Pittsburgh Steelers' Defensive Line: The Reason for Not Getting Younger

There has been much speculation as the why the Pittsburgh Steelers have not improved the average age of their defensive line.

Prior to the 2008 NFL Draft, everyone believed that the Steelers were going to address both the offensive and defensive lines in the first two rounds. At the conclusion of the draft, Pittsburgh had not called a single defensive linemen name.

The current starters of the line are NT Casey Hampton (32 years old), Brett Keisel (31 years old), and Aaron Smith (33 years old).

Our back up are, Chris Hoke (33 years old), Nick Eason (29 years old), and Travis Kirschke (35 years old).

So there has to be a reson for the neglect. I think I have figured it out. 

Dick LeBeau.

No one can argue the greatness of LeBeau. He is an NFL legend. He has been in the league as a player and coach for over 50 years.

He created the zone-blitz scheme, and has proved over time that he is one of the best defensive minds ever.

So, why wont he bring in any younger players?

Prior to coming to Pittsburgh, Mike Tomlin was a defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. Prior to that he was defensive backs coach in Tampa Bay.

In both systems, Tomlin used the 4-3 as his base defense. In both cases, using the "Tampa Two" secondary.

Could it be that drafting a defensive lineman that would excel in Dick LeBeau's system, not work in the system Tomlin is going to use when LeBeau decided to call it a career?

One of the smartest statements, and there have been a lot of them, from Mike Tomlin when he first became Pittsburgh's coach two years ago, was to keep LeBeau as the defensive coordinator. 

And not to change the system, because the personnel was designed for the 3-4.

In Tomlin's first draft, the first two players that were selected were DE Lawrence Timmons, and DE LaMar Woodley.

Neither player played Line Backer in college, yet they were drafted to play in the 3-4 Line Backer mold.

In my opinion, Dick LeBeau should be our coach as long as he chooses. But lets be honest, how much longer can that be?

In reality, this is probably going to be LeBeau's last year in the league. But, when he goes, you can rest assured that the 3-4 defense that the Steelers run, will be changed into the 4-3. 

It is Tomlin's system.

So, for the Steelers to draft defensive linemen that are not going to fit our "new" system, would be a mistake at this point. What we have right now works.

When we switch to the 4-3, and it will happen, Timmons and Woodley are going to be at the DE positions, and Farrior, Foote and Harrison will be the Linebackers.

How cool would it be to have all five of them on the field at the same time?

A young player that can play end in the 3-4 will be drafted later in the draft to be molded into a 4-3 tackle. Then one will be taken in the first two rounds next year to complete the transformation.