Steelers address defensive needs early and often in draft
By Justin McGonigle
Don't call this defense Blitzburgh, or even the Steel Trap, and certainly not the Steel Curtain. But after this past weekends' draft you surely can't say they aren't trying to get back to those defensive ways. Sacks and turnovers or the lack there of has handicapped the Steelers defense since their AFC Championship season in 2010. The Steelers defense managed to take away the football 35 times during that season and sack the quarterback 48 times. In the seasons since the the Steelers have only managed a high of 21 turnovers including 2011 where they only had 15. They also haven't gotten to the quarterback more than 38 times in the last four years and only 33 times last season.
Bud Dupree joins Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier as the third consecutive linebackers picked in the first round by the Steelers. They join fellow first round pick linebacker Lawerence Timmons. Injuries derailed Jones' second season and Shazier was hobbled for the better part of his rookie year, missing seven games because of injury. Jones is teetering on bust status while Shazier flashed excellence at times during his limited action. He especially stood out in a preseason game against Buffalo when he recorded 11 tackles and 1 interception and looked dominate at times. Dupree recorded 36 tackles for a loss and 23.5 sacks over his 45 game career at Kentucky and at the very least should be able to find the field on pass rush situations. Outside linebackers coach Joey Porter spoke after the draft and stated that James Harrison would not be counted on to play every down so that they can get their best from Harrison. In 11 games after coming back from retirement last season Harrison played almost 40 snaps per game. Porter says they'd prefer Harrison to get 25 snaps per game.
"He's going to play his role, and his role is going to be effective. He knows what we're asking out of him, and he's going to be ready to answer the bell.” Porter told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
Based on Porters comments expect Arthur Moats to get a majority of the snaps on first and second down on the left side with Harrison coming in on rush situations. Jones will undoubtedly receive another shot on the right side to begin the season. The Steelers ran a lot of hybrid under Dick LeBeau with only two players with their hand down. If Keith Butler continues this trend you may see Harrison, Jones, Shazier, Timmons, and Dupree on the field in certain situations with Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt in front of them.
So they seemingly attempted to address the sack production in the first round and came back in the second round looking at the turnover problem. The Steelers selected cornerback Senquez Golson who tied the Ole Miss school record with 10 interceptions last season. Golson comes into a Steeler secondary that had a season leader with 3 interceptions over a 16 game schedule. Unlike Dupree, Golson will immediately be given the opportunity to see lots of playing time. The Steelers let Brice McCain walk during free agency and only have three cornerbacks on the roster with any starting experience. The Steelers again added depth to the cornerback position with Doran Grant from Ohio State in the fourth round. Grant had five interceptions last year for the Buckeyes and was a cornerstone on a defense that helped lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship.
Veteran William Gay should claim one starting spot while the other corner spot will be up for grabs between Antwon Blake, Cortez Allen, BW Webb, Golson and Grant. Allen received big money from the Steelers during the summer of 2014 after having a solid finish in 2013, but early season struggles send Allen to the bench and eventually he was placed on injured reserve with a thumb issue. If Allen is unable to gain his confidence back he may become a salary cap casual during training camp. That could open a spot for Webb to stay on the team via special teams but that may be his only hope.
In the seventh round the Steelers targeted safety Geron Holliman from Louisville. Holliman was the only player in college football that had more interceptions than Golson with 14. Holliman only had one year as a starter at Louisville and is very raw but his potential is through the roof. Even though he has such great ball skills he is a huge liability in run support as he makes Deion Sanders look like a tackling machine. He may find himself on the practice squad because of it, but unlike natural ability, tackling is something that is able to be taught.
The Steelers also looked to find depth at the defensive line position with LT Walton from Central Michigan, and tweener defensive end Anthony Chickillo from Miami in the sixth round. Walton has the best chance to make the team with only Cam Thomas and Cliffton Geathers standing in his way. Thomas quickly lost his starting spot after an unimpressive beginning to the 2014 season and Geathers was signed to replace Brett Kiesel after he went down with a season ending injury. Geathers never dressed for a game and Thomas' role was diminished to 5-8 snaps per game after he lost his job to rookie Daniel McCullers.
Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin found players that produced at the college level. Now they need to help mold them into NFL players. Which is something they haven't been able to do in recent years. The wasted draft picks have to stop here because the likes of Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark, James Farrior, Kiesel, and Polmalu are gone. They can't keep missing as they don't have the talent to do so anymore.
