March 15, 2007

Are the Steelers Making the Right Decisions this Offseason??


I think it's a fair question. After reading about personnel moves, major and minor alike in Cleveland and Baltimore, I really got to thinking this morning.

The fact is, we have a brand new, 32-year old coach in Mike Tomlin who has never been a head coach in the NFL. Not only that, but we seem to be trusting him with too much too quickly. This may be the result of Cowher's success when placed in a similar situation in 1992. However, maybe it's possible that with the departure of the great Bill Cowher, the Steelers organization and Steeler fans alike want Mike Tomlin to be something great right out of the gate. Believe me, I'm not saying he won't be. But here's what worries me:

Tomlin prefers a 4-3 (Tampa Cover 2) defensive scheme. Contrastingly, the Steelers have quite successfully run a 3-4 for a while now. The good news is, Tomlin kept 3-4 proponent and guru Dick LeBeau as Defensive Coorinator. The potential bad news is there is talk now, with Joey Porter gone, of drafting a Defensive End such as Jarvis Moss and moving into a 4-3. And look, I'm not saying the 4-3 wouldn't be a success in Pittsburgh, but coming off a Super Bowl win just a two years ago, I hardly want to see the Steelers changing too quickly at the risk of sacricing their competitive edge.

Perhaps this is just one isolated issue, and there isn't as much change as I think there is, but I guess my question is - are the Steelers trusting Mike Tomlin with too much too quickly or is all this appropriate?

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