Kovacevic: Time to end the Woodley mistake

[NorthCoast]

Woodley's base in 2014 will be $8M. He missed 5 games this season, roughly 30% of the season. Is he willing to take a 30% paycut to $5.6M?? Considering that is about what the Steelers were going to pay J Harrison, I think it is a fair haircut for Woodley (and you could argue he should take even less).

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers Need More Pocket Collapse From Outside Linebackers in 2014

BY DOMINIC DI TOLLA - JAN 7TH, 2014



The Pittsburgh Steelers accumulated only 37 sacks during the 2012 regular season.

Although Pittsburgh ranked 1st in the league in total defense, the inability of their defense to create consistent pocket collapse (15th overall in sacks) was a large reason why the unit was not as formidable on the field as they were on paper.

Despite the fact that James Harrison was released last March, it did not look like the Steelers would be in bad shape at the outside linebacker position in 2013. Jason Worilds was entering a contract season, LaMarr Woodley was supposed to be healthy and in shape again and rookie Jarvis Jones showed a knack for making big plays during the preseason.

Unfortunately for the Steelers, injuries (Woodley, Worilds and Jones all missed at least one start) and inconsistent play were more of the norm than anything else for the players at the premier pass-rushing positions on the defensive side of the ball. Pittsburgh’s defense finished tied for 25th in the league in sacks (34), and their outside linebackers struggled to consistently produce.

Although Worilds’ strong finish to the final eight games of his season (7.0 sacks and 42 tackles) was nice to witness, he was benched early in the season and was almost invisible during the team’s 2-6 start. Woodley cooled after his hot start (5.0 sacks in first six games) due to his injured calf, and Jones looked like he needed an extra ten pounds of bulk to him while he muddled (1.0 sack total) through a tumultuous rookie campaign.

As a whole, Pittsburgh’s five outside linebackers (Woodley, Worilds, Jones, Chris Carter and Stevenson Sylvester) accumulated only 14.0 sacks during the 2013 regular season! To put that in perspective, Harrison notched 16.0 in 15 games in 2008 when he won the NFL’s Defensive MVP award.

While the productivity was low last fall, the Steelers will likely be without Worilds or Woodley by the time the 2014 regular season begins. With Worilds headed towards free agency and Woodley eating much of the team’s cap space, the cap-strapped franchise will likely have to let Worilds walk or release Woodley to stay cap compliant and keep experienced depth at the position.

Final Thoughts

To be fair to the outside linebackers, they could have an even tougher time next fall collapsing opposing pockets if they receive limited amounts of help from their defensive linemen. While Cameron Heyward’s emergence as a monster at defensive end has been nice (5.0 sacks), the Steelers could be hurting for defensive line depth in 2014.

Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood and Al Woods will all hit the free agent market, and the Steelers’ brass might have a difficult time keeping all three of those players in town. With no strong or experienced players in the trenches to eat blockers and occupy space, Pittsburgh’s outside linebackers will be at the mercy of opposing offensive tackles.

Regardless of the projected depth along the defensive line, a combined 14.0 sacks from the outside linebackers over the course of a regular season will simply not cut the mustard for the type of defensive scheme which Pittsburgh employs.

The Steelers’ much maligned defense cannot continue to receive mediocre production from those positions. Thus, if the last two seasons have been any indication, the outside linebackers must get back to their pocket collapsing and turnover creating ways of old as soon as possible.

[URL]http://nicepickcowher.com/2014/01/07/steelers-pressure-pocket-collapse-must-improve-2014/[/URL]

[hawaiiansteel]

by Ray Fittipaldo:

Pro Football Focus has some end-of-the-season thoughts on the Steelers:

DEFENSE

*OLB Jason Worilds finished the season ranked 8th in pass rush productivity.

*OLB LaMarr Woodley graded out even better, but he did not qualify because he did not play enough snaps. If he did, he would have finished the season fourth in pass rush productivity. The knock on Woodley has been his ability to stay healthy. But when he is healthy PFF says he is among the most productive players at his position.

[URL]http://sportsblogs.post-gazette.com/steelers-steelers-blog/2014/01/10/Steelers-could-lose-assistant-coach-if-Whisenhunt-gets-job/stories/201401100005[/URL]

[Shoe]

Woodley's base in 2014 will be $8M. He missed 5 games this season, roughly 30% of the season. Is he willing to take a 30% paycut to $5.6M?? Considering that is about what the Steelers were going to pay J Harrison, I think it is a fair haircut for Woodley (and you could argue he should take even less).

