As far as the defense goes, there’s a lot to like as well as a lot of question marks. Obviously the secondary is the biggest issue so it will be good to start there. Of course the biggest question mark is how well Troy Polamalu will be able to play coming off of his multiple knee injuries. He’s had a lot of time off and opted to heal naturally. I don’t know if he’s 100% in terms of his health, but he’s obviously playing. He has not been playing with 100% game intensity, so that factors into the evaluation as well. What I’ve observed is that he still possesses his superb ability to diagnose a play and try to blow it up. What he hasn’t shown yet is his ability to get there in time. His speed looks lacking, and I can’t say how much of that can be attributed to preseason conditions. His tackling also leaves much to be desired. He whiffed once and was juked another time against the Giants, and he didn’t have a sure grip on another play or two. This element needs to improve. There’s still two more games to evaluate and each game he should get better as he knocks off the rust.
Opposite Polamalu is Ryan Clark, who flirted with Miami before resigning with the Steelers this offseason. The entire secondary plays like a different unit with Troy on the field, and that showed last season, with Clark’s play suffering as he tried to compensate for the below average play of backup safety Tyrone Carter, who’s now gone. I expect that he’ll rebound significantly this year, as his style of play is entirely in sync with what Polamalu does on the field. They are a true pair out there the likes of which are rarely seen in the post free agency NFL, in my opinion.
The new backup safety is the veteran Will Allen, who has impressed me during the preseason. He diagnoses the play well and has the potential to make impressive plays. He is also an excellent special teamer, which is vital for the Steelers. Accompanying him is 3rd year player Ryan Mundy, who looks improved, but I still prefer not to see him on the field.
The cornerback situation this year is pretty interesting. There is an excessive amount of depth there, though none of them are studs. Ike Taylor is the bona fide number one guy who always goes up against the number one on the other side of the ball, and he’s done this admirably for a number of years. He has superb speed and is rarely beaten, though he had a few key lapses last year. He was thrown out of the game against the Giants for throwing fists two minutes into the game, which was very unfortunate to see. I’d like to see a lot more from him in the next game. He could be an elite corner if he ever came down with the picks. Hopefully some day he’ll learn how to catch as well. He works on it all the time, but he can’t catch a ball to save his life. This is a problem that the majority of the cornerbacks suffer. At least two games last year could have ended with a Steelers win had a cornerback held on to the ball. One of them was Ike Taylor’s drop in the Chiefs game. The other was Joe Burnett’s drop in another game, though I can’t remember which. It was either the first Ravens game or the Raiders game. If the Steelers corners had any hands they would have been able to ice those two games in the late stages and would have been 11-5.
Next on the depth chart seems to be Bryant McFadden, for whom they got from the Cardinals after one year away from the team for a 5th round pick. It looks like his play has declined. He has looked bad on a few plays already this preseason. He needs to step his game up. I was quite pleased with this move during the offseason, but it’s not paying dividends as of yet. Obviously he’s a tremendous improvement upon William Gay, but that’s not saying much.
Immediately below him is now 2nd year third round pick Keenan Lewis, who unfortunately suffered a concussion in the last game. He shows a tremendous amount of promise. One play in particular that he made against Calvin Johnson in the back of the endzone really showed me that he has a world of talent – it just needs to be harvested properly. After he was injured last year, he spent a lot of time studying the playbook. He should definitely be the nickleback this year and may eventually challenge McFadden for the starter’s spot.
I would guess that Gay is next on the depth chart, just ahead of Joe Burnett, only because he has starting experience. There’s really not much to say. He misses tackles badly at times and gets beat far more often than desired. He is a pure nickel or dime and should never see the field as a starter again. Easily the worst starter for the Steelers last year by far (well, Justin Hartwig was pretty bad too). I wouldn’t be shocked if he was cut this year in favor of keeping the younger guys.
Next up are two 5th rounders, one from last year and one from this year, the former being the aforementioned Joe Burnett and the latter being Crezdon Butler. Burnett looks like a better Gay to me. He misses reads sometimes, but he’s a more competent tackler, and he did have an interception that bounced into his hands against the Giants. He has improved somewhat from last year, which is nice to see. I think Butler shows a lot of promise, more than any of the non-starters aside from Lewis. He has the potential to make those exciting splash plays in the secondary that really only Polamalu usually makes, but he needs to prove that he deserves the playing time. He has looked good for the most part, though there was a play or two that it looked like he took off. It should be interesting to see how he develops. In a draft that was very deep at cornerback, it’s not at all a stretch to think that the Steelers could have found at least an eventual nickel corner in the 5th round this year. There’s also Anthony Madison, the special teams ace who is proving this preseason that he wants to be considered a legitimate corner this season. I’ve been impressed with his play so far, and he’s really mucking up the roster situation.
