LeBeau wants to come back in 2014

Yeah, and if it weren't for DL, Allen and Troy surely whould have tackled Clay rather than giving up the game winning TD.

 

I guess I am in the minority, but I strongly believe that Labeau is the reason our defense even plays at a somewhat competent level at points in the season. I think that his schemes and style of D has been carrying our defense the past few years, and losing him would be a disaster.

The real problem are the players. They simply aren't that good. Before when we had a bunch of sacks and turnovers, we had great players like Harrison and a younger Polamalu and Smith and Hampton and a non-injured Woodley and great leadership from Farrior and Foote. Even Townsend was "better" than most of our current CBs.

We have not found replacements for these players! That is the problem. Just like how we are deficient in judging offensive line talent, we have had too many misses on the defensive side of the ball as well. Nobody, NOBODY, what was drafted under the Tomlin era outside of Timmons, Woodley, and maybe now Heyward/Worilds, have turned out to be competent, and Tomlin has been here a long time. Only three good defensive players during Tomlin's time here? Really? We can't keep relying on the old players to carry the team. The most important ones, Harrison/Hampton/Farrior, are already gone and we had nobody to take over.

We can get rid of Labead, fine, but our defense will still continue to look "un-steeler" like until we are able to actually get a roster of great players that made our defense look great in the past.

 

and everyone was *****ing about BA and wanted him gone.. hes done pertty well since he left hasnt he? you are clueless

HINES

 

Amen!

 

That is the million dollar question. Is it the talent or the scheme? Yeah you can point to a few plays that were squarely on the players but that happens to most teams in most games. The question is also why does it always come down to a play here or there with us. The good teams overcome mistakes and we seem to never do. Maybe his schemes tend to keep games closer then they should be.
I know talent may be a issue but Blitzburgh has gone missing for awhile now,even when we did still have some of our stars. I'm kind of torn either way but I do know this ,if Lebeau ends up staying I hope Butler leaves cause if this defense tanks again next year I don't want any of our current defensive coaches anywhere near this team. It will definitely be time for a major shake up and some new ideas.
You can't fire the whole team and I agree with many of the posters who say we can't wait three years anymore for our guys to "master" the system. So it's either get our guys ready to play sooner or find someone who can. If it is a talent issue I suggest we step our game up there as well.

 

No, because he is far from the first pereson I would get rid of.

 

I think it has more to do with age. some to old and some to young. rookies make mistakes and gets others out of position. the elder guys have lost that makeup step that made them great. it's not the system, it is the players. the rookies were not on the field early in the past because we had a championship caliber team already on the field.

this defense isn't any harder to learn than any other defense. guys that came from 4-3 systems in college would have a harder time for it to sink in and visa versa. it's a different system then they are used to. the guys like gay and JJ will have and did have a much easier time learning the 3-4 because they have played in some form of it.

another thing don't think that butler isn't part of that problem of getting young guys on the field. he's stated many times that his young guys (the LB'ers) were not ready. I don't think that would change if he were to become the DC and it's only lebeau's system. remember butler played in a 4-3 and has learned the 3-4 from dick. so, I'm not sure the system would change much if we changed co-O's.

 

I don't buy it as much that it takes 3 years to learn the system, rather than it would take 3 years for a top rookie to know the defense well enough (and to perform well enough within the system) to take someone's job on the starting unit. Think of all of the players we had (in their prime too) at the same time. Hampton, Smith, Kiesel, Farrior, Harrison, Taylor, Clark, Polamalu. How on earth would any rookie or second year player be able to come in and learn the defense real quick then take one of those guys jobs? Not easy. Even if DL sticks around, it wont be taking 3 years for rookies to see the field anymore because we don't have as many pro bowl caliber players on the starting defense. Simple as that.

Anyways that brings me to the point. I think the Steelers will have so many young starters on the roster next year with the certain departures of Kiesel and Clark (maybe Taylor and/or Troy too), that it might be a good idea for these guys to get some continuity with a new DC. DL isn't a long term answer, and we should be looking more long term with all these younger starters. DL is a great coach, as he is a HoF player and coach, and he has forgotten more about football that most current NFL coaches know. However, the circumstances this team is in right now, it might be best for us to go another route at the DC position. That's just my two cents.

 

I always liked Arians! It's been awhile since I've liked dick!

 

That's what I'm saying it don't want Butler taking over after Lebeau. I want new blood because I don't want a Lebeau clone. It would be time for a major change.

 

Getting new coches has never done this team any good. If we get rid of Tomlin and DL the only thing fans are gonna do is complain about the next guy that comes in. What we need to do is start getting rid of some players.

