I'm not sold on Butler, I sure wouldn't give him the job without first throwing the line out. I do think Dick is done.
The Defense may have young players, but Lebeau's scheme is over and done with in the NFL. Lebeau is finished. There was once a time where only Tom Brady could beat it, now any random jackass can beat it and effortlessly. "Tackle the Catch" doesn't fly anymore.
It doesn't matter if it's Bruce Gradkowski, Brian Hoyer, Tyler Thigpen, Joe Flacco, Matt Cassel, or James Schlubenstein, the Lebeau D is going to be torched.
"Tackle the catch" "The other team's offense will make a mistake eventually." That's just not how it is in the NFL anymore. This team just doesn't want to move on from the 2008 defense.
I think with the right players like we had in 08 the defense would be workable. But I do agree the scheme is pretty much faded and done. This team has no business even trying to run this scheme. Cam Thomas? McClendon? Really? These guys are a joke. I'm also sick of hearing we don't need a shutdown corner. I'd rather have a shutdown corner than an outdated Ike Taylor and a penalty prone Cortez Allen. We've ignored the corner position for 10 years. Something needs to happen with this defense and the scheme. Mike Mitchell looks like a bust as well. Linebacker is the best part of this defense and even that is nothing to write home about.
So does the team go to a 4-3 base after this year, with Timmons at MLB and Shazier and Jarvis at the OLB spots? I really do not think Worilds will be back next season.
Mike Mitchell so far is surely not making Steeler Nation forget Ryan Clark. Ryan Clark's best days were well behind him, and it was time for the team to move on, but so far the money they paid for Mitchell is yielding no return on that investment. It's very early, and I would not dismiss anybody after such a short sample of games, but Clark always made his presence known.........Mitchell has not so far (except for the penalties that were called on him (one of which was a bogus call)).
I love LeBeau, the guy is a legend.
But you can no longer play the soft zone stuff. You can't play 10 yards off of the receiver anymore.
On one hand, LeBeau can only work with what he has. He doesn't have a true NT, the lynchpin of this defense. Cam Thomas and Steve McClendon aren't commanding double/triple teams. I'm not expecting either player to be Casey Hampton, but geez at least hold your ground! I would like to see them give McCullers a shot, with his size he should at least be able to hold his ground. If not, then it's not like there's any difference in NT play.
Also, to be honest, I wouldn't be against a change from the 3-4 either when LeBeau steps down. Linebacker play has been downhill the past couple of years, and Butler has been here a very long time. Yeah he's been patient, but I can't sit here and say that him taking over at DC would change anything. Look at this defense in a 4-3 next year (going off of next year's potential roster):
Jarvis Jones - Stephon Tuitt - Daniel McCullers - Cam Heyward
Lawrence Timmons - Ryan Shazier - Sean Spence
William Gay - Troy Polamalu - Mike Mitchell - Cortez Allen
That would give the Steelers a better run defense with a four man line, and maybe they could take up some blockers allowing Shazier to run sideline-to-sideline. You'd allow Jones to put his hand in the dirt and just rush the passer, no coverage responsibilities.
RIP Marianne "HTG" - You'll Always Be With Us
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Steve McLendon got hurt yesterday.
Maybe it's a blessing in an otherwise terrible night, and we start dressing Big Dan.
Or maybe the coaching staff will continue being dumb and okay Cam Thomas instead.
If Jones can't beat NFL tackles standing up, what in the heck makes anyone think he could do it with his hand in the dirt? Something he has never done in college or the pros. He is nowhere near big and strong enough to be 4-3 rush end.
I actually like the LB corps in general, just don't see where the pass rush is going to come from.
I'm not in the fire LeBeau camp but there is one game back in 2011 that makes you think the league's got our defense figured out. It was a MNF game vs the Colts. Manning was out that year. So, Curtis Painter was the QB. LeBeau threw everything at him but he still played competently and kept the Colts competitive. Steelers barely won that game but the defense was blitzing on almost every down, it seemed, and could not make a difference.
I don't know why people want to switch to a 4-3. A 3-4 is ideal for going up against today's defenses.
You just need a real NT to make it work.
We also need a system that doesn't take three years to learn. One of the big complaints about Arians was that he was gameplanning for the players he wished he had, instead of the ones he actually had. LeBeau is starting to creep in that direction - though to be fair this is why LeBeau doesn't like youngsters starting. But it's a dumb problem to have - he needs to be adaptable enough to be able to use young players where necessary, and save your advanced schemes for the players wise enough to follow them.
if you have a scheme that demands D-Linemen to take on the double team and you do not have one active on game day who can do that your screwed before the coin toss ....
Than why play that scheme? This is what is starting to irritate me about the coaching staff. The players they have drafted don't seem to fit their schemes. So either change the scheme or draft better.