Aside from these draftees, there are two undrafted guys of note who have been playing well, but will not make the roster because there’s just no room. They may find their way to the practice squad though. Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith is a corner who’s a hard hitter and a strong tackler. He looks good against bottom-string players, but that’s not saying much. The same can be said of safety Justin Thornton, who had a big forced fumble with a hard hit in the Lions game, and had another hard hit against the Giants. These guys play Steelers style defense, which is the main reason they may stick around on the PS this year.
The defensive line starters continue to get older and the backups continue to get younger. Aaron Smith, the best 3-4 end in the game, looks to be back up to full capacity. He never takes a play off. He stretches with the bottom-stringers. He’s one of the most humble guys in the league. He answers everybody’s questions even though he doesn’t like the attention. I found it fitting that he got the Steelers’ first sack of the season. It’s really just great to see him back. No 3-4 end plays the run better than he does, and nothing makes this more obvious than when he’s not on the field. He eats blockers almost as well as Casey Hampton, which is why the linebackers in Pittsburgh are perennially so successful. I really can’t say enough about him, so I just won’t say much. His only downside is his age. He’s 34, and even though he claims to feel the same as he always has, it’s only a matter of time. He can’t possibly have more than a couple years left in the tank.
Opposite him is Brett Keisel, who continues to perform his job admirably and anonymously. It’s almost as though the less you hear his name called out the better he’s fulfilling his role on the team. There are rumors that Ziggy Hood will challenge him for the starting role by midseason, but I don’t see that happening this year.
Casey Hampton had a Pro Bowl season last year and I fear this year may be even better. He is extremely motivated to redeem the defensive reputation of the team after the 5 loss streak last year and missing the playoffs, so he’s gotten into the best shape of his career and he has really looked impressive. Complete with a new 3 year contract that should see him to retirement, I look forward to watching him play this year.
As for the backups, the two most vital this year will be Ziggy Hood and the aged Chris Hoke. Ziggy was their first round pick last year at defensive end, and he will be spelling all three starters for periods during the game and will be the first one to line up if there’s an injury. He started to come on last season and had a great game against the Ravens at home, and from all reports he has had a stellar camp, being among the chief storylines coming out of Latrobe this year. He should be a great asset down the stretch and late in games to ward off lax play due to wear. Chris Hoke is not a starter, but he always plays well when he comes in to give Hampton a breather. He really has an underrated role in their overall scheme, and I’m glad to see that they kept him.
Unfortunately the Steelers finally said goodbye to Travis Kirschke, but in his place are three guys, one veteran and two youths. Nick Eason, the veteran journeyman, has impressed me whenever he was in the game, and I’m glad they decided to extend him a new contract this offseason. Their two late round picks in the last two years, Ra’Shon Harris and Doug Worthington, I really can’t comment on too much because I haven’t seen them enough, but I’ve been told that they show promise. Harris was put on the PS last year and the Panthers snatched him up. Obviously it shows how much the Steelers think of him that they got him back. There’s really nobody else worth mentioning, and certainly nobody who will sniff the 53.
Naturally, the linebacker position is the sexy position in the 3-4, and of course the Steelers have Pro Bowl talent on the outside in James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. I’m really not even sure how much need be said of these two. The more interesting storylines are inside with the aging James Farrior and the up and coming Lawrence Timmons. Be that as it may, the Steelers had virtually no depth on the outsides last year, which is why they spent 2nd and 4th round picks this year to draft Jason Worilds and Thaddeus Gibson in this past draft. They also brought back Larry Foote to spell the two ILBs.
James Harrison has seen little playing time, but he’s already made a couple of left tackles look bad with his aggressive swim move to the inside. He even bullrushed one and knocked him on his back, causing the tackle to trip Harrison on the way past, drawing a flag that negated a nice gain for the Lions. He really doesn’t need the preseason to be ready. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a better year than last year. Two things were working against him last year; late in the year he injured his arm, and his play suffered after that; he was also held a lot and was rarely called. This year, with the referees moving behind the offense rather than the defense, I think that he will get more calls, hopefully anyway. He’s getting up there, but he hasn’t lost an ounce of his game as of yet. He’s still explosive off the line and he’s actually become more technical. The dropoff that he had toward the end of last year doesn’t worry me at all. If I recall correctly, he had 10 sacks after 10 games last year, but didn’t record another one after that.
LaMarr Woodley’s production went in the opposite direction. In his young career he’s already proven to be a slow starter, and this was no more evident than last year. However, he was the only consistently dominant player on the defense down the stretch last year, and he had great games even in those bad late losses. He finished with 12 ½ sacks I believe, and if he can get to a good start this year, he should be able to match that again. He has an impressive bullrush move, and playing on the weaker side, with Harrison opposite him, the duo will make a lot of plays this year. He is in the final year of his contract. It is essential that the Steelers resign him. It says a lot about his character that he is playing through his dissatisfaction with not getting a contract instead of holding out, despite being among the top at his position and assuredly having a huge contract on the way. I believe he’s playing for $550,000 this year.
