Rebuilding the Linebacking Corps

"No, I didn't do my job there. I miss-fit it. I just miss-fit it. A miss-fit is not fit. No, I just didn't get over to my gap. I was supposed to be on his other shoulder. (The big plays) are very frustrating, but I don't know if surprised is a proper word for it."

That quote was from Troy Polamalu describing why he was late and out of position on Dolphins running back Daniel Thomas's 55-yard run in the fourth quarter of Miami's Dec. 8 win over the Steelers at Heinz Field.  

In his own words, Troy just "mis-fit it."
That's because Troy was a misfit at the linebacker position and would never have been playing there if the Steelers had anybody else to do it in 2013.

Enter Ryan Shazier, the 2014 first-round draft choice.  

Linebackers coach Keith Butler said something interesting about the selection of Shazier:

"We couldn't pass him up when he was there. There were a lot of guys that we liked at that spot, but they were all drafted. So, when he came, a guy with that type of speed, you can't pass him up. He's going to make us immediately faster on defense."

We can speculate on which players Butler was referring to who were already drafted, but we can guess they were cornerbacks Justin Gilbert and Kyle Fuller, pass-rushing linebacker Anthony Barr, and wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr.

Not to discount the need for a top-notch corner or wide receiver, but if the drafting of Ryan Shazier in the first round of the NFL draft caught most of Steeler Nation by surprise because linebacker didn't seem to be "a position of need," it's only evidence that most people have short memories. 

Where were the linebackers?
As painful as it is, however, let's not forget how how invisible the linebackers were throughout most of the season, most glaringly in the losses to Miami and at Oakland (Oct. 27).

The linebackers are supposed to be the backbone of this defense. Too often last season,however, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls screamed in dismay, "Where are the linebackers?"

Glaringly Obvious
Throughout 2013, the Steelers surrendered five running plays of 48 yards or more, 12 pass plays of 40 yards or more, and 10 running plays that went for 15 yards or more. The linebackers were a big part of those breakdowns.

It took Jason Worilds until the final half of last season, the final year of his first contract, to play well enough to win a one-year mega-contract that salvaged his Steelers' career for one more season, at least.  

The rest of the linebacking corps was spotty at best. Lawrence Timmons played like a monster in some games (17 tackles vs. Baltimore; 12 vs. Oakland, with a broken hand), but not so well in others. 

Jarvis Jones showed flashes and improved late in the season, but for the most past he looked small, played small and was a step or so late to the play on most occasions. Jones needs to improve dramatically this year.

Most glaringly, perhaps, the loss of veteran Larry Foote to injury in the first game necessitated the play of rookie sixth-rounder Vince Williams, who played like a rookie sixth-rounder. Williams has the makings of a thumper, but by November he had lost his short-lived opportunity to seize a full-time job because he was too slow and was out of position too often.

Just as crucially, Williams showed an inability to cover receivers -- a real problem in a passing league. There's a place in the league for Williams; he can be a solid player. But Williams lost playing time in some situations to the much faster Terence Garvin, who actually looked good in flashes, but more so to Troy Polamalu. And that took Polamalu away from what he does best.

And all of that led to the drafting of Ryan Shazier. Besides which, Justin Gilbert, Kyle Fuller, Anthony Barr and Odell Beckham were gone. Inside linebacker really was a crucial "need position" for this draft. It was, in fact, a position of glaring need. 

As if to underscore that point, the Steelers added ILB Jordan Zumwalt in this sixth round (same as Vince Williams). Presumably, Zumwalt will work on special teams and compete with Williams and Sean Spence for a backup linebacker spot. He has a shot.

Not to hand Shazier a job or anything, but he should start immediately. If he doesn't, we're right back to where we were at the end of last season.

DaBody52

Arthur Moats ‏@dabody52  9h

It's official I'm a Pittsburgh Steeler! Definitely enjoyed my time in Buffalo & all the support that I received from the fans! Thank you!

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For some reason, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls have a good feeling about new signee Arthur Moats ("DaBody52" on Twitter). He should be a welcome addition at linebacker.  Maybe part of the reason the Steelers signed him is for help on special teams, where he was a mainstay for the Bills. Surely, however, the Steelers want to see what he can do at linebacker, where the team needs major help, whether they want to admit it or not.

Moats is not likely to provide major help immediately, but he should help. Reading the tea leaves, it appears he will play inside linebacker, mostly, at the position formerly occupied by Larry Foote, where Moats will compete with Vince Williams for playing time.  The Steelers had considerable trouble stopping the run last year. Not all of that difficulty can be ascribed to the front three; the absence of Foote hurt the run defense. Maybe Moats can help. Somebody needs to help.

