't fly anymore. If Butler (assuming he gets the job) doesn't change that, then there was no point in letting LeBeau go.

[fansince'76]

One thing that must change is that the defense needs to become simpler. This whole thing where it takes players 2-3 years to learn the defense just doesn't fly anymore. If Butler (assuming he gets the job) doesn't change that, then there was no point in letting LeBeau go.

That's always been my main criticism of his defense as well. It shouldn't take a doctorate to "get it."

[Psycho Ward 86]

Yeah, I have a hard time imagining LeBeau saying to Colbert and Tomlin "Hey guys, this defense really needs some CBs" with Colbert and Tomlin replying "Fuck you old fart! You'll get more linebackers and like it!"

One thing that must change is that the defense needs to become simpler. This whole thing where it takes players 2-3 years to learn the defense just doesn't fly anymore. If Butler (assuming he gets the job) doesn't change that, then there was no point in letting LeBeau go.

this is ultimately the biggest thing im hoping for, especially with so many young defensive players, and so that we can replenish this secondary quickly for next season.

[Steeldude]

Butler has his work cut out for him. There isn't much talent on defense. The good talent has grown old.

[stillers4me]

Mine, too. I'm still not done mourning and am still sad. I adored Coach LeBeau. I knew there was the possibility he would no longer be with us, but it still seems so surreal.

I'm with you, Kate. He has always been and always will be my favorite Steelers coach. And that's setting the bar pretty high.

A new era begins. Here We go, ready or not! I fear the D is going to struggle still this next year as we search for our new identity. I hope not having coach Dad there does not lower the moral in the locker room and they can get behind Butler as their new coach. I have no idea how he is regarded by the players.

[Steelerette]

Butler's contract was up for renewal. I wonder if there had been any kind of "It's time, or I walk" type ultimatum from him that had any effect on the situation. I already had a dislike for Tomlin and the way he has the team prepared for games, I can forgive him while we're winning but if it turns out he scapegoated LeBeau to save his own ass (Tomlin's a "defensive guy" too...) then I'll really hate him.

Now for the replacement. Loved LeBeau even if I did get frustrated sometimes. So if we really have to change, here's what I want:

-No more big cushions
-No more prevent, especially in the first half
-Doesn't take three years to know how to play.
-3rd and long conversions stop being a foregone conclusion

Remember when one of the biggest complaints about Cowher was that the team was a clubhouse, with vets playing years longer than they should at the expense of young guys? These days we don't even have the "younger guys" that vets are playing at the expense of. And you have to blame Colbert and Tomlin for that more than you could reasonably blame the defensive coaches (especially since, wait, isn't Tomlin a "defensive guy"?) but let's hope Butler is vocal about getting what he wants.

[vader29]

555031733200879616

[Psycho Ward 86]

555031733200879616

Congratulations Keith. Hopefully you will continue the tradition.

[X-Terminator]

The more I think about this, the more I'm thinking this was the plan all along. The team had promised him that he would eventually succeed LeBeau, and reiterated that promise to keep him from leaving Pittsburgh for a DC job elsewhere. So they are making good on that promise to him. I don't think it would have looked good on the team nor been fair to Butler to promise him the job and then keep LeBeau indefinitely. Butler would have then had every right to be upset with the team for breaking their promise, and in turn costing him both money and an opportunity to advance his career sooner.

[Dwinsgames]

http://555043627270168577


well................ we all know now he is human and LIES

[zulater]

What's done is done. Hope he does a good job. Who knows? Maybe some fresh blood wont be a bad thing.

[Psycho Ward 86]

http://555043627270168577


well................ we all know now he is human and LIES

Lets be honest here.

If Butler's defense starts sucking immediately, you will be first in line talking shit about him and lamenting over how much better Lebeau would have done. If Butler's defense starts kicking ass immediately, you will be first in line to say something along the lines of 'Lebeau would have done it better' or 'he did it with Lebeau's defense.' You're giving him less than a 0% chance to get his respect. And there are so many others out there like that.

How about we at least give him a chance to you know, actually piss us off with his body of work? I'm neither happy or sad about his promotion, but at the very least intrigued. The guy has been lights out as a position coach and has to have a great deal of potential for us to have worked this hard to keep him waiting in the wings.

