One Down, A Bunch to Go

Obviously, Aaron Smith signing a new deal is a big deal, especially when the next newsworthy nugget is ... learning Mike Tomlin will live in Pittsburgh (more on that in a second).

According to the Tribune-Review by way of J.J. Cooper, it's a five-year, $25 million contract, though J.J. adds this:

[The signing] seems to point towards the Steelers sticking with the 3-4 longer than is often thought. Smith is one of the best 3-4 defensive ends in the league, but he's never played in the 4-3 as a pro, so it's hard to project how effective he would be as a 4-3 defensive tackle.

I don't know why this is still a question. I know Bouchette was contemplating it earlier in the week, but Wexell wrote a column on Sunday (and I posted it on AOL the next day) that pretty much laid it out in black and white:

A source with the Steelers made the admission that, yes, the Steelers are sticking with their 3-4 defense, even though their new coach, Tomlin, is an avowed Cover 2 devotee.

Obviously, this doesn't mean Pittsburgh will only play the 3-4 -- they've never done that -- but it should make it clear that Tomlin's in no hurry to transition to the 4-3. Wexell even writes about the 3-4 tweeners the team interviewed during the Combine.

I know PFT, oddly, still writes Steelers-related posts like a switch to the 4-3 is a possibility. Yeah, that's wrong. Just like when PFT also reported that a Tomlin hire would be the end of Dick LeBeau in Pittsburgh and Troy Polamalu would soon follow.

For some reason, the media are slow on the uptake on this; it's not brain surgery, people.

... Anyway, anybody got thoughts on if Pittsburgh should try to sign Cato June? I'm kidding, but some guy at the Tribune-Star thinks June -- a 4-3, Cover-2 linebacker if there ever was one -- Dominic Rhodes and Nick Harper could all be potential Steelers targets. One more time, for the slow folks: June - No; Rhodes - No; Harper - Probably not. June is 6'0", 227 pounds; he'd struggle a lot as an outside linebacker in the 3-4. Rhodes peed on himself and, as I wrote on AOL, is a smaller, less dynamic version of Willie Parker; you can never have enough good defensive backs, and maybe the Steelers owe Harper -- and his wife -- for helping with the Super Bowl run, but he'll want A) to start, and B) too much money.

I'll pass.

... I was all set to rip Ron Cook for his latest diatribe against humanity, but you know what? I don't really disagree. Ben does need to work harder and I've said as much before. So, as much as it pains me, Cook isn't wrong. Bob Smizik, on the other hand, still sucks.

... Finally, I think it's kinda funny some Pittsburghers are high-fiving each other over Tomlin deciding to live in the city. This is a bad idea. Sure, on the surface, it's swell, having the head coach of the local ball club living two doors down from Joe Lifetime Season Ticket Holder, but here's the thing: if the Steelers go in the tank early, Tomlin will have to move. It's hard to hide from the pitchfork-wielding crowd when you live right in the thick of things. Tommy Maddox's yard got trashed and he lived in the suburbs (of course, Maddox and his agent made up the whole story, but if it were true, you'd see my point, right?).

Hopefully, it'll be fine; and Shadyside is as yuppie as it gets for the city, so that's a good thing, I guess. But I wouldn't be surprised if Tomlin's become the first black family in Fox Chapel in a year or two (or they could do like Kordell ... and Christina Aguilera, and move to Wexford).

First Ever Ken Anderson Game Thread

I'll be honest, I loved Kenny Anderson and Lethal Weapon 3. Honestly, how awesome was that Georgia Tech team? Huh? Wrong Ken Anderson? Get out?

Okay, I know Ken Anderson (and I know it's not a game thread, but I like symmetry). He's the tall, formerly mustachioed white dude who once completed 20 consecutive passes or something. I know this because one of my first NFL-related memories was watching the 1981-82 Cincinnati Bengals and actually talking my parents into getting me an Anderson kids jersey (yes, they made them). Hey, I was eight, what do you want.

And now, he's the Steelers new quarterbacks coach. I like this move. Not because I think Anderson will be better than Mark Whipple. I liked Whipple and thought he was good for Big Ben early in his career, but you know what? Ben's entering his fourth year and somebody needs to kick him in the ass. Steve mentioned this in the comments yesterday and I agree: it's about time Ben take this whole job thing seriously.

