Timmons the ‘Law Dawg’ of Steelers defense
Lawrence Timmons was Mike Tomlin无毛视频檚 first draft pick as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and now he无毛视频檚 entering his ninth season. He无毛视频檚 the middle linebacker, the playcaller, the Pro Bowler 无毛视频� the Law Dawg. Here无毛视频檚 a Q&A:
Q: I hear the nickname 无毛视频淟aw Dawg无毛视频� so much that I want to call you that instead of Lawrence. Would you be mad?
LT: Not at all. (Pause) I无毛视频檇 never be mad at you, come on.
Q: Well, you无毛视频檙e a linebacker so you never know. I无毛视频檝e seen James Harrison go up and down with me.
LT: (Laughs) James a good dude, man.
Q: I know. I enjoy him. But how did your nickname come about?
LT: Mike Tomlin gave it to me. You know, the Law in Lawrence.
Q: Yes. But when did it start?
LT: It started a long time ago, like four or five years ago.
Q: I remember backs-on-backers when you were young, maybe your second year. Someone had to wear a neck brace the day after tangling with you. Tomlin uses you first to set a tone, it seems, but you seem to have more mercy on your younger teammates these days than you did back when you were the young guy.
LT: Of course. You get older and you start to see what you do to people and you look at it and say, 无毛视频楴ah, I can无毛视频檛 do that to a guy.无毛视频� I无毛视频檓 just out here trying to get better
and just be smart about it. You无毛视频檝e got to save your bullets. You can无毛视频檛 just go out here and blast everybody like I did when I was younger. Who cared then? You could
heal the next day. But now I have to be smart about it.
Q: Especially going against a guy like Le无毛视频橵eon Bell. He无毛视频檚 a bit of a key.
LT: Right. He无毛视频檚 our best player on offense, running back for us. He takes a lot of shots and I don无毛视频檛 want to be the reason he无毛视频檚 not playing for us, you know what I mean?
Q: In backs-on-backers, he无毛视频檚 got to be scared of you then. But in coverage drills, when Tomlin always starts off with you covering Bell one-on-one, aren无毛视频檛 you scared of him there?
LT: Not scared of him, no. But you know it无毛视频檚 tougher for me. I take it as a challenge, and it无毛视频檚 a challenge I无毛视频檓 willing to take. Anything that he does to make me look bad, I take it as a challenge to be better the next play.
Q: He无毛视频檚 got to be making you better, isn无毛视频檛 he?
LT: He无毛视频檚 the best in the league, hands down. The best receiving running back in the league, hands down.
Absolutely he无毛视频檚 making me better.
Q: In goal line Sunday, you didn无毛视频檛 show much mercy on the third snap. Who did you blow up?
LT: It wasn无毛视频檛 Le无毛视频橵eon. It was another back.
Q: You filled the hole and blew him up.
LT: Just doing my job. Like you.
Q: (Laugh) Good. But they scored on the other five snaps. Where were you?
LT: You know 无毛视频�
Q: I know. That无毛视频檚 a jerky question.
LT: (Laughs) I did overflow a little bit and they cut it back each time. We were there, just overrunning plays. That was our first time doing it and I feel we were just geeked up out there. We wanted to get to the ball carrier and make a play.
Q: Not just you, but the whole defense was geeked up?
LT: Everybody was. It was our first time in goal line and we wanted to set the tone. I think we just had a little too much energy.
Q: Did the coaches seem upset in film review?
LT: We were professional about it. We lost, whatever, and they wanted to share their feelings about it, but they were pretty cool about it. We made our corrections and
went from there.
Q: Every day you guys start practice with the get-off drill, and you win every time. Cameron Heyward says it无毛视频檚 because you无毛视频檙e Tomlin无毛视频檚 first son (laughs).
LT: That无毛视频檚 funny. That无毛视频檚 pretty funny. But I feel I just have a great get-off. He无毛视频檚 mad because he无毛视频檚 310 and I无毛视频檓 240. He无毛视频檚 giving up a lot of pounds, but what can you do? Some of these guys, like Cam, they can run as fast as me in the 10, but he just loses. He just has to accept it for what it is. That无毛视频檚 all. Great player, though. Great player.
