Tomlinball?

You can see Tomlin bracing, if not preparing, for a change to the 4-3. Of course, this will have a lot to do with LeBeau: Tomlin is too smart to ask LeBeau to change to a 4-3 defense. However, they’ve drafted some players that might fit Tomlin’s scheme better. It looks like when LeBeau leaves, we will see a lot more of the 4-3.

Knowing how honest Tomlin has been so far; I don’t think he is intentionally trying to morph us into anything. I think Tomlin has been looking for football players, not physical specimens. which to me could be part of the reason why we now have a bunch of players on the roster who provide us position flexibility in case we decide to move to a different defense.

whatever the hell it is lets keep doing it! I love the 3-4 but the original curtain was a 4-3 and Dungy always says that the “Tampa 2” should be the “Noll 2”.

That said I doubt Tomlin would ever undermine Lebeau, nor would he change everything when he leaves. Tomlins preference to the cover 2 comes from where he learned it from and he seems like the type of guy who would take Lebeau very seriously and learn from him as well. When all us said and done our grandbabies will be talking about how Tomlin invented this amazing scheme and the steelers won 10 superbowls in a row:)

We’re not switching to a 4-3. Our position coaches and DC have been doing the 3-4 for years and they’re damn good at it. In our front 7, we have 4 Pro-Bowlers and 1 more on the way who have only been successful in the 3-4, which means there’s a ton of risk with a shift. Where’s the benefit from taking a risky move? Becoming a better #1 defense? It just wouldn’t make sense to switch personnel and coaches to appease the HC’s fancy. That’s not how the Steelers operate, and from everything I’ve seen from Tomlin, that’s not how he operates.

That said, there is some truth in there. The game is more pass oriented than ever, which is a big reason we just signed and drafted 3 CB’s. That’s also why Tomlin has been suiting his defense to play the pass more during his first 2 years here and will continue in the future. We’re seeing a lot more 2 deep coverages, which protect the CB’s more than the Cover-3 defenses we played under Cowher. There’s no need to switch to the 4-3 because a good pass defense does 2 main things: 1) prevent the deep play and 2) get to the QB. We’re already doing both of those (and will for the forseeable future) so we don’t need changes.

Furthermore, we drafted 2 DT’s who fit the mold of 3-4 DE’s in our system. Our DE’s only play one gap, so they tend to penetrate more than New England’s and be a little smaller and quicker. If you’re confused about the one gap thing, look at this article. He mostly knows what he’s talking about. Both Hood and Harris have the potential to be playmakers on the line and still drop back in coverage on occasion.

While we can’t be completely sure what the coaches are going to do, these picks tell me we’re sticking with the 3-4 and these are two of the guys we’re going build the line around. We still haven’t found Hampton’s replacement, but we have some time to do so, and it’s become more apparent over the past few years that he’s not quite as important to our defense as some would lead you to believe. Tomlin has said he’s sticking with the 3-4 since day one, and I still don’t see any reason to think he’s going to change that stance.

What Tomlin seems to be doing is getting multiple players who can do multiple things. I don’t think he wants to be handcuffed by scheme. He’s stacking this roster with “football players” and may the best man win. He wants a team “on the grass” that can handle any situation regardless of the offensive or defensive scheme. He wants people on the sidelines that will step up when the moment presents itself and not miss a beat. The genius is that everyone is going to have to compete for a job no matter who it is, some exceptions obviously. We saw this last year. Think about some of the injuries we overcame and some of the in-game crap we overcame to get the W. It was amazing.

I’m looking at this roster top to bottom plus the guys we just added and its pretty deep at every position, even long snapper. I can’t wait to see the UDRFA’s, I’ll bet there’s a playa or two. I’m pumped. I can’t wait until camp comes with some of these position battles. Take RB for instance. Do you think this guy “the tank” is going to bow down to anyone? Mendy, FWP and Mo better be ready. This guy runs, blocks, & can catch. I think some of these dudes on the OL better watch out too with Urbik and AQ because i can garauntee they’re both coming to play. May not happen right away but those big bozos aren’t just gonna ease into the starting role. Snack better get his big fat ass in shape, because this kid Ziggy is gonna bring it even if he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing. I could be completely wrong about who’s gonna be good from this draft, but one thing is for sure, Tomlin believes these guys will come in and push for playing time. And that makes everyone great.

Best and last thing. Some of our best players are in a contract year. Do you think some of them are gonna show up and kick some ass? Yesssss. Stairway to Seven!

Article from the TRIB, cut and pasted some qoutes. “Unrestricted free agent Ashley Lelie, among the top deep receiving threats in the NFL, met with Steelers officials Monday and could sign with the team, agent Peter Schaffer said.” …. wtf?

Not sure if this will happen but from the sound of it, both sides are interested.
“It was a very productive day for Ashley,” Schaffer said. “The Steelers, I think, came away with the same opinion, and we’re going to keep an open line of communication.”

If this happens we will be absolutely loaded at WR going into camp. I guess my initial concern would be Lelie takes a roster spot from a promising young talent. He was pretty productive at Denver, but that was 4 years ago. Tomlin throwing shit up on the wall and seeing what sticks i guess.

I seriously doubt Tomlin is preparing to shift the defense in any direction.

Bolstering the hybrid is about the most serious option I would take from this. Snack is getting older and you don’t find many guys like him waiting to be drafted. There will be games when our defenders are on their heels and they’re on the field much longer than we’d like. During those games, guys like Big Snack will need to warm some pine and recoup. The hybrid gives us more options and we could get an extra season out of Snack.

I don’t see this being a problem for LeBeau. He likes complicating the D and making it difficult for others to plan for us. I doubt giving him more options is something he’ll squawk about. Plus, adding some 4-3 to the repertoire gives us some insurance in the event that Snack or Aa Smith goes down.

It does make for an intriguing “what if?” discussion, though. The only question is whether or not we have the personnel to accomplish it. I think we have some of the necessary pieces. Mostly, I’m thinking we have guys who offer flexibility: Woodley, Timmons, Aa Smith, and Polamalu immediately come to mind. Some of our new additions (Ziggy most notably) can fill 4-3 slots, but we’re weakest on the line itself. I don’t see Diesel, Big Snack, Kirschke, or Hoke playing a game where we depend on them to apply the bulk of the pressure.