Steve McLendon primed for bigger role?

[Chadman]

McLendon did not play well for a 3-4 NT last season. Teams ran at comparative will (compared to seasons past) against the Steelers. Its the role of the 3-4 DL to negate running lanes, which they simply did not do. McLendon is a member of that DL. Fans were getting on Vince Williams being the weak link in the D, but quite frankly, the D starts up front. If Williams is getting caught up by OG's off the LOS, the DL has not done it's job. Not only McLendon played poorly, but that does not give him a pass. But that's just run defense. Fans were getting on Jarvis Jones for only getting 1 sack last season. Go back & see how many times he closes in on the QB only for the QB to step INTO the pocket, leaving Jones clutching at air. Note- steps INTO the pocket. Now, McLendon is supposed to be some kind of penetrating NT right? How does a QB step FORWARD if McLendon is closing the pocket? The answer- it doesn't happen. The pocket didn't collapse in the middle. The poor play of the DL resulted in poor results for the LB's & also made our DB's look much worse. Fix the DL.

[Shawn]

Good post tChadman...and I agree.

[Shawn]

Our ends aren't penetrators either. Like I said before, the team went to a 2 man line a ton last year and he was off the field because Evander "Yes, these idiots took me in the first round" Hood was a better option at DE. A DE in a 3-4 have to hold their positions as well. They aren't get up the field pass rushers or gap shooting DE. Mclendon wasn't the problem last year against the run. Which is why people are talking about expanding his role.

I don't understand the Heyward comment. Heyward played in 2012 and wasn't good. Would you sit Keisel or Hood (another guy people would bitch about sitting) to play Heyward when he wasn't doing anything?

Worilds played LOLB before last year. Everybody talks about how Woodley missed so much time... who do you think took his place? Yup, the great Worilds. He was average at it. He played 8 very good games this year and the Steelers are paying him a boat load for 8 games. BTW Worilds would have had more time if he weren't injured EVERY year that he has been in the league.

Everytime I seen Heyward on the field in 2012 he stood out to me. I seen those flashes but he didn't get as much PT as he needed to in order to get into a rhythm. And Heyward can certainly penetrate...not sure if we are watching the same guy.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

It's popular to jump on the "McLendon isn't good" bandwagon...but not everyone agrees.

Good counter-argument:
[url]http://www.steelersdepot.com/2013/12/so-you-think-steve-mclendon-was-bad-against-the-run-in-2013/[/url]

[7 UP]

McLendon did not play well for a 3-4 NT last season. Teams ran at comparative will (compared to seasons past) against the Steelers. Its the role of the 3-4 DL to negate running lanes, which they simply did not do. McLendon is a member of that DL. Fans were getting on Vince Williams being the weak link in the D, but quite frankly, the D starts up front. If Williams is getting caught up by OG's off the LOS, the DL has not done it's job. Not only McLendon played poorly, but that does not give him a pass. But that's just run defense. Fans were getting on Jarvis Jones for only getting 1 sack last season. Go back & see how many times he closes in on the QB only for the QB to step INTO the pocket, leaving Jones clutching at air. Note- steps INTO the pocket. Now, McLendon is supposed to be some kind of penetrating NT right? How does a QB step FORWARD if McLendon is closing the pocket? The answer- it doesn't happen. The pocket didn't collapse in the middle. The poor play of the DL resulted in poor results for the LB's & also made our DB's look much worse. Fix the DL.

This post is spot on. I believe SM would be more effective as a DE than a NT. Im not sure hes a quality NFL starter at either position.

[Slapstick]

When Heyward played in 2012, he stood out...that carried over into his starting role in 2013...

McClendon has played some DE in the past...perhaps they will make a decision after OTAs and minicamps in order to give him a full TC to work at it...

[Vader]

McLendon did not play well for a 3-4 NT last season. Teams ran at comparative will (compared to seasons past) against the Steelers. Its the role of the 3-4 DL to negate running lanes, which they simply did not do. McLendon is a member of that DL. Fans were getting on Vince Williams being the weak link in the D, but quite frankly, the D starts up front. If Williams is getting caught up by OG's off the LOS, the DL has not done it's job. Not only McLendon played poorly, but that does not give him a pass. But that's just run defense. Fans were getting on Jarvis Jones for only getting 1 sack last season. Go back & see how many times he closes in on the QB only for the QB to step INTO the pocket, leaving Jones clutching at air. Note- steps INTO the pocket. Now, McLendon is supposed to be some kind of penetrating NT right? How does a QB step FORWARD if McLendon is closing the pocket? The answer- it doesn't happen. The pocket didn't collapse in the middle. The poor play of the DL resulted in poor results for the LB's & also made our DB's look much worse. Fix the DL.

You make a lot of assumptions with no facts. How many of those "almost" sacks came with a 2 DL line? Here are some facts from 2012 when they were the #2 run defense in the league:

McLendon:
Plays 129, #Pass 69, #Run 60, Yds/play 3.83, TotYds 494, Y/Pass 4.87, PassYds 288, Y/Run 3.43, RunYds 206
1st Ds 32, 1st% 24.8%, TDs 5, TD% 3.9, Fumb 1, Int 1

Hampton
Plays 482, #Pass 217, #Run 265, Y/Play 4.92, TotYds 2370, Y/Pass 6.4, PassYds 1389, Y/Run 3.7, RunYds 981
1st Ds 125, 1st% 25.9%, TDs 17, TD% 3.5%, Fum 5, Int 4.

Their 2 DL sets went from 335 in 2012 to 654 in 2013. Their 3DL sets went from 594 in 2012 to 384 in 2013. Went from 15 snaps in 6DB dime in 2012 to 499 times in 2013. Understandable that the run would suffer for that. You can't blame that on McLendon when he played better than Hampton the year before and the defense was #2 in the league against the run.

[steelsnis]

I think his point is being missed. He said that the NT is going to have to play in the sub-packages this year. If that's true then McLendon may indeed be the best candidate. Everyone always talks about how a true NT is only a two down player these days. But if you have one who can play in the base D and then shift to stay on the field on passing downs, then we may have something.

[Vader]

I think his point is being missed. He said that the NT is going to have to play in the sub-packages this year. If that's true then McLendon may indeed be the best candidate. Everyone always talks about how a true NT is only a two down player these days. But if you have one who can play in the base D and then shift to stay on the field on passing downs, then we may have something.

I think he is the best candidate because he has played well. They need a true LILB to add to that. You can't keep playing Troy in that role.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

The guy is one of the strongest on the team. No reason he cant make a good NT or DE. However, we need someone that can command a double team from time to time to play the middle.

IIRC, Hood was also the strongest on the team. I think that we can all agree that does not make a player.