Official "Our Defensive Line Sucks" Thread

[LVSteelersfan]

McCLendon needs to be in there especially against the no huddle teams. Hampton gets gassed too fast and is useless in that scenario. And he is not doing his job in run support either. It seems to be Hampton and Keisel are getting blasted out of there. With Hampton getting pushed backwards Hood gets sealed off most of the time and there is a big hole between Hampton and Keisel. Is that what everyone else is seeing? I think Heyward and McClendon need to be put in there and get their feet wet and use the other two as backups. Surely it couldn't be any worse than what Hampton is doing. Unfortunately I see us getting gashed by McFadden big time straight up the gut and on right side of the line on sweeps. He is a definite beast. Wish we had someone like him to run the ball.

[SteelKid212]

Originally Posted by El-Gonzo Jackson

our defensive line is not designed to get sacks, its designed to occupy blockers so that the LB's can make tackles. Problem is that I saw Larry Foote 5 yards deep and not scraping to the football and filling holes very much.

Gripe all you want, but our LB's are weak right now with the play of Foote and Carter. Timmons doesnt seem to be on par either. The one thing I do think is that Hampton is showing his age and Steve McLendon isnt the beast that everybody was making him out to be in the preseason.

sorry Gonzo, i have to disagree with you about Foote.

I thought he looked SOLID against Denver last week and vs the Jets Yesterday.

[Riddle_Of_Steel]

Originally Posted by El-Gonzo Jackson

our defensive line is not designed to get sacks, its designed to occupy blockers so that the LB's can make tackles. Problem is that I saw Larry Foote 5 yards deep and not scraping to the football and filling holes very much.

Gripe all you want, but our LB's are weak right now with the play of Foote and Carter. Timmons doesnt seem to be on par either. The one thing I do think is that Hampton is showing his age and Steve McLendon isnt the beast that everybody was making him out to be in the preseason.

What? I nominate Larry Foote for Defensive MVP as of right now. He seems to be the only one on our defense that is playing with any intensity and that has consistently been making plays for us.

Carter looks like a descent enough backup to get us past a few games, but not a long term solution at all.

Timmons has been okay, but not stellar.

As for the defensive line, Cam Heyward and Mclendon should be starting, with Kiesel and Hamp backing them up. Kiesel had a great season last year, but lets be honest-- both he and Hamp are on the wrong side of 30 and coming back from exploded knees. If we were thinking they would be Probowl players this year, we were not being realistic.

[tanda10506]

The D line is not performing like we are used to. I'm concerned that Hood is not going to get any better. He's no slouch, but for a first round pick he's not playing up to what's expected. McClendon has played mediocre and he has had a lot of chances to improve, I'm ready for Ta'Amu. I doubt he will play too much this year unless we blow some teams out, but with Hampton needing a breather all the time and McClendon not filling Hampton's role, we can only hope that Ta'Amu learns quickly and is able to take over the position. I'm not totally writing off McClendon, I just haven't seen anything from him these last 2 games and I thought he was mediocre last season.

[steelers33]

Same thread from last week. Frustrations about the defensive line....go

[tanda10506]

We've never started rookies on the D line under LeBeau and due to the complex scheme it's probably been the right call. That said, we are at a point where taking some chances on some young players makes sense. Hood is average IMO and Hampton is done. McClendon should be starting and I don't think it's much of a risk to at least see if Heyward can make a difference if started for a large stretch of games straight. Hood and Heyward are both #1 picks, and if Heyward doesn't end up being a beast then our D line will likely be mediocre at best for 2-3 years. You can only spend so many #1's on a position and get #4 production before your at a talent disadvantage.

[SteelHaven]

Originally Posted by tanda10506

Hood and Heyward are both #1 picks, and if Heyward doesn't end up being a beast then our D line will likely be mediocre at best for 2-3 years. You can only spend so many #1's on a position and get #4 production before your at a talent disadvantage.

These were my exact thoughts last night. It's looking more like Tomlins been swinging and missing in a lot of his drafts from the defensive side (with Woodly being the only true homerun and the Heyward pick will evetually work out I think).

If we are wrong and the problem lies in the type of defensive players we have drafted not being effective in Lebeau's 3-4. If after Lebeau retires and Tomlin switches to a 4-3 (or Tomlins Tampa's cover 2 scheme) we could see a difference and have a better grasp in determining the talent we drafted and know what we have. We just have to wait and see. (For example: I'm really interested to see if Hood would be more effective from a 4-3, because maybe Tomlins drafts were picking the players to get ready for that switch after Lebeaus gone)

[Steelerfreak58]

Just the D Line? I would go a bit further after watching what Oakland did to the D.

[Brett Cottrell]

Line got shoved around. Maybe move Hood to NT and Heyward to end. Heyward needs to be on the field.

Also, it doesn't help when we're down TWO defensive players of the year.

Still. Our defense was the Raiders' best offense.

[SteeleReign]

Originally Posted by SteelHaven

These were my exact thoughts last night. It's looking more like Tomlins been swinging and missing in a lot of his drafts from the defensive side (with Woodly being the only true homerun and the Heyward pick will evetually work out I think).

If we are wrong and the problem lies in the type of defensive players we have drafted not being effective in Lebeau's 3-4. If after Lebeau retires and Tomlin switches to a 4-3 (or Tomlins Tampa's cover 2 scheme) we could see a difference and have a better grasp in determining the talent we drafted and know what we have. We just have to wait and see. (For example: I'm really interested to see if Hood would be more effective from a 4-3, because maybe Tomlins drafts were picking the players to get ready for that switch after Lebeaus gone)

Go back to 2004. Other than Woodley, we haven't drafted a single big impact defensive player since the 2003 draft (Troy and Ike). Heyward may make an impact, but it's way too early to feel sure of that.