That is what I've advocated, as much as I've come to dislike this lardbutt. Signing Worilds (at the height of the market for him) only adds more risk to our tenuous cap situation. Instead, we should:

• work out a pay cut for Woodley
• watch Worilds walk
• draft a '15 challenger to Woodley

[squidkid]

That is what I've advocated, as much as I've come to dislike this lardbutt. Signing Worilds (at the height of the market for him) only adds more risk to our tenuous cap situation. Instead, we should:

• work out a pay cut for Woodley
• watch Worilds walk
• draft a '15 challenger to Woodley

and if woodley refuses?

[Shoe]

and if woodley refuses?

That would be the issue. If we couldn't, we cut him and bite the bullet with Worilds.

[squidkid]

That would be the issue. If we couldn't, we cut him and bite the bullet with Worilds.

that's my point. why not give worilds woodley reduced salary and know that you are gonna get a guy that at least tries and puts up better numbers. and younger. and it sends a message.
biting the bullet would be keeping the fatass lazy POS woodley and his huge salary

[Shoe]

that's my point. why not give worilds woodley reduced salary and know that you are gonna get a guy that at least tries and puts up better numbers. and younger. and it sends a message.
biting the bullet would be keeping the fatass lazy POS woodley and his huge salary

I'm hesitant because of Worilds' own injury history. If we ink him and say he continues to get hurt like he has the first three seasons, we are now paying (a premium) for a guy like Woodley who is injured all the time, along with the dead money from then cutting Woodley. Keep in mind: I'm not advocating keeping Woodley at his full, current price. He has to take a cut, to remain. But I think keeping him (at a reduced price), and drafting his soon replacement, is the cheapest and best choice. Because let's be honest: fatso still can play... just not for 16 games.

Worilds is not a slam-dunk, guaranteed star going forward.

[DukieBoy]

I get the concern over Worilds' injuries. I don't think his injuries have the same history of recurrence compared to Woodley's, and i have the thought that he may not be as comparatively injury-prone as Woodley has been. If Woodley could stay in top linebacker shape and stay on the field, then he could be the beast. Past is not predicting that future for Woodley, in my view.

[pittpete]

I'm hesitant because of Worilds' own injury history. If we ink him and say he continues to get hurt like he has the first three seasons, we are now paying (a premium) for a guy like Woodley who is injured all the time, along with the dead money from then cutting Woodley. Keep in mind: I'm not advocating keeping Woodley at his full, current price. He has to take a cut, to remain. But I think keeping him (at a reduced price), and drafting his soon replacement, is the cheapest and best choice. Because let's be honest: fatso still can play... just not for 16 games.

Worilds is not a slam-dunk, guaranteed star going forward.

Shoe, my sentiments exactly.
Woodley walks and Worilds injury history rears it's ugly head spells doom.

[Ernie]

I saw on one of the forums where Worilds was ranked #2 in the NFL of all of the OLB Free Agents going into the off season. It's unlikely we will be able to sign if even if we wanted to.

Looks like we are stuck with Woodley.

[8467thekraken]

Not sure how dumb of a question this is, but could Woodley play DE opposite Heyward?

Clearly he would have to add 20 pounds. But if we get to the draft and, say, Barr or Mack were sitting there at 15, could we pull the trigger on one of those guys.

I feel like having Woodley opposite Heyward with Mclendon at NT could be an interesting dynamic combined with Jarvis and Barr/Mack at the OLB spots(because Worilds would probably be gone). Maybe get Keisel back at a vet min. to be a back up. Or let Keisel go to free up some cap space.



Then address a CB/S in Rnd. 2.

[squidkid]

I'm hesitant because of Worilds' own injury history. If we ink him and say he continues to get hurt like he has the first three seasons, we are now paying (a premium) for a guy like Woodley who is injured all the time, along with the dead money from then cutting Woodley. Keep in mind: I'm not advocating keeping Woodley at his full, current price. He has to take a cut, to remain. But I think keeping him (at a reduced price), and drafting his soon replacement, is the cheapest and best choice. Because let's be honest: fatso still can play... just not for 16 games.

Worilds is not a slam-dunk, guaranteed star going forward.

i cant figure out why you want to pay a guy that you know will get hurt and miss part of the season.
im not sure i said anything close to worilds being a slam dunk star.
woodley playing 1/2 to 2/3 of a season, a bad jarvis jones and a rookie that wont be any good or see the field for a couple years will without a doubt be the cheaper way to go but it sure wont be the best.

[Ernie]

i cant figure out why you want to pay a guy that you know will get hurt and miss part of the season.
im not sure i said anything close to worilds being a slam dunk star.
woodley playing 1/2 to 2/3 of a season, a bad jarvis jones and a rookie that wont be any good or see the field for a couple years will without a doubt be the cheaper way to go but it sure wont be the best.

Like Troy you mean?

[feltdizz]

Its football.... reat players on D always have a higher chance of getting injured because they are always in the mix. We dont pay Woodley and Troy for their injuries, we paid them for their talents when healthy. It would be great if we could see the future and pay based on our crystal ball.