[Shoes]

Wishing Butler all the best. I hope he can simplify the defense, it shouldn't take 3-4 years for a guy to learn this system. It will be interesting.


News/views: Butler right man, right time
http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/?p=8554

[Steelerette]

http://555043627270168577


well................ we all know now he is human and LIESWell, you're pissed and maybe rightly so - the FO certainly handled everything rather poorly. But unless we had an ultimatum situation "It's time or I walk" - I doubt Butler really had any part of the decision, so I don't know about calling him out for a big ol' lie just yet.

[Dwinsgames]

Lets be honest here.

If Butler's defense starts sucking immediately, you will be first in line talking shit about him and lamenting over how much better Lebeau would have done. If Butler's defense starts kicking ass immediately, you will be first in line to say something along the lines of 'Lebeau would have done it better' or 'he did it with Lebeau's defense.' You're giving him less than a 0% chance to get his respect. And there are so many others out there like that.

How about we at least give him a chance to you know, actually piss us off with his body of work? I'm neither happy or sad about his promotion, but at the very least intrigued. The guy has been lights out as a position coach and has to have a great deal of potential for us to have worked this hard to keep him waiting in the wings.

I am being honest .. I do not like it , ( and don't have to )

I will be the first ( or one of the first ) to call him out .. you are right

I will NOT condemn him if he does well and will line up for a nice big steaming hot serving of crow .... but I do not believe that will actually happen , Def coord has to make the play calls in quick order , ( not questioning his intelligence ) but he is a slow less than deliberate speaker , if he calls plays in that manner we are doomed ( and consequently so is he )

[polamalubeast]

If the defense is average in 2015, I hope you will not be too harsh on Butler....The defense was one of the worst in the NFL in points per drive in 2014 and the defense lack of talent right now

If the defense is average next year, it will be an improvement!

[Psycho Ward 86]

I am being honest .. I do not like it , ( and don't have to )

I will be the first ( or one of the first ) to call him out .. you are right

I will NOT condemn him if he does well and will line up for a nice big steaming hot serving of crow .... but I do not believe that will actually happen , Def coord has to make the play calls in quick order , ( not questioning his intelligence ) but he is a slow less than deliberate speaker , if he calls plays in that manner we are doomed ( and consequently so is he )

see, this is exactly the kind of thing im talking about. you're not even giving him a deliberate reason to piss you off, you're premeditating those before he's even shown up to work. you don't even know what kind of speaker he is in true game action. you only know what kind of speaker he is at press conferences.

lebeau's pseudo resignation/firing is in the past. best we can do now as fans is support who we have and hope they do the best.

i cant wait to watch the masses crucify butler after his first bad defensive game. hell hath no fury like a steeler fan scorned :lol:

[Dwinsgames]

see, this is exactly the kind of thing im talking about. you're not even giving him a deliberate reason to piss you off, you're premeditating those before he's even shown up to work. you don't even know what kind of speaker he is in true game action. you only know what kind of speaker he is at press conferences.

lebeau's pseudo resignation/firing is in the past. best we can do now as fans is support who we have and hope they do the best.

i cant wait to watch the masses crucify butler after his first bad defensive game. hell hath no fury like a steeler fan scorned :lol:


I am under no obligation to " support him" any more than 90% of this board is under that same obligation to give Dri Archer a chance when he isnt playing against a stacked deck ...

by the way I will be waiting at that line too , serving the crow

[86WARD]

What's done is done. Hope he does a good job. Who knows? Maybe some fresh blood wont be a bad thing.

Is it really "fresh blood?" I'll support the move because it's "my team" but I'm not that happy about it...feel like it's just going to be the "same old shit"...

[KeiselPower99]

I wanna see an attacking defense again. Look what Baltimore did against us with less at CB just by pressure and most of it was just the look. Dicks exotic blitzes were not working anymore and he didnt change. Sorry. I am fully behind Coach Butler and ready for 2015.

