Steelers' new man in middle makes his first start

Steelers' new man in middle makes his first start
Saturday, October 22, 2011
By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


With a defensive unit chock full of thirty-something veterans, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin will turn to one of his youngest players Sunday to give his team a lift. Steve McLendon, a second-year pro from Troy University, will make his first NFL start at nose tackle against the Arizona Cardinals.

McLendon, 25, started the season as the third-string nose tackle but has moved up the depth chart because starter Casey Hampton and top backup Chris Hoke are injured. Hampton will miss his third consecutive game with a shoulder injury. Hoke, injured the victory last week against Jacksonville, did not practice all week and is listed as doubtful.

McLendon played extensively for the first time in his career against the Jaguars after Hoke left the game in the first half. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said McLendon played well and that he has no qualms about starting him.

"Steve has great strength," LeBeau said. "He has improved almost daily from the day he came here. [Defensive line coach John] Mitchell has done a great job with him. You can never have enough quality players.

"You can never have too much depth. Steve is one of the reasons we have good depth. The more he actually plays, the better he'll get. I have a lot of confidence in him. He'll play hard and he'll be in the right spot. He'll be where he needs to be."

The nose tackle is one of the most important players in LeBeau's 3-4 defense because he occupies blockers and allows linebackers to run free and make tackles on running plays. Inside linebacker Larry Foote is anxious to see how 6-foot-4, 280-pound McLendon performs as a starter.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11295/1184103-66-0.stm?cmpid=steelers.xml#ixzz1bXA8tQcD

The Steelers game of Musical Linemen continues.

Second-year NT Steve McLendon will get the first start
of his career when the Steelers travel to Arizona in Week 7
Casey Hampton has been ruled out of his third consecutive game,
and it appears Chris Hoke will miss it as well.

To put this into context, the last time the Steelers started a nose tackle
not named Hampton or Hoke was Kendrick Clancy in Week 6 of the 2001 season.



The Steelers won that Monday Night game, incidentally.

The fact that streak ends really should come as no surprise,
considering the amount of injuries the Steelers linemen
- offensive and defensive - have suffered this year.

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2011/10/22/2506408/steelers-offensive-defensive-line-injuries-week-7-analysis-arizona-cardinals

i heard this on the radio today. i think this will not affect us as bad as it sounds i mean really to the card even have a running without beanie and he has been fighting injury all year