FanPost

A switch to the 4-3???

Do you recall when Mike Tomlin was hired in 2007 and all the talk was around the Steelers potentially switching to a 4-3 defense because that's what Tomlin had coached in stints with the Vikings and Bucs? Rightly so, the Steelers stuck with the 3-4 and have continued to perform at an extremely high level. But is this the year that the Steelers make the switch to the 4-3 based on personnel? Let's consider a 3-4 lineup that looks like this: DL: Hood - McClendon - Keisel (Former 1st rounder Heyward gets some rotational duty) LB: Woodley - Foote - Timmons - Worilds (Stevenson, Spence???, Carter, Robinson) Or of 4-3 lineup that looks like this: DL: Woodley - McClendon - Hood - Worilds (Keisel and Heyward are rotational as lots of bodies are needed to keep the pressure on. On obvious passing downs we could deploy Carter and or Robinson - whoever steps up this year) LB: Timmons - Foote - Stevenson (Spence???, Carter, Robinson, 1st or 2nd round pick) -If Spence was healthy I could see this as a really strong front seven, however his health going into the 2013 season is a major question mark. I believe that the defensive coaches will have a lot to think about when it comes to figuring out how to keep the best players on the field throughout the game and I anticipate that we'll stay in a 3-4 base, but that you'll see much more 4-3 or Nickel (4 down linemen) on the field than we're accustomed to seeing. I'd like to get your thoughts. Am I crazy? Thanks, TShaff

The opinions shared here are not those of the editorial staff of Behind the Steel Curtain or SB Nation. These posts are not approved in any way by the editorial staff of this web site.