[Psycho Ward 86]

I am under no obligation to " support him" any more than 90% of this board is under that same obligation to give Dri Archer a chance when he isnt playing against a stacked deck ...

by the way I will be waiting at that line too , serving the crow

no one said anything about obligations. no one on this board is even obligated to be a fan of this team, but we are.

not sure why you are comparing a PFW linebacker coach of the year replacing one of the best defensive minds ever, to dri archer replacing chris rainey/larod stephens-howling, but amusing to say the least.

boy you must have hated bill cowher an awful lot because you live in a world where legends are forbidden from departing from this team.

[Steelerette]

There's a difference between legends departing, and the front office unceremoniously dumping/screwing someone who'd given the team so much. If this is how it's going to be, at least man up with an explanation.

[Psycho Ward 86]

I wanna see an attacking defense again. Look what Baltimore did against us with less at CB just by pressure and most of it was just the look. Dicks exotic blitzes were not working anymore and he didnt change. Sorry. I am fully behind Coach Butler and ready for 2015.

how dare you infer that dick lebeau didnt necessarily get the best bang for his buck out of this unit! he's the best ever and he can't make any mistakes ever!

[86WARD]

There's a difference between legends departing, and the front office unceremoniously dumping/screwing someone who'd given the team so much. If this is how it's going to be, at least man up with an explanation.

Which they won't.

[Psycho Ward 86]

There's a difference between legends departing, and the front office unceremoniously dumping/screwing someone who'd given the team so much. If this is how it's going to be, at least man up with an explanation.

i agree with you completely. but lets be realistic. they wont, thats just not how this organization has operated since Art took over. all we can do as fans is move on or stay pointlessly angry and not have it really accomplish anything

[SteelerFanInStl]

I like Coach LeBeau as much as anyone but he simply wasn't getting the job done the last few years. The defense has been terrible.

If we would have missed the playoffs again this year, I would have been fine with the whole coaching staff getting replaced, except for Munchak. As it was, the team turned it around because of the offense. The offense carried the defense all year.

Fox was fired from Denver and his team was in the Super Bowl last year and the playoffs again this year. It's a tough business.

[86WARD]

I tend to agree...however, let's be honest, the talent hasn't been that great either.

[Shoes]

There's a difference between legends departing, and the front office unceremoniously dumping/screwing someone who'd given the team so much. If this is how it's going to be, at least man up with an explanation.

Maybe the Rooney's thought and were hoping Dick would retire/resign a few years ago. Maybe they thought with all the effort to keep Butler in the fold, Dick would say *I'm 77 years old, I've got a few SB rings, HOF and a load of other awards, I'm going to step aside and give this young man a shot* Maybe Dick didn't want to hear what they were trying to say, and we have what we have. While I have questions about Butler, I'm sure going to give him a few years to prove himself. I think Dick has proved himself pretty selfish imo, legend or not.

[Dwinsgames]

Maybe the Rooney's thought and were hoping Dick would retire/resign a few years ago. Maybe they thought with all the effort to keep Butler in the fold, Dick would say *I'm 77 years old, I've got a few SB rings, HOF and a load of other awards, I'm going to step aside and give this young man a shot* Maybe Dick didn't want to hear what they were trying to say, and we have what we have. While I have questions about Butler, I'm sure going to give him a few years to prove himself. I think Dick has proved himself pretty selfish imo, legend or not.

he has been coaching on 1 year contracts for several years now by his choice because of age and uncertain health moving forward at an advanced age , health hasnt been an issue , if they did not want him back a few years back he would not have been back ( so there goes that theory )

How did Lebeau prove himself as selfish by wanting to continue coaching ? please do explain

[Shoes]

he has been coaching on 1 year contracts for several years now by his choice because of age and uncertain health moving forward at an advanced age , health hasnt been an issue , if they did not want him back a few years back he would not have been back ( so there goes that theory )

How did Lebeau prove himself as selfish by wanting to continue coaching ? please do explain

It doesn't matter how many 1 year contracts he had. I can see the Rooney's giving him more years than they wanted, hoping he would bow out gracefully, hoping they wouldn't have to ask him leave. He could still coach. How about switching positions with Butler, how about coaching DB's, how about taking a position as a mentor to all the players with the wealth of experience he has, how about being a stable force in some of these unstable young players lives? That may be the problem, Dick wants to continue to coach and that is all he can see. I don't think he's selfish because he wants to coach, I think he's selfish because he didn't know when to hand the mantle over to a younger man.

