Timmons, DeCastro having Pro Bowl-caliber seasons

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Lawrence Timmons, David DeCastro having Pro Bowl-caliber seasons

December, 11, 2014
By Scott Brown | ESPN.com

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said Thursday that linebacker Lawrence Timmons is deserving of a trip to the Pro Bowl.

Offensive coordinator Todd Haley essentially said the same thing about right guard David DeCastro.

DeCastro has emerged as one of the better guards in the NFL, and the 2012 first-round draft pick was a big reason why Le'Veon Bell gashed the Cincinnati Bengals for 185 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 42-21 win last Sunday.

Bell ran behind a pulling DeCastro early and often, and Haley said DeCastro would have been the first one he singled out for praise after the Steelers’ eighth win of the season.

"The Bengals’ guys were tired of seeing him coming around by the end of the game," Haley said.

DeCastro might face a numbers crunch as far as making the Pro Bowl.

Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown are locks to make the team. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and center Maurkice Pouncey are strong candidates to earn Pro Bowl nods.

Will the Steelers place more than four offensive players on the team?

Timmons faces a different problem.

The Steelers’ defense has struggled this season and might not send any players to the Pro Bowl.

Timmons, however, has been a stabilizing force on a unit that has been scrambled by injuries.

The eighth-year veteran started his 66th-consecutive regular-season game last Sunday and leads the Steelers with 104 tackles.

Timmons has recorded at least 10 tackles in six games this season.

"I’ve said the last several years that he plays at a Pro Bowl-level, and I feel that he’s doing that again," LeBeau said. "He’s a very, very good player. He does a lot of things for us. I think he can go and play with any group of athletes and hold his own, whether it’s across the ocean over there in Hawaii or this Sunday where we’re going to need him."

http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/_/id/11220/lawrence-timmons-david-decastro-having-pro-bowl-caliber-seasons

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Steelers guard DeCastro paving new roads

David DeCastro acknowledges the road to recovery was paved with psychological road blocks as he strengthened his surgically repaired right knee, injured in a preseason game during his rookie season.

DeCastro, in his third season with the Steelers, returned to action with three games remaining in 2012. It wasn't easy to trust his knee, particularly when asked to pull down the line of scrimmage with 300-pound bodies sprawled about his feet.

DeCastro had to work his way back both physically and mentally. He wondered how long it would take to regain the lateral movement and quickness that enabled him to be among the best pulling guards in the country while at Stanford.

DeCastro, though, has been at the top of his game during a three-game stretch in which the Steelers have rushed for 502 yards — including Le'Veon Bell's career-best 204 yards at Tennessee.

“It has taken time to adapt mentally after my injury,” DeCastro said. “When you started whining about it, that's when you get hurt again. So, I play full speed and take care of my body. The technique is more important than the physical at this level.”

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...#ixzz3LoNrYINj

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On the Steelers: LB Timmons not getting recognition he deserves

By Ed Bouchette / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Lawrence Timmons has the runaway lead in tackles on the Steelers, and that is OK with them as long as he tackles opponents. The problem arises when he takes down his teammates.

Playing inside linebacker next to Timmons “is dangerous,” said Vince Williams, the victim of one of Timmons’ infamous teammate tackles Sunday in Atlanta.

“If you watch the game, Lawrence is run and hit, man. You always have to be cautious of No. 94. He is Mr. Friendly Fire.”

Williams was one of the lucky ones hit by Timmons; he did not miss much playing time. He and Timmons were closing in on Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman late in the first half after the halfback caught a short pass. Williams made the tackle, but Timmons fired into his fellow linebacker trying to assist.

“Lawrence just came in there like Lawrence comes in there,” Williams said, laughing. “He hit me in my neck, my head went to the side. I got a stinger. Lawrence is full-tilt the whole way.”

Williams was not seriously hurt, certainly not like cornerback Ike Taylor. His right forearm was broken on a hit by Timmons in the third game of the season against Carolina. Taylor missed the next eight games.

He wasn’t the only one. Timmons also took out Ryan Shazier in the game at Carolina when he rolled into him and the rookie linebacker came out with a sprained MCL in his knee. Shazier missed the next four games.

Instead of fearing their veteran teammate, the three young linebackers sharing the position next to him revere Timmons.

“It’s great to get to play with a guy like that, a guy with a lot of intensity, a high-motor guy,” said Williams. “I feel privileged that I get an opportunity to play next to him and watch him. Hopefully, I get to learn from him.”

Timmons has played that way since he became the first draft pick under coach Mike Tomlin in 2007. He leads the team with 117 tackles, including 79 solo. Safety Mike Mitchell is a distant second with 63 tackles, 50 solo. He will lead the team in tackles for the fourth time in the past five years. He has missed just two games in his eight-year career, both in 2009 because of a hamstring injury. He has started 67 consecutive games.

Not only that, he has moved from the mack inside linebacker position — essentially a more free-wheeling position that has him cover receivers and play all over the field — to right outside linebacker when they needed him to in 2011 because of injuries. Then, it was back to the mack linebacker until this year when he was supposed to move full time to the buck linebacker spot.

The buck is the position that Levon Kirkland and Larry Foote played. Because the Steelers wanted to start Shazier at the mack, Timmons made the move. But then, Shazier was hurt in the third game, and Timmons began moving between the two spots in some games as they switched in Williams to the buck, then switched him out and brought Spence in to play the mack.

Back and forth, back and forth. Now with Shazier back, Timmons has those three young linebackers with him and tries to remember whether he is playing mack or buck.

He said he does not care as long as it is inside linebacker.

“I prefer to play inside linebacker,” Timmons said, meaning no more moves to the outside.

He’s earned at least that. What he has not earned and what his teammates believe he deserves is a Pro Bowl appearance. That team will be announced Tuesday.

“I don’t know, man, but year in and year out he’s been playing at a high level,” Spence said. “It’s sad that it goes unnoticed. But we definitely notice it.”

That would include Tomlin, who acknowledges the degree of difficulty of playing two different linebacker positions in the same game.

“It’s difficult, but much like William Gay, he’s a veteran guy, so we expect him to contribute in that way,” Tomlin said.

In the meantime, the Steelers will continue to rotate the three young players next to Timmons until or if one rises above the rest.

“We’re ever so slightly marching Ryan Shazier back in terms of his participation,” Tomlin said. “He’s getting on a moving train. He played a little bit more defense this past Sunday than he did the week before. Maybe he’ll play more this week.

“We’ll continue to grow with that and let practice participation and effectiveness be our guide in terms of who plays because that’s just the right thing to do.”

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/s...s/201412190108