As I mentioned, behind the starters are two rookies. And despite this fact, they’ll see little playing time because the starters are almost never off the field. Worilds and Gibson will need to show off on special teams this year. Worilds was hampered somewhat with a hamstring injury early in training camp and Gibson missed OTAs, so they’re both a little behind, but both have impressive natural abilities, and Gibson totally dominated the backs on backers drill. Worilds is a pure raw talent that needs guidance. He would have been an awful second round pick for just about anybody aside from the Steelers, but it makes a lot of sense for this team. He has the most upside of any OLB from his class, though it’s possible they could have gotten him in the third round. He needs to learn technique, but he is adding to his rushing repertoire learning from Harrison. Gibson is more disciplined, coming out of Ohio State and playing in a system similar to that the Steelers run. Of course both players are being converted from DEs in college, so they need time to mature into their new standing positions. Like Lawrence Timmons said, it takes about two years to both understand and execute LeBeau’s defensive scheme, so they’ll need to grow into it.
Speaking of Timmons, this is the year that he should be fully at his potential. He was converted from OLB to ILB, and that transition was a bit bumpy. He was also plagued with calf injuries early in the year, which stunted his development, but he is the most physically naturally gifted player on the entire team, and he has shown flashes of that last year. I remember one game where the Steelers fumbled the ball and lost it, and on the first play he had a strip sack to get the ball back. A couple plays and another turnover later, Timmons does the same thing again. He has bulked up this year and improved on his coverage abilities, but LeBeau is working on new packages that has him blitzing. He said that his goal this year is to have upwards of 17 sacks, which is an absurd number that no ILB has ever obtained to the best of my knowledge. Harrison holds the Steelers record for any player, and that’s 16 sacks. He had seven last year while being limited, so I can see him cracking double digits at least, which is more than acceptable for his position.
Of course, the quarterback of the defense is the grisly veteran James Farrior. He has lost a step, and he had some crucial mental errors this year. He has rededicated himself this year and has worked with a conditioning coach, which has supposedly helped him regain that step. With the defense at its full capacity again, I expect those ‘mental errors’ to be minimized this year. He made a really impressive explosive play this past week that went a small way in proving that.
Behind the starters are Larry Foote and Keyaron Fox. Foote’s main advantage is that he knows the defense. I’ve always considered him competent, but by no means is he an excellent player at his position physically. He is a scheme player, though he does it well. On the other hand, I really like Keyaron Fox. He’s made some impressive plays for the Steelers when filling in last year, and I’m really happy that they have increased his role this year. He’s also a beast on special teams. Finally, there’s another rookie in the mix that is really pushing Tomlin to keep 9 linebackers this year by the name of Stevenson Sylvester. Like Timmons, he played OLB in college, but has converted to ILB at the pro level. He has been excellent in the preseason so far, even having a nice sack on Rhett Bomar this past week, a quarterback who had already scrambled away from multiple pressures earlier in the game, including a would be safety. I watched some tape of his work in college, and he has shown that he has above average football smarts. If he proves to be a real player from the 5th round, I’ll be really happy. I fear putting him on the practice squad because I think another team will take him. If he shows he can play special teams at a high level, he’ll have a greater chance of making the roster. An undrafted rookie, Renauld Williams, has looked professional as well against bottom-stringers, but there’s no way he can make the roster.
I think that about covers it for the defense. Honestly, I like where they are, and, barring injuries, should be able to improve upon their weaknesses from last year, mainly due to newfound quality depth. Some interesting roster situations upcoming will be at: QB, RB, WR, OL, DE, LB, CB. In other words, basically the entire team. The only position that is really set aside from special teams is Safety, with the two starters firmly in place and the two backups all but guaranteed. It will be interesting to see if they keep Charlie Batch at the start of the season, and if so, if they continue to keep him after Roethlisberger comes back. The other roster spot battles have already been detailed.
As far as special teams goes, Jeff Reed has looked as good as ever so far. He’s been hitting field goals from further distances than ever this year in practice, actually. Daniel Sepulveda is an above average punter and a Hall of Fame tackler as far as punters go. Of course, the fact that he had to make a tackle proves that the Steelers still have issues on returns. New ST coach Al Everest has his work cut out for him. They brought in new players destined for special teams, but he needs to make it work. Jeff Reed can’t kick the ball deep enough. They had Sepulveda kicking off against the Giants. He got better at it as the game progressed. It’s possible he will share this duty during the season. Stefan Logan may be gone if a roster spot for another player becomes desperate because they have a few players, Antonio Brown being the forerunner, who can fill that role. The return and coverage games are still lacking though. Lane discipline needs to be stressed, and individual players have missed their opportunities to make the plays. Blocking schemes need to be adhered to. I hope to see more in the next two preseason games.
