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hawaiiansteel
05-18-2014, 11:14 PM
Kovacevic: Shazier, Tuitt can shore up ... secondary?

By Dejan Kovacevic
Published: Sunday, May 18, 2014

“Football in shorts” is more than just one of Mike Tomlin's many pet phrases. It has a distinct beauty, this one. It's the coach's derisive, default comeback for any question that seeks analysis of any of the Steelers' various offseason workouts, and it doesn't even take the requisite verb.

“Coach, what did you of think of Joe Sixth-Rounder?”

“Football in shorts.”

“Coach, anyone out there who …?”

“Football in shorts.”

It's fair, too. No one's wearing pads. No one's hitting. It's all motions.

At the same time, be certain the Steelers' three-day rookie camp, which wrapped up Sunday on the South Side, represented at least the start of something essential for this franchise.

“A pass rush and coverage work together on a defense. They have since the beginning of time, and they always will,” Tomlin came back to one my decided non-football-shorts questions this weekend. “You've got to apply pressure to the quarterback. Doesn't matter how many people you do it with. You've got to use as many as is required for consistent pressure to assure that the ball comes out in a timely manner. Because when it doesn't, it means yards and points for the offense.

That's just the reality of football at any level.”

It has been a harsh reality around here for a couple of 8-8 seasons now.

My question for the coach, by the way, was chicken-and-egg variety: Which comes first, quality pass rush or quality pass coverage?

And while Tomlin's thoughtful reply was appreciated, I'll offer one that's a whole lot simpler: Seattle.

The Super Bowl champs ranked No. 1 in passing defense (172 yards per game), No. 1 in interceptions and No. 8 in sacks (44). And the Seahawks achieved that, at the risk of another Richard Sherman rant, through the NFL's most athletic and versatile front seven. Linebackers blitzed from all over the Pacific Northwest. Defensive tackles dropped into coverage. Even the base scheme would switch from 4-3 to 3-4 or 2-5, anything to disrupt, disrupt, disrupt.

In the Super Bowl, the Seahawks beat the Broncos by giving Peyton Manning 2.4 seconds to throw, compared to Russell Wilson's 2.81. Manning was pressured on 20 of 51 throws, Wilson on 4 of 27. Manning misfired on all six deep balls, including a pick. And no coincidence, Pro Football Focus' highest grades for Seattle's defense went to ends Chris Clemons (sack, QB hit, four hurries) and Cliff Avril (three QB hits, six hurries), and linebacker K.J. Wright (seven tackles). Even the game's most brilliant on-field mind had no idea what was about to hit him.

Any of that sound familiar?

It should, because that's what Dick LeBeau was doing before being saddled with a lot of aging, immobile pawns and rooks on his chess board.

Well, enter Ryan Shazier and Stephon Tuitt.

The Steelers' top two picks in this month's draft were expressly added to be the “defensive playmakers” Tomlin and Kevin Colbert repeatedly have stated they covet. But their true value will be best measured by the impact on the defense as a whole, in particular whether the front seven can resume — after a two-year hiatus — looking dangerous, unpredictable, maybe even a little menacing.

That's No. 1 here. Make no mistake.

The secondary will be much the same, except for Mike Mitchell taking Ryan Clark's place. The defensive line will have younger legs in Tuitt, Cam Heyward, Cam Thomas and Steve McLendon but no clear nose tackle yet. The linebackers have Lawrence Timmons, a maybe/maybe not sequel for Jason Worilds, Jarvis Jones seeking his second sack and Shazier learning on the fly.

That's a lot of ifs. But at least the pieces aren't glued down anymore.

If the speedy, smart and versatile Shazier meets high expectations, he'll allow Troy Polamalu to stop playing linebacker for good, a huge plus all by itself. He'll also help stunt the run. And he'll add a fourth dimension to the pass rush, preventing teams from ganging up on Worilds. He can lighten Timmons' load in pass coverage, too.

“I know I can drop into coverage,” the kid was telling me this weekend. “I've always considered it a strength.”

Tuitt's a bigger man, but he's athletic enough to use in various ways, as well.

Both will need to be quick studies, of course.

“As much as you think you know, there's a long way to go,” Shazier said.

“I've got a lot to learn,” Tuitt said. “This is a defense where you've got to take that playbook with you 24/7.”

Good. That's how it used to be.

I'd tell you how those two looked out there at rookie camp, except that their pants weren't long enough. That'll come soon enough.

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...#axzz327scUhUs

Shawn
05-19-2014, 01:35 PM
There were several us saying this predraft when promoting an ILB and DE to be taken early. Pass rush is the key to good secondary play. No cover in the world will lock down WRs all game if the QB has time to throw. You must speed up the game for the QB.

Iron City Inc.
05-19-2014, 07:34 PM
Yeah the key to today's wide open spread out passing attack is to get pressure with only 4. That is ideal. If a team can do that with some consistency they will be in good position. Pressure with 5-6 or more yeah it can be successful however there is high risk there.
Sub packages and big nickle packages where we rush 2 dl and 2 olb's will work if those 4 can get there.
Shawn's point about the rush keying the secondary is correct. There is no substitute for pressure.

Rod Polamalu
05-19-2014, 11:06 PM
Mark these words, Tuitt and Mauro along with Heyward dictates that we will have superior play at both 3-4 DE spots for the next ten years barring we do not allow any of them to walk via F/A. This indeed helps the secondary.

However until we add at least 2 stud backers (one inside and one out) and a stud NT to compliment them,....we will not be able to protect the type of db's (with the exception of Coach trading up for Troy) that we have drafted for years.

Then again,... Shazier naturally has an elite free safety's size and athletic skill set. Perhaps that is part the current regime's plan ? Or maybe it will be 5 to 10 years of moving him around at different backer spots in hopes that sooner or later he will explode, splash on and unleash hell upon the league ? lol

Slapstick
05-20-2014, 06:04 AM
Well, considering that the Steelers spent about 65 percent of defensive snaps without an NT on the field, perhaps that "stud NT" isn't nearly as important as you want it to be...

Rod Polamalu
05-20-2014, 11:53 PM
Well, considering that the Steelers spent about 65 percent of defensive snaps without an NT on the field, perhaps that "stud NT" isn't nearly as important as you want it to be...

Yeeeeah,....and how exactly has trying to adapt the system to cater to players that are not a fit for as much, as opposed to bringing in personnel fundamentally fit for said system been working out for us defensively ? Lol

Slapstick
05-21-2014, 08:12 AM
Yeeeeah,....and how exactly has trying to adapt the system to cater to players that are not a fit for as much, as opposed to bringing in personnel fundamentally fit for said system been working out for us defensively ? Lol

This does not address the point that I made...please, don't try to deflect...

Actually respond to my post and then I will respond to yours...

Lol.