Q: Is it the get-off start or the 10 yards that he无毛视频檚 calling out 无毛视频楲aw Dawg无毛视频�?
LT: It无毛视频檚 the start. Right.
Q: Tomlin was tough on you the first couple of years, wasn无毛视频檛 he? It didn无毛视频檛 seem like you were his first son, did it?
LT: No. He was very tough. He put me in very tough situations all the time. And I just always came back. That must be what he loves about me. Anything he came at me with,
I made sure I made the correction the next day. That无毛视频檚 what he always appreciated about me. But when I was young, I used to do everything he asked of me and he never
gave me credit. I first thought he hated me. But he just made me a tougher player. I saw that as I got older, He definitely made me better.
Q: I remember the day after you blew that guy up in backs-on-backers and all the writers were excited to write stories about you. Tomlin came back and said to a couple of us, 无毛视频楧on无毛视频檛 give him any awards just yet.无毛视频�
LT: Dayum (laughs). I didn无毛视频檛 even know that, but, yeah. Like you said, that无毛视频檚 pretty much the gist of things with how he was with me.
Q: But it无毛视频檚 all been for the good, hasn无毛视频檛 it?
LT: For the best, for sure.
Q: How无毛视频檚 your relationship with him now?
LT: Great relationship with me, my family, parents, everyone. I无毛视频檓 very family-oriented, real tight, close-knit group. So it无毛视频檚 nice.
Q: I met your family. How are they doing?
LT: Awesome. Awesome. Mom and dad doing great. Sister无毛视频檚 doing great.
Q: Are you married with kids?
LT: Not married, but I have three kids.
Q: Three?
LT: I had twins.
Q: So you无毛视频檙e the Law Dawg at home, too?
LT: Absolutely. I lay down the law.
Q: Did you ever see the move Tombstone?
LT: Yeah. Sabby?
Q: Sabby?
LT: Yeah, he said 无毛视频楲aw don无毛视频檛 go around here, Sabby.无毛视频�
Q: Don无毛视频檛 remember that, but how do you like the changes being made on defense?
LT: We无毛视频檝e got a lot of good changes. Our D-line is looking real great. They无毛视频檙e dominating the line of scrimmage. Besides the goal-line period yesterday, we pretty much owned the whole practice.
Q: That无毛视频檚 what I thought.
LT: We kind of got lax there, but all of our defenders are playing well. Our first and second team isn无毛视频檛 that much different. You won无毛视频檛 see much of a drop-off. Our linebackers, Vince Williams and Sean Spence, they无毛视频檙e doing a great job. Our outside linebackers, Bud Dupree has been outstanding. Chick (Anthony Chickillo), the guy from UM. He无毛视频檚 been doing great.
Q: You Florida State guys can无毛视频檛 call it 无毛视频楾he U无毛视频�?
LT: No. No. That school over there. But they无毛视频檙e doing great. We无毛视频檝e got a lot of young guys doing real well right now.
Q: With the cover-2 the inside guys have to drop more in coverage. Do you like that?
LT: I无毛视频檓 willing to be up for any task. Coach Butler无毛视频檚 doing a great job with Jerry O. We无毛视频檙e honed in on everything. It无毛视频檚 fun now.
Q: Anything else interesting about this camp or this club?
LT: It无毛视频檚 interesting that we don无毛视频檛 have anybody from the past Super Bowls on defense who really has a vital role. That无毛视频檚 different.
Q: What about James?
LT: Well, James, sure. But just having James is kind of weird.
Q: He无毛视频檚 a backup now, but we无毛视频檒l see.
LT: Yeah, when he gets back we无毛视频檒l see how it goes. But I think my point is that this defense is almost totally rebuilt. And, we无毛视频檒l see how that goes, but I无毛视频檓 excited.