Timmons the ‘Law Dawg’ of Steelers defense
Lawrence Timmons was Mike Tomlin鈥檚 first draft pick as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and now he鈥檚 entering his ninth season. He鈥檚 the middle linebacker, the playcaller, the Pro Bowler 鈥� the Law Dawg. Here鈥檚 a Q&A:
Q: I hear the nickname 鈥淟aw Dawg鈥� so much that I want to call you that instead of Lawrence. Would you be mad?
LT: Not at all. (Pause) I鈥檇 never be mad at you, come on.
Q: Well, you鈥檙e a linebacker so you never know. I鈥檝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, 鈥楴ah, I can鈥檛 do that to a guy.鈥� I鈥檓 just out here trying to get better
and just be smart about it. You鈥檝e got to save your bullets. You can鈥檛 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鈥橵eon Bell. He鈥檚 a bit of a key.
LT: Right. He鈥檚 our best player on offense, running back for us. He takes a lot of shots and I don鈥檛 want to be the reason he鈥檚 not playing for us, you know what I mean?
Q: In backs-on-backers, he鈥檚 got to be scared of you then. But in coverage drills, when Tomlin always starts off with you covering Bell one-on-one, aren鈥檛 you scared of him there?
LT: Not scared of him, no. But you know it鈥檚 tougher for me. I take it as a challenge, and it鈥檚 a challenge I鈥檓 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鈥檚 got to be making you better, isn鈥檛 he?
LT: He鈥檚 the best in the league, hands down. The best receiving running back in the league, hands down.
Absolutely he鈥檚 making me better.
Q: In goal line Sunday, you didn鈥檛 show much mercy on the third snap. Who did you blow up?
LT: It wasn鈥檛 Le鈥橵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 鈥�
Q: I know. That鈥檚 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鈥檚 because you鈥檙e Tomlin鈥檚 first son (laughs).
LT: That鈥檚 funny. That鈥檚 pretty funny. But I feel I just have a great get-off. He鈥檚 mad because he鈥檚 310 and I鈥檓 240. He鈥檚 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鈥檚 all. Great player, though. Great player.
Q: Is it the get-off start or the 10 yards that he鈥檚 calling out 鈥楲aw Dawg鈥�?
LT: It鈥檚 the start. Right.
Q: Tomlin was tough on you the first couple of years, wasn鈥檛 he? It didn鈥檛 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鈥檚 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, 鈥楧on鈥檛 give him any awards just yet.鈥�
LT: Dayum (laughs). I didn鈥檛 even know that, but, yeah. Like you said, that鈥檚 pretty much the gist of things with how he was with me.
Q: But it鈥檚 all been for the good, hasn鈥檛 it?
LT: For the best, for sure.
Q: How鈥檚 your relationship with him now?
LT: Great relationship with me, my family, parents, everyone. I鈥檓 very family-oriented, real tight, close-knit group. So it鈥檚 nice.
Q: I met your family. How are they doing?
LT: Awesome. Awesome. Mom and dad doing great. Sister鈥檚 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鈥檙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 鈥楲aw don鈥檛 go around here, Sabby.鈥�
Q: Don鈥檛 remember that, but how do you like the changes being made on defense?
LT: We鈥檝e got a lot of good changes. Our D-line is looking real great. They鈥檙e dominating the line of scrimmage. Besides the goal-line period yesterday, we pretty much owned the whole practice.
Q: That鈥檚 what I thought.
LT: We kind of got lax there, but all of our defenders are playing well. Our first and second team isn鈥檛 that much different. You won鈥檛 see much of a drop-off. Our linebackers, Vince Williams and Sean Spence, they鈥檙e doing a great job. Our outside linebackers, Bud Dupree has been outstanding. Chick (Anthony Chickillo), the guy from UM. He鈥檚 been doing great.
Q: You Florida State guys can鈥檛 call it 鈥楾he U鈥�?
LT: No. No. That school over there. But they鈥檙e doing great. We鈥檝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鈥檓 willing to be up for any task. Coach Butler鈥檚 doing a great job with Jerry O. We鈥檙e honed in on everything. It鈥檚 fun now.
Q: Anything else interesting about this camp or this club?
LT: It鈥檚 interesting that we don鈥檛 have anybody from the past Super Bowls on defense who really has a vital role. That鈥檚 different.
Q: What about James?
LT: Well, James, sure. But just having James is kind of weird.
Q: He鈥檚 a backup now, but we鈥檒l see.
LT: Yeah, when he gets back we鈥檒l see how it goes. But I think my point is that this defense is almost totally rebuilt. And, we鈥檒l see how that goes, but I鈥檓 excited.