Mclendon @ DE ?

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Originally Posted by Mister Pittsburgh

With the lack of LB depth and depth on the DL we do have, if Tomlin ever planned to switch to the 4-3 Tampa 2 which he was known for....the time is now.

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Preaching to the choir brother:Bow Imagine the cap space we could potentially clear. Imo this is where Art II has potentially become too meddlesome in trying to define what this team is and does. I really doubt Tomlin has ever had the freedom to switch to the defense he really wants because of Lebeau's presence. That is why LeBeau should go so Tomlin can either make a change to the 4-3 or stay with the 3-4 because it is what he wants as head coach.

McClendon supposedly gets trucked a lot in run defense.

OK, so when it's 3rd and 10? Get Hampton off the field and let him be a pass rusher.

Same for Worilds. Put him at rush end and get titty dancing Ziggy off the field.

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Originally Posted by Crash

McClendon supposedly gets trucked a lot in run defense.

OK, so when it's 3rd and 10? Get Hampton off the field and let him be a pass rusher.

Same for Worilds. Put him at rush end and get titty dancing Ziggy off the field.

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its not so much McClendon gets trucked, but more that he isn't gap sound while busting by centers and guards.

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Originally Posted by Mister Pittsburgh

With the lack of LB depth and depth on the DL we do have, if Tomlin ever planned to switch to the 4-3 Tampa 2 which he was known for....the time is now.

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Depth on the DL? I'm sorry, but I don't see it.

McClendon generates some pass rush, but he has problems holding up against the run. Ziggy Hood gets no push and the verdict is still out on Heyward. Fangupo was waived by two other teams and Ta'amu was waived and went unclaimed. Why build a defense that features these guys?

Plus, even if you plug Woodley and Worilds in at one DE spot (and given their injuries, that is all you can count on), you need more defensive ends, better DTs and a more linebackers.

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Originally Posted by phillyesq

Depth on the DL? I'm sorry, but I don't see it.

McClendon generates some pass rush, but he has problems holding up against the run. Ziggy Hood gets no push and the verdict is still out on Heyward. Fangupo was waived by two other teams and Ta'amu was waived and went unclaimed. Why build a defense that features these guys?

Plus, even if you plug Woodley and Worilds in at one DE spot (and given their injuries, that is all you can count on), you need more defensive ends, better DTs and a more linebackers.

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Do you think, just possibly, our two first round DL would play a little differently in the 4-3? Ta'amu went unclaimed due to legal issues. Keisel can play DE for a season or two and may kick butt considering he is one of the best athletes over 250lbs on the team.

What bothers me, is we draft these DL, then we coach them to be something else. Thus, negating the skills that had us draft them in the first place.

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Originally Posted by phillyesq

Depth on the DL? I'm sorry, but I don't see it.

McClendon generates some pass rush, but he has problems holding up against the run. Ziggy Hood gets no push and the verdict is still out on Heyward. Fangupo was waived by two other teams and Ta'amu was waived and went unclaimed. Why build a defense that features these guys?

Plus, even if you plug Woodley and Worilds in at one DE spot (and given their injuries, that is all you can count on), you need more defensive ends, better DTs and a more linebackers.

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And that's what the draft and free agency is for.

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Originally Posted by Shoe

No offense intended but... I would find it very hard to believe that, if McLendon can play DE well enough to be a starter in this league, the coaching staff hasn't already thought about this very scenario. We (as fans) aren't going to come up with a light bulb moment of (the coaches all of a sudden saying), "Hey, why don't we play McLendon at End?"

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isnt that what people said about Colon at Guard?

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Originally Posted by lloydroid

You think NFL coaches are automatically superior in all ideas of football? You are mistaken. They allow their egos to be involved, and many of them are not even that intelligent. I have met with some of these coaches. I had a coach tell me that running backs can be taught to have running instincts; this coming from a coach who was paid by the NFL and he actually believed that. How moronic. Oh, but he carried his Bible every where, so he must know all.

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You're citing their ego?
I certainly can see where ego can play a part in decisions... But you're telling me that despite the fact that these NFL coaches... experts if you will... who go to every one of the team's practices, and are privy to meeting & collaborating with fellow professionals (coaches) on the status of the team... can't figure out something that a ham-&-egger on steelers planet dot com's forums who watches games on Sunday Ticket can?

Those making the Colon comparison are forgetting one thing: In his "prime", he was considered talented enough to play Tackle... that's the reason he wasn't playing Guard--he was a starting Tackle (probably considered more important, in the grand scheme). It wasn't as if he was sitting idly by while the team trotted our substandard Guards. Colon didn't play (Guard) because he was already playing Tackle.

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Originally Posted by Oviedo

The problem isn't McLendon. The problem is that we have a Def Coord or overemphasizes stopping the run in a passing league. Stopping the run is a lot less importnat in the NFL than it was just 10 years ago. That is the source of my frustration with the DL. We have them controlling and "occupying Blockers" versus attacking the person with the ball. I would be last in the league in run defense but first in sacks and INTs in a heartbeat and I bet we would have a much better defense than we had this year from making a real impact in the game.

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We had the #1 passing defense in the league and #2 rushing defense...LeBeau is the answer, always has been.