Do you think Shazier injury was the difference?

[Oviedo]

that's the drawback of designing a defense around one guy.

Not saying we did but he covered so much ground I think we got away with some things while he was on the field.

I think every defense in the NFL is designed to take advantage of the skills of the best player they have on defense. You don't think the Raiders is designed around Khalil Mack? The Broncos aren't designed around Von Miller?

Every team does it

[williar]

It still seems a bit short-sighted to put so much emphasis on a particular player. It used to be Troy P. when he got hurt our defense suffered greatly because he had such a huge role. I have no problem building around your best player, but you sure better have a contingency plan for when they get injured. Ryan had his share of injuries before this most unfortunate one. I agree that a team shouldn't lose its identity due to one injury.

[SteelBucks]

I think it was..

while we didn't always win with Shazier he usually made at least 1 or 2 plays a game. Against the Jags they killed us underneath with those crossing patterns. I would like to think Shazier could make a tackle or break up a pass on one of those plays.

The guy was a difference maker more times than not. He was missed.

He also got everyone else lined up correctly. It was a huge loss for us.

^ This. I would like to also believe he would have helped against Gronk late in the Pats game. Season may have ended much differently with the #1 seed.

[Buzz]

I'm not going to blame the entire season on Shazier getting injured. At the same time, he was probably the one player on defense who had the ability to be a game changer.

Losing Shazier was a huge blow, no doubt. But the coaching staff failed adequately react, IMO. Tomlin has always subscribed to the notion of not weakening 2 positions. But I'm not sure the team was well served by doing that. The Steelers played TJ and Bud off the ball a lot this year. They could have shifted either to ILB while inserting some mix of Moats, Chickillo, and yes, Harrison, at OLB. Maybe you downgrade 2 positions in doing that, but in the same time, you'd get your best guys on the field, as opposed to playing a guy off his couch who was clearly not up to the task.

This. The Steelers still had a lot of talent. Should have been able to get a game or two farther than they did. Probably wouldn't have beaten Philly in the Super Bowl though.

[squidkid]

it was a variety of thing that kept this team back, but i believe coaching was number 1.
we had the most talent in the league and played the easiest schedule. yes we went 13-3 but how many games did we barely win with a late fg?
we let a lot of really bad teams hang around til the end
when several players, ex players and numerous talking heads say this team was undisciplined AND the owner says tomlin shouldnt have ran his mouth leads me to believe tomlin was the biggest reason we failed

[feltdizz]

I think every defense in the NFL is designed to take advantage of the skills of the best player they have on defense. You don't think the Raiders is designed around Khalil Mack? The Broncos aren't designed around Von Miller?

Every team does it

I think it’s risky to rely on your ILB to cover that much ground. It’s extremely hard to replace someone that dynamic.

Von Miller plays on one side of the defense. I don’t think it’s the same thing as an inside LB like Shazier.

if Von Miller pines up all over the field then yes, I think when he goes down that D will have a hard time recovering.

[rpmpit]

Read through the replies and I don't think anyone mentioned the emotional impact Ryan's injury/absence had on this team. Sure his physical absence was huge. But seeing your teammate, friend, brother, etc. injured like that had to shake some of our players to their core. Add to that, he was their leader, both in scheme and attitude. So I'd say absolutely Ryan's injury played a major factor in how our season ended.

[Northern_Blitz]

it was a variety of thing that kept this team back, but i believe coaching was number 1.
we had the most talent in the league and played the easiest schedule. yes we went 13-3 but how many games did we barely win with a late fg?
we let a lot of really bad teams hang around til the end
when several players, ex players and numerous talking heads say this team was undisciplined AND the owner says tomlin shouldnt have ran his mouth leads me to believe tomlin was the biggest reason we failed

Do you really believe that we have the most talented team top to bottom in the league? I think that there is little top-end talent on our D (Shazier for sure, then probably Heyward). There are few teams that have as much talent as us on O, but I'd argue that there are many teams that have as more talent than us on D with Shazier. I'd imagine that every playoff team had more talent on D than we did without 50.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

well if that's true then someone needs to take a hard look at who is drafting and developing these defensive players because we have spent some high round picks on defense the last few years

while the offense has been able to hit on some guys in the later rounds, the list of defensive picks after round 3 is laughable. only starter i can find is Vince Williams and he is a marginal player at best. throw in bums like golson and JJ and it really looks pathetic

there hasn't been a single gem on defense found in later rounds the last several years. thank god for hilton or it would look worse

[NorthCoast]

Do you really believe that we have the most talented team top to bottom in the league? I think that there is little top-end talent on our D (Shazier for sure, then probably Heyward). There are few teams that have as much talent as us on O, but I'd argue that there are many teams that have as more talent than us on D with Shazier. I'd imagine that every playoff team had more talent on D than we did without 50.

There are a few analyst types that believe the Steelers secondary talent was very average or less.... and that's with Haden.