 

Sorry. I love LeBeau but I don't want to see him become the Joe Pa/Bobby Bowden of DCs. He's almost there.

 

It's execution/talent, certainly not scheme. Bad teams(2012 and 2013 steelers) find ways to lose while good teams find ways to win. We've given up 6-7 big runs(missed tackles by troy, ryan et al). If you take those away the run defense is at the top of the league. The same holds true for the pass defense. On almost every critical pass play someone in the defensive back field has been out of position or gambled and lost. Those things aren't on DL. Our defensive coordinator is the least of our concerns.

 

That's true the players have to make the plays on the field, but I don't think the blitzes are creative or aggressive enough what happened to blitzburgh? Some of the local sportswriters who cover the team has been critical of Lebeau also just like the fans. Like that blitz in the Cleveland game when William Gay had that sack we need to see more of that from the defense.

 

How often have we played with a lead? We've always been more conservative defensively when behind or with a narrow lead. It doesn't help when main cogs in your scheme are playing poorly(think troy and clark). If you can't count on mainstays to cover voids created by blitzes then you're less likely to blitz. A lot of these complaints about DL are pretty simple if A then B.

 

Like it or not, the scheme is old and coupled with less than stellar talent regardless of the young and old or purely untalented aspects. We need a shake up bottom line. Even blitzburgh was suspect over the middle on 3rd and long tirelessly. The scheme even with horses is not built to D up against the fast paced spread em out dink and dunk nor the over the top haymaker anymore. I mean sometimes it shows flashes of brilliance, but not so much consistently when it matters.

I love Lebeau too, but every dog has its day and then the night comes. Time for new blood all over the place and not just on D. I also would like to quit dipping in the company ink and get some outside help, but this team has never been big players in much of the outside world (good and bad sure) and don't expect them to anytime soon

 

I think it`s up to Dick, when he wants to go...
If he feels he has done enough, or doesn`t have the passion/commitment for it any more, fine.
As long as he still has the "want to", and is willing to put in the hours, I see nothing to be gained, by "kicking his knowledge of the game, to the curb"...
I get the feeling that he would be the first to admit, if he felt like he was hurting the team, or "holding onto past glory too long", that it was time for him to go.
As is, I feel lucky to have him teaching these kids how to play the game, for as long as he wants to do it.
On a side note, and in the spirit of the holidays,
Can anyone dig up an old clip of him reading "The Night Before Christmas", to the team, that was posted on the old board, from the team`s official site?
It was kick-ass, and shows why players feel lucky to play for him, and don`t want to let him down.
Yes, they have let him down lately, but you can tell it kills them to do so...
To a man, they support him, and miss him, even after they move on. (Witness Harrisson`s interview, after he became a Bungle, when he had to regain his composure, after being asked about LeBeau)...
The man has earned the right to retire, when he wants to, IMHO, but he is realistic enuff, in the article linked at the beginning of this thread, to say..
"We`ll see if they WANT me to continue to coach"...
I agree, that if we don`t want him to, someone else will, And we will regret letting him go.
GO STEELERS!!!

 

That's cute that the players respect him. He is a HOF coach. But, Father time has come a knockin. Not just with the players, but the scheme. This team needs a change, a fresh approach on defense. It's a rebuilding. This team can't wait 2 to 3 years for the players to learn the scheme. The time is now.

 

Either way it's still too long to learn a system in today's NFL. If it takes 3 years for you to get on field in any capacity is too long. Your contract is usually up in 4 years and if you explode on the scene then we can't afford to keep you. Even if the other guys are ahead of you you should be able to get in a few plays so we can see if you of worthy of resigning.

 

Funny how some think that because he's older DL doesn't know how to coach in this league anymore. And that's exactly what a lot in here are basically saying. I blame the age of the players out there trying to perform in his D. Does anyone really think a different DC is going to give them a few of their years back? Any DC is going to be limited with what he can do when you have guys that simply can't get the job done anymore in the same fashion they once could. If Father Time has caught up to anyone it's quite a few of the defensive players not DL.

If we get younger on D while improving at a few positions and we're still not getting it done then you can start to look DL's way.

 

You know, I see this particular argument a lot on this board, particularly as it relates to DL and Tomlin, not so much to Haley though. The old "well, the coach didn't miss the tackle, get caught out if position, let the receiver run by him, etc. etc. etc." is a weak argument at best. If this is the case, why should ANY HC, DC or OC get fired, EVER?! I mean, after all, it's the players on the field that play, right???