4-3 or 3-4? Still as clear as mud
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Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin was present at the Pro Day workouts for the Uiniversity of Arkansas yesterday, where defensive end Jamaal Anderson (a sure first-round pick) and Keith Jackson worked out.
Anderson moved his 284-pound heft 40 yards in 4.75 seconds. What’s impressive, though, is that he managed to get that same 284 pounds 32.5 inches straight up in the vertical jump workout. Anderson would be a great fit in either a 3-4 or a 4-3, but is more suited for 3-4.
Jackson, whose father is former All Pro tight end Keith Jackson, ran the 40 in 4.85 seconds, which is more than acceptable for a 305-pound defensive tackle. If Tomlin is looking at Jackson, it’s looking more and more like he wants to start building a four-man line. The Steelers already have Casey Hampton, the best nose tackle in the league, and Chris Hoke behind him.
While it’s possible Tomlin may be planning to draft Jackson and prep him for taking over the number-two spot behnd Hampton in 2008 when Hoke’s contract runs out or just cutting Hoke this year, it seems more likely that the push for a 4-3 defense is on. We’ll keep an eye on this one.
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April 11th, 2007 at 12:05 am
Let’s face it, we have no idea who the Steelers are actually going to take in the draft, or what Tomlin’s going to do with the D in the long run. So just keep investigating and guessing.
Personally, I’d love to see us use both the 3-4 and 4-3, bringing in different schemes will create another crinkle in an already pretty solid unit.
No matter what Tomlin does, I for one am hopeful, as he seems like a guy who can motivate and get more out of guys than expected. If he can help bring this unit together and create chemisty I think the sky is the limit where this group can go.