I got the impression that Whipple was Ben's enabler (and this is just speculation on my part) and if Tomlin can send an early message that things are going to be different then I'm all for it. Don't get me wrong, I like Ben and think he's a good guy, but he could be a much better player. I know we love to hate Tom Brady and, to a lesser extent, Peyton Manning (although I'm guessing that'll change if he wins the Super Bowl ... it'll be full-blown hatred after the media get done slurping him) but those guys bust their asses. I don't get that impression with Ben.

On a totally unrelated note, I wanted to give Eric props for his new word. It's already spreading around the internets. From Honest Wagner:

Clark Judge of Sportsline and Ed Bouchette report that Grimm might have misread the Rooneys on Saturday. Which brings us to Prisuta. Rowdy chided me for biting and linking to that pantload. Then the Trib went and prisutaed the whole story as if it never happened. See Ryan at HSS if that last sentence didn't make sense.

Solid.

Quickly, Quickly...

... Apparently, ESPN Radio reported this morning that Richard LeBeau is staying in Pittsburgh. Sounds good to me. Also -- and somebody mentioned this on the SCI message board -- LeBeau ran the 4-3 in Cincy, so maybe we shouldn't get our panties in a bunch just yet. (And just ignore the fact that the Bengals had dreadful defense.)

... Like I've said previously, just because you run the 4-3, doesn't mean you can't run the 3-4. It's not either/or (see New England, for example).

... Even if the Steelers switch to the 4-3, Casey Hampton will still dominate, Aaron Smith will probably move inside ... and still dominate, and Troy Polamalu will continue to play strong safety and ... still dominate. Playing Cover-2 doesn't mean you do it on every down. I think Mike Tanier wrote on FO that the Vikings also ran a lot of Cover-1 and Cover-3 based on the down-and-distance. Pittsburgh currently plays a lot of Cover-3 behind all the crazy zone blitz stuff they do.

I'm not worried about it in the least. In fact, I'm kinda psyched.

...Jesse -- I too had a litter buyer's remorse with regards to Whisenhunt, but I'm over it. The Rooney's felt like things had gotten a little stale (I'm speculating), so they mixed it up.

...Finally -- and I think somebody commented on this earlier -- but where the hell is the Prisuta "Steelers Hire Grimm" piece? It's disappeared from the Intertubes. If anybody has the text of the article, let me know, but it's definitely the new No. 1 Captain Pantload Watch. By like infinity. I mean, it makes the "same time next year?" seem like Hemingway.

To quote Jeff Spicoli: "Awesome. Totally awesome."

First Ever Mike Tomlin Game Thread

I have no idea what's going on with the Steelers head-coaching job, but depending on who you believe, Mike Tomlin's the guy (did I ever tell you about the time me and Mike were hangin' out in college... ).

I admit to being kinda shocked when I first heard it. In recent days I'd been leaning toward the Tomlin hire, but when it actually happened (or, at least, when it was first reported in SI), I started having second thoughts.

I'm over it. I like it, but like Eric mentioned in the comments, I'm now concerned about what the defense will look like going forward. The Steelers don't necessarily have to switch to the 4-3 just because Tomlin is a "Cover-2" guy. I mean, the Patriots play the 3-4, 4-3, and everything in between. And the Ravens have a lot of different fronts too. No reason to think Pittsburgh can't continue to do what's they've been doing. Now, if Tomlin had been hired following the 2003 season, I don't think many people would've cared if he switched to a 6-1 or 5-2. Tim Lewis was that bad. But Dick LeBeau has done amazing things with the defense in three seasons and I can't imagine the Rooney's would abandon all of that with the new hire.

Also, I read somewhere that some of the Steelers assistants are still under contract and it wouldn't be that easy to get rid of them (without firing them, I guess).

For now, I'll assume Tomlin's the guy and I'm happy about it. In the words of DJ, anybody who can work for Tobias Funke has to be smart.

PS. Consider this the Saints-Colts game thread too.

PPS. Israel, enjoy the game at your mother's, although I'm shocked she's not a devoted HSS reader.