By Justin McGonigle
Don't call this defense Blitzburgh, or even the Steel Trap, and certainly not the Steel Curtain. But after this past weekends' draft you surely can't say they aren't trying to get back to those defensive ways. Sacks and turnovers or the lack there of has handicapped the Steelers defense since their AFC Championship season in 2010. The Steelers defense managed to take away the football 35 times during that season and sack the quarterback 48 times. In the seasons since the the Steelers have only managed a high of 21 turnovers including 2011 where they only had 15. They also haven't gotten to the quarterback more than 38 times in the last four years and only 33 times last season.
Bud Dupree joins Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier as the third consecutive linebackers picked in the first round by the Steelers. They join fellow first round pick linebacker Lawerence Timmons. Injuries derailed Jones' second season and Shazier was hobbled for the better part of his rookie year, missing seven games because of injury. Jones is teetering on bust status while Shazier flashed excellence at times during his limited action. He especially stood out in a preseason game against Buffalo when he recorded 11 tackles and 1 interception and looked dominate at times. Dupree recorded 36 tackles for a loss and 23.5 sacks over his 45 game career at Kentucky and at the very least should be able to find the field on pass rush situations. Outside linebackers coach Joey Porter spoke after the draft and stated that James Harrison would not be counted on to play every down so that they can get their best from Harrison. In 11 games after coming back from retirement last season Harrison played almost 40 snaps per game. Porter says they'd prefer Harrison to get 25 snaps per game.
"He's going to play his role, and his role is going to be effective. He knows what we're asking out of him, and he's going to be ready to answer the bell.” Porter told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
Based on Porters comments expect Arthur Moats to get a majority of the snaps on first and second down on the left side with Harrison coming in on rush situations. Jones will undoubtedly receive another shot on the right side to begin the season. The Steelers ran a lot of hybrid under Dick LeBeau with only two players with their hand down. If Keith Butler continues this trend you may see Harrison, Jones, Shazier, Timmons, and Dupree on the field in certain situations with Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt in front of them.
So they seemingly attempted to address the sack production in the first round and came back in the second round looking at the turnover problem. The Steelers selected cornerback Senquez Golson who tied the Ole Miss school record with 10 interceptions last season. Golson comes into a Steeler secondary that had a season leader with 3 interceptions over a 16 game schedule. Unlike Dupree, Golson will immediately be given the opportunity to see lots of playing time. The Steelers let Brice McCain walk during free agency and only have three cornerbacks on the roster with any starting experience. The Steelers again added depth to the cornerback position with Doran Grant from Ohio State in the fourth round. Grant had five interceptions last year for the Buckeyes and was a cornerstone on a defense that helped lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship.
Veteran William Gay should claim one starting spot while the other corner spot will be up for grabs between Antwon Blake, Cortez Allen, BW Webb, Golson and Grant. Allen received big money from the Steelers during the summer of 2014 after having a solid finish in 2013, but early season struggles send Allen to the bench and eventually he was placed on injured reserve with a thumb issue. If Allen is unable to gain his confidence back he may become a salary cap casual during training camp. That could open a spot for Webb to stay on the team via special teams but that may be his only hope.
In the seventh round the Steelers targeted safety Geron Holliman from Louisville. Holliman was the only player in college football that had more interceptions than Golson with 14. Holliman only had one year as a starter at Louisville and is very raw but his potential is through the roof. Even though he has such great ball skills he is a huge liability in run support as he makes Deion Sanders look like a tackling machine. He may find himself on the practice squad because of it, but unlike natural ability, tackling is something that is able to be taught.
The Steelers also looked to find depth at the defensive line position with LT Walton from Central Michigan, and tweener defensive end Anthony Chickillo from Miami in the sixth round. Walton has the best chance to make the team with only Cam Thomas and Cliffton Geathers standing in his way. Thomas quickly lost his starting spot after an unimpressive beginning to the 2014 season and Geathers was signed to replace Brett Kiesel after he went down with a season ending injury. Geathers never dressed for a game and Thomas' role was diminished to 5-8 snaps per game after he lost his job to rookie Daniel McCullers.
Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin found players that produced at the college level. Now they need to help mold them into NFL players. Which is something they haven't been able to do in recent years. The wasted draft picks have to stop here because the likes of Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark, James Farrior, Kiesel, and Polmalu are gone. They can't keep missing as they don't have the talent to do so anymore.
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