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Steelers' Dick Lebeau proves good defense never gets old
by Jenny Vrentas/The Star-Ledger
Friday January 23, 2009


Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
Steelers defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau has been in the NFL as a player and coach for 50 years.

PITTSBURGH -- At the Steelers training complex near the Monongahela River, Dick LeBeau stood at a podium Thursday afternoon and quickly turned his news conference into an impromptu math lesson.

The Steelers' defensive mastermind, admittedly the son of an accountant, carefully began to describe how he has charted statistics during his decades of coaching, finding patterns among successful defenses.

LeBeau keys in on three numbers: Yards per snap, yards per rush and yards per throw gained by opposing offenses. But as the NFL's oldest coach, there is one number to which he pays no mind at all.

"I don't know how you're supposed to feel at 71, but I feel good," LeBeau said Thursday, before breaking into the tune of James Brown's "I Feel Good." "Da-na-na-na-na-na."

Steelers' Dick Lebeau proves good defense never gets old - New Jersey Sports - NJ.com