Who on defense could have a very good year and why?

[Oviedo]

Who on the Steeler's defense will have a career year? I'll pick two:

1. I think that Kiesel will have the best season he has ever had. I'll bet 6+ sacks as a result of teams accounting for Woodley on the other side and Woodley forcing QBs to move to their left. I'll also predict 5+ sacks for Aaron Smith because of teams being forced to deal with Woodley's outside rush.

2. I also think that if LeBeau uses him properly, then Troy will be Top 3 in the league in INTs. I think the team will have seen the wear and tear the "blitz up the middle" scheme is taking on Troy and have him play back more. Adding Woodley will increase the pass rush to the point they were trying to do with Troy and make him wrestling 300+lbs OLmen not necessary. I also think that Timmons gets a better pass rush up the middle on blitzes than Foote or Farrior.

See the trend--Woodley and Timmons are the keys.

[motter1975]

Who on the Steeler's defense will have a career year? I'll pick two:

1. I think that Kiesel will have the best season he has ever had. I'll bet 6+ sacks as a result of teams accounting for Woodley on the other side and Woodley forcing QBs to move to their left. I'll also predict 5+ sacks for Aaron Smith because of teams being forced to deal with Woodley's outside rush.

2. I also think that if LeBeau uses him properly, then Troy will be Top 3 in the league in INTs. I think the team will have seen the wear and tear the "blitz up the middle" scheme is taking on Troy and have him play back more. Adding Woodley will increase the pass rush to the point they were trying to do with Troy and make him wrestling 300+lbs OLmen not necessary. I also think that Timmons gets a better pass rush up the middle on blitzes than Foote or Farrior.

See the trend--Woodley and Timmons are the keys.

I agree with you about Troy, and I'll also add if he can stay healthy this year and not have to play hurt. Hopefully his return to his old style of off season conditioning will help make this a reality!

[RussBII]

I think the entire secondary will see a huge improvement due to the improved pass rush.

Individual accolades are nice and I hope everyone has a monster year, but what I really want back is that swagger. That "we're coming after you, and there ain't sh*t you can do about it..." attitude.

I want teams to be afraid to play the Steelers again. And if the pass rush steps up, then that frees up all sorts of things. If the QB doesn't have any time, we can put Anthony "My Favorite Martian" Smith out on the field to ball hawk and knock heads... As long as we don't leave him responsible for the deep middle for more than 6 seconds or so, I think he's fine as FS. And you can't deny that kid can hit...

[SteelerNation1]

I would like Troy P to stay injury free. IMO, he may never be an Ed Reed type safety with crazy INT #'s. 3-4 picks and i'd be pumped. It's the FS I want with high INT #'s. Our CB's seem unlikely to ever up up huge pick #'s.

[BigLebowski]

Woodley may lead the NFL in sacks, if only due to his chances and his pass rushing skills.

[Les 74]

I agree with Big Lebo.Our LB corps will be scary good this year.And if that is indeed the case,can you imagine how good they'll be next year??

[BigLebowski]

...I want teams to be afraid to play the Steelers again. And if the pass rush steps up, then that frees up all sorts of things. If the QB doesn't have any time, we can put Anthony "My Favorite Martian" Smith out on the field to ball hawk and knock heads... As long as we don't leave him responsible for the deep middle for more than 6 seconds or so, I think he's fine as FS. And you can't deny that kid can hit...

What worries me about Smith is not his abilities, but his head. He needs to realize his job is safety, not linebacker. But, if he could ever figure out how to control his aggresiveness and still be affecting at stopping the run, he could be a really good one.

[blacknblue80s]

In his second year starting at OLB James Harrison will improve on his probowl performance from last season.

The Bruce Davis pick has him so angry... he will likely break the all time forced fumble
record... pretending the ball is Colbert's head.

[steeld95]

I think I am probably in the minority, but I think Timmons is gonna have a good year. He has all the physical tools and if he can get over the mental block, he should be a big contributer to our defense. Some players make huge strides in their second year...look at Mario Williams.

Woodley should make some noise this year too and become known around the league. I still wonder why he didn't get more snaps last year. It seemed like he was in the backfield every time he was on the field.

[Les 74]

I think I am probably in the minority, but I think Timmons is gonna have a good year. He has all the physical tools and if he can get over the mental block, he should be a big contributer to our defense. Some players make huge strides in their second year...look at Mario Williams.

Woodley should make some noise this year too and become known around the league. I still wonder why he didn't get more snaps last year. It seemed like he was in the backfield every time he was on the field.

Because Haggans had a stranglehold on the positon.Either that or Haggans had compromising pictures of Colbert's wife.