This whole complicated BS about our defense has been way overplayed. When was the last time an OLine was confused with our blitzes? How often does our O Line get blown up with just 3 rushers? I'm sorry, as great as Lebeau is, it is time to change. Make a simple scheme where the current players can excel. If he doesn't have it, then it is time to change. If we don't have the players, then, well, we're screwed.
Who knows maybe they're planning on switching to 4-3 once LeBeau is gone and that's why they draft the way they do.
I think that's a mistake and I think that's what makes the Cam Thomas signing ridiculous. If you're insisting on a 3-4, even temporarily, then spare no expense at making your NT the "money" position on Defense. If you can't commit to drafting him, then find someone to pay in free agency, even if it's only a stopgap until the "conversion" is official.
As much as I love Shazier, what we're seeing is why I was so interested in Nix...
To be fair you have to wonder to what extent Ta'amu was our plan and his drunk ass screwed us over. But that doesn't excuse us from needing to figure something out and fast.
At this point I'm ready to say, throw McCullers in there and see what happens. Yes we'll endure some pain while he adjusts to the speed of the game. But he still has one of the simpler assignments on the field: "eat up two blockers."
By what we've seen the past six quarters... it can't really get any worse, so might as well see the big man in action. As iron sharpens iron...
draft aside for a moment ...
the linemen are able to fend off our blitzs because they are not having to help the man beside them ( we are not occupying 2 blocker with any of our front 3 ) making it a 5 on 3 and if we rush 2 they have two free bodies to eat them up ....
back when this scheme worked well we had Big Snack in the middle taking on 2 men and Aaron Smith taking on 2 men on most snaps leaving Keisel in a 1 on 1 role and the linebackers where free to rush the passer with nothing more than a RB or TE in their way ..... it all starts up front
if McCullers can get on the field ( even though he is a rookie and a bit raw and plays high ) he is still a HUGE man .... coaches need to tell him just rush the passer up the gut they will be forced to stop him with 2 bodies ( forget the technique and all that just let him occupy space and man power ) that would IMO go a long way to aiding us in getting pressure
is that a complete fix , no ... but Tuitt could be the second piece of that puzzle but resigning Keisel and bringing in a worthless bum Cam Thomas isnt helping us IMO
Tuitt is not learning much watching people fail so let him get his feet wet and get first hand experience ....
sure growing pains will be felt but at least there is benefit in growing pains , what we are doing now serves little purpose and has no benefit
If those changes do not happen, at least in part through limited playing time in the next 2 weeks, then it is a coaching problem. Kiesel is not helping anything at this point. I say at least try a line of McClendon, McCullers, and Heyward. That "protects" the raw rookie with some experience on each side with the added advantage of getting some serious beef up front. Then on passing downs through Tuitt in there and see if he can get a push on the pocket.
But there must be more to this, because if it was really that easy we would all hold coaching jobs somewhere!
More examples of things that COULD be already or on there way to a coaching problem. Steelers LB are getting worked in coverage, but the nickle package is MIA.
http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com...nickel-package
Leverage. He can get low, and we all know low man wins more often than not. It's worth a shot at the least if we go to the 3-4, otherwise he plays an OLB position instead of Spence. But letting him put his hand in the dirt and just rush the passer lets him simply do what everyone said he did best coming out of college, rush the passer.
RIP Marianne "HTG" - You'll Always Be With Us
Follow me on Twitter @Blue_Collar_Guy
I don't think going to a 4-3 is wise.
I can deal with growing pains if we use them to, well, grow. After what we've seen the past six quarters, do we really have a lot to lose by getting McCullers, Tuitt, and maybe even Wesley Johnson on the field?
I remain optimistic about the team's future prospects but we sure have a way with transitions, don't we?
As I have said in other threads, let Mount McCullers play NT. Cam Thomas is hot, steamy garbage. McCullers might be raw and play a little high right now (not Bell and Blount high you guys), but he's a big guy who when he plants his feet is going to be very hard to move. He should be able to garner two blockers most plays. I doubt he can be any worse than Thomas and McClendon.
RIP Marianne "HTG" - You'll Always Be With Us
Follow me on Twitter @Blue_Collar_Guy
If you watched McCullers in the preseason, he basically was immovable. I'm sure there will be times that guys will get a move on him but for the most part he'll eat his two blockers and that will be that. It's not dynamic but it's better than having someone only eat one blocker, get pushed backward, or both.
And then, every once in a while, he's just go on fire and disrupt the backfield. It didn't last long. It'd be one of those sort of, "WHO DARES DISTURB MY SLUMBER" moments... a few plays he'd tear it up, and then go back to his immovable self. And during gametime, those moments could be just the big play pushes that we need. Okay, he can't do it all the time. But who we've got now, can't even do it sometimes. Put in Big Dan.