[Dwinsgames]

It doesn't matter how many 1 year contracts he had. I can see the Rooney's giving him more years than they wanted, hoping he would bow out gracefully, hoping they wouldn't have to ask him leave. He could still coach. How about switching positions with Butler, how about coaching DB's, how about taking a position as a mentor to all the players with the wealth of experience he has, how about being a stable force in some of these unstable young players lives? That may be the problem, Dick wants to continue to coach and that is all he can see. I don't think he's selfish because he wants to coach, I think he's selfish because he didn't know when to hand the mantle over to a younger man.

if that " younger man fails " ( and he very well could with no exp , a roster lacking talent at key spots ) , then who was selfish and who was just stupid ?


as a side note I refuse to subscribe to the notion Lebeau was being selfish by signing contracts offered to him by the team that is as ludicrous as anything I have read to date ( no offense bud )

[Shoes]

if that " younger man fails " ( and he very well could with no exp , a roster lacking talent at key spots ) , then who was selfish and who was just stupid ?

Sure can't fear failure, the real world would stand still if that happend.

[Dwinsgames]

Sure can't fear failure, the real world would stand still if that happend.


when you fail to learn from history you're doomed to repeat it ... we have been here done that before ... Jim Haslett or Tim Lewis ring a Bell ?

[Psycho Ward 86]

if that " younger man fails " ( and he very well could with no exp , a roster lacking talent at key spots ) , then who was selfish and who was just stupid ?


as a side note I refuse to subscribe to the notion Lebeau was being selfish by signing contracts offered to him by the team that is as ludicrous as anything I have read to date ( no offense bud )

i know this isnt addressed to me but i think this discussion is getting interesting so im going to jump in. i dont necessarily subscribe to lebeau being selfish at all. i think that is presumptive and hyperbolic, and ultimately i disagree. however, i see where shoes is coming from with his opinion. very interesting to say the least.

as for saying keith butler has no experience, thats absurd. pretty much every NFL coordinator of any kind started out as a position coach in some capacity before taking an OC or DC position. yeah, he has no experience as a DC at the NFL level but he had experience at the college level, was mentored by the best DC of all time, and held as impressive a pedigree as anyone as a position coach during his long tenure teaching linebackers how to get it done.

this guy has turned down/been denied interviews 4 times over the course of several years during his time in pittsburgh. and we promoted him to DC after only 4 days of Lebeau getting fired/leaving and without the precaution of taking a look at other DC candidates. if that doesnt scream "maybe this guy knows some shit and were damn confident about it" from the front office's perspective, then i dont know what will. thats part of the reason why i have optimism, albeit cautious optimism, in this promotion.

im going to at least wait for butler to give me a reason to piss me off before i actually do.

[Shoes]

when you fail to learn from history you're doomed to repeat it ... we have been here done that before ... Jim Haslett or Tim Lewis ring a Bell ?


Butler is nearly 60 years old and has been working/learning with Dick for over 10 years. I sure don't see any doomed history in this, thats the way the world turns.

[Dwinsgames]

i know this isnt addressed to me but i think this discussion is getting interesting so im going to jump in. i dont necessarily subscribe to lebeau being selfish at all. i think that is presumptive and hyperbolic, and ultimately i disagree. however, i see where shoes is coming from with his opinion. very interesting to say the least.

as for saying keith butler has no experience, thats absurd. pretty much every NFL coordinator of any kind started out as a position coach in some capacity before taking an OC or DC position. yeah, he has no experience as a DC at the NFL level but he had experience at the college level, was mentored by the best DC of all time, and held as impressive a pedigree as anyone as a position coach during his long tenure teaching linebackers how to get it done.

this guy has turned down/been denied interviews 4 times over the course of several years during his time in pittsburgh. and we promoted him to DC after only 4 days of Lebeau getting fired/leaving and without the precaution of taking a look at other DC candidates. if that doesnt scream "maybe this guy knows some shit and were damn confident about it" from the front office's perspective, then i dont know what will. thats part of the reason why i have optimism, albeit cautious optimism, in this promotion.

im going to at least wait for butler to give me a reason to piss me off before i actually do.


Look I hope he is a kick ass DC , but there is PLENTY of room for doubt ...

I absolutely HATE the way it all went down , In my mind Lebeau has not lost his touch , his passion for the game or his mental ability to coach it , what he lost was the talent needed to do so at the level we have come to expect ...

while we where abysmal as a pass defense you have to look no further than the men in coverage to see why , pretty much everyone here has claimed more times than I can count Mike Mitchell sucks ....Pretty much everyone here has stated Troy is washed up /done/ old and slow/ ( or some form or fashion of all the above ) Nobody here wants Ike back for the same reasons as Troy and Cortez was injured ( perhaps mentally as well as physically ) and played horribly until benched ... so of the 4 starters in the def backfield at the season start not 1 of them was worthy of snaps all season long ....

Leading to scrap heap players of Blake and McCain ( neither of which anyone was excited about when signed ) and most didn't give a chance at making the team let alone getting snaps as starters and big time role players , Long time whipping boy William Gay went from Nickle backer to starter opposite a guy nobody thought would be here ... so yea we had more than our fair share of troubles in the def backfield ( could perhaps say and be accurate our worst starting group in 40 years on paper ? )

at linebacker we expected Worilds to be a difference maker based on the last 8 games of 2013 and gave him a ton of money to be that guy problem is he did not show up and was invisible more often than not ... Jarvis Jones gets hurt week 3 , your top pick and penciled in starter at ILB goes down early and for all intensive purposes ends his season for the most part , 3rd year Player Spence and second years player Wilians are forced to play ILB when 1 was lucky to even walk let alone play the game again and the other was so porous in aspects of his game we had to play Troy at the LOS the year before to help cover him up .. signed an over the hill ( others words not mine ) James Harrison to be a def star on the team and it worked starting just 4 days after inking a deal !! mixing in first year player in this system Moats in the mix as well with some good results leaving just 1 Linebacker with any amount of proven consistency on the field that was expected to play well in Timmons ....


of the front 3 we have a guy most do not consider good enough manning the most important spot of NT and was often injured during the process and Cam cant Thomas and mixed in a raw rookie when possible ...
started a dud player in cam thomas half the year that most of the free world disliked before the ink was dry on his contract
started a rookie 2nd round pick the last half of the season with mixed results but lots of promise and valuable exp came from it ...

this is what Lebeau had to work with and while the pass def sucked ( and after review why wouldn't it suck ) we still wound up the 6th best run def in the league in yards rushing allowed

this is what it is nothing we can do about it but make no mistake the reason why Dick Lebeau was pushed out is not because Lebeau has lost his touch , its because Lebeau did not have the pieces needed to operate the second and perhaps most important part of that was Bulters contract was also up and Butler wanted to be the DC .

Nobody has come right out and said it but make no mistake I can all but guarantee you Butler said he was moving on if not given the Job , he was tired of waiting for Lebeau to die or retire ( perhaps rightfully so from his perspective who could blame him for wanting to advance ) but that does not make what the organization did to Lebeau any more forgivable , they did not provide him with the parts necessary to be effective then can him when he was not and did not have the balls to own it was their decision to move on ....

many will disagree , many may flame but THIS is what I see as what happened by the coy end around that has happened and nothing less than a face to face with Lebeau telling me otherwise will change my mind ( that is not likely to happen ) not going to argue this with anyone as my mind is made up and it will do nothing but end up as a battle of words on the forum and nobody needs that ...

sorry If I pissed anyone off with this but I can not help how I feel on the matter .................

[86WARD]

Really, the only thing I disagree with is saying that Mike Mitchell sucks. I'd like to see one more season with him on the defense before I say he sucks. Ryan Clark was pretty bad when he arrived in Pittsburgh. Mitchell looked a little better when Troy was off the field...so there could be something to that. Like I said, I'd like to see one more season before I said he sucks...and honestly, maybe he really does suck, but he played decent when Troy wasn't there so maybe it had something to do with communication and with a guy like Troy, that's understandable.

[Steelerette]

While I'm not as sad to see LeBeau go as some (aside from the way he was dumped!),

I'm not sure how you can say "hey we had a pretty good year for being in the middle of a massive rebuild" and then turn around and say "LeBeau wasn't getting it done."

We didn't have players on the field, ultimately LeBeau isn't responsible for that; Tomlin was busy scrounging longshot CBs from his alma mater anyway.

[SteelerFanInStl]

I'm not sure how you can say "hey we had a pretty good year for being in the middle of a massive rebuild" and then turn around and say "LeBeau wasn't getting it done."

We didn't have players on the field, ultimately LeBeau isn't responsible for that; Tomlin was busy scrounging longshot CBs from his alma mater anyway.

Why can't you? We had a pretty good year BECAUSE OF THE OFFENSE. The defense was terrible.

I'm not buying all of this talk about LeBeau not being responsible for the players on the field. Are you (not directed at you but a general "you") trying to tell me that our DC has absolutely no say in who gets drafted, who makes the team and who plays? I think that's a load of crap. A guy that's been with a team for as long as LeBeau was is going to have a say in all of that.

He's also the one who's responsible for calling the defensive plays that put us in prevent and plays the CBs 10 yards off the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 5, rushing only 3 on 3rd and long, etc.

Acting like LeBeau has no responsibility in the decline of our defense is just hogwash.

[Shoes]

if that " younger man fails " ( and he very well could with no exp , a roster lacking talent at key spots ) , then who was selfish and who was just stupid ?


as a side note I refuse to subscribe to the notion Lebeau was being selfish by signing contracts offered to him by the team that is as ludicrous as anything I have read to date ( no offense bud )

I didn't say he was selfish for taking contracts that were offered to him, I said he was selfish because he didn't know when to hand the mantle over to a younger man. No offense ever taken my friend. :tea:

[Psycho Ward 86]

While I'm not as sad to see LeBeau go as some (aside from the way he was dumped!),

I'm not sure how you can say "hey we had a pretty good year for being in the middle of a massive rebuild" and then turn around and say "LeBeau wasn't getting it done."

We didn't have players on the field, ultimately LeBeau isn't responsible for that; Tomlin was busy scrounging longshot CBs from his alma mater anyway.

very easily. our offense carried this team. when it failed, we lost pretty much every single time unless we were facing a team with an extremely pathetic offense. there were games where our defense had the benefit of being able to pin their ears back and really tee off (or try their best to) because of a lead we built. and they still didnt have a good year.

you can blame personnel all you want, but people should really stop acting like we were the only ones who dealt with crappy players and injuries on defense. i expect a man who i consider the best and most innovative defensive coordinator ever to get creative, adapt, and overcome in these situations.

Todd bowles, Jim O'Neil, and Dean Pees had more injuries and/or poor play from key positions and still pulled out good defense. Defenses far better than ours. In a situation of less duress and the aid of a vastly superior defensive mind, i thought we would have fared better.

I think another factor that played into all of this was possibly Dick Lebeau hanging onto old veteran players in favor of young promising ones. Not necessarily having a factor in bringing them back, but also playing them when it was clear that we have better options. People can blame Tomlin on that all they want but I don't know if I can completely buy that. These defensive players, especially the veterans are like his kids for god sake. They call him Coach Dad for a reason.

That being said, its gotten harder and harder to point fingers since Art took over. It does seem like the Steelers as an organization have been getting increasingly stubborn at admitting mistakes. Imagine where we would be now if Stephon Tuitt, Will Allen, Brice McCain, and William Gay started all year in place of Cam Thomas, Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, and Cortez Allen. The obvious thing to notice between those 4 vs. 4 player comparisons is the far bigger salaries of the latter 4 players.

I wish we'd just go with the best players we have regardless of salary. Sometimes owning up to personnel mistakes can make good things happen. Imagine if the Seahawks had started Matt Flynn years ago just because they paid him starter money instead of Russell Wilson. Those cry babies would still be looking for their 1st ring.

And before you say they could have still won with that defense and run game, remember that a certain QB in the black and gold had similiar naysayers for the same reasons even though he was an integral part of our success

[MrPgh]

I don't think LeBeau was selfish, but I do think he too often favored veteran players, even ones that were clearly past their primes. Right now the Steelers do not need a defense that takes 3 years to learn.

[86WARD]

@SiriusXMNFL: "I think we're in for a 10 million dollar jump in cap space this offseason." - Tom Condon #BusinessSeason

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