Interestingly, Moats has a body type (listed at 6'0", but call it 5'10", and 250) similar to James Harrison, so maybe he plays with leverage. He had success in college as a pass rusher (the Buck Buchanon Award winner) at Division II James Madison University, which is ancient history for the 26-year-old, but still: It is not inconceivable the Steelers might try him at Jarvis Jones's spot, as a backup to Jones.

Then again, it's entirely possible Dick LeBeau will continue to expand the scheme of three safeties on the field at one time, along with two corners and three linebackers (Jones, Timmons and Worilds). The four safeties to get playing time will be Troy Polamalu, Mike Mitchell, Will Allen and Shamarko Thomas.

We expect to see more three-safety sets this year, with Shamarko playing closer to the line of scrimmage and disrupting crossing patterns.

One thing, though: There's not much height back there, or in the linebacking corps. Listed at 6'0", Mitchell's the tallest of the safeties. Who covers the tall tight ends and receivers so prevalent in the league these days?

Back to Work -- Training Camp

Enough of the summer hiatus. Time to get back to work.

Before we talk about the Steelers, how about Baltimore tight end Dennis Pitta's season-ending knee injury on the second day of camp? Pitta was probably Joe Flacco's go-to receiver as much as anybody, along with Anquan Boldin, and now both are gone -- along with a whole lot of other players from last year's Super Bowl winning team.

Before Pitta's injury, we were convinced Baltimore would be every bit as formidable as they were during last year's late-season run.  Now, we're not so sure, although they will be helped by the addition of defensive end Elvis Dumervil, safety Michael Huff and cornerback Lardarius Webb, who returns from injured reserve. Still, the loss of Pitta could really hurt them.

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls have always liked Pitta. He's fast, smooth in his routes and has excellent hands. When he came out of Brigham Young, we thought he'd look good in a Steeler uniform and were disappointed that Baltimore drafted him, and not the Steelers.  Last off-season, we made the argument the Steelers should sign Pitta as a restricted free agent -- as much to hurt Baltimore as to help the Black 'n Gold at tight end, a position with quantity but some question of quality in the wake of Heath Miller's devastating knee injuries (ACL, MCL, PCL).

Now, with Pitta's season-ending hip injury suffered during drills on Saturday, the Ravens will be without their No. 1 tight end. They have another good one in Ed Dickson, but Pitta was better all-around, more reliable and more clutch.

As for the Steelers at tight end, well, questions remain.  Which brings us to the draft.

Heath Miller's knee injuries raise the question of when and whether he will return to full effectiveness. In the first round, the Steelers passed on Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eiffert and instead selected pass-rushing linebacker Jarvis Jones out of Georgia, despite medical questions (spinal stenosis) and a 4.92 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.  That 4.92 40 time, by the way, is the same run by fourth-round QB Landry Jones, a pocket statue who had all of 15 yards rushing last year at Oklahoma.

Having said that, our feeling is that Jones and most of the other Steelers' 2013 draft picks bring a tough edge to the team that was sorely missing toughness and leadership last year.  Jarvis Jones, Le'Veon Bell, Marcus Wheaton, Shamarko Thomas, Vince Williams -- all have reputations for toughness, and at this point, the Steelers need all the toughness they can get.  Maybe some of those guys will turn into team leaders, too.

Zach Ertz

At the very least, let's hope Jarvis Jones can cover Tyler Eiffert, who was snapped up by division rival Cincinnati in the first round.  In our book, Jones and Eiffert will be linked for years to come. Who will be the better player?

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls will also be following with interest the NFL career of Stanford tight end Zach Ertz, whom we suspect may be every bit as good as Eiffert, if not better.  As stated before the draft, we could have seen the Steelers trading down in the first round and selecting Ertz, who went to Philadelphia with the third pick of the second round (No. 35 overall).

Such a move, of course, would have left the Steelers without Jones and with a major lack of depth at the critical outside-linebacker position formerly manned by James Harrison, also now with the Bengals. Another option we thought might make sense for the Steelers in the first round was Florida State cornerback Xavier Rhodes, who went to the Vikings with the 25th overall pick. Rhodes has reportedly been a standout so far in Vikings camp.

Naturally, we hope Jarvis Jones succeeds in a major way. We hope he will be every bit as successful as he was at Georgia during his final season, when he led the college nation in sacks, forced fumbles and tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The Steelers need him to succeed in a big way.

We love, absolutely love, running back Le'Veon Bell -- loved him before the draft and hoped the Steelers would take him. When they announced his name in the second round, we did a big Yeah!, and then immediately wondered if they might have been able to get him later -- he'd been projected as a third or fourth rounder. Maybe, just maybe, he was overdrafted?  Possibly. Still, we're glad they landed him.

One of the many very good things about this guy: Le'Veon Bell doesn't fumble.  Bell had zero fumbles in three years at Michigan State. Not one. Nyet. Nada. None. Ze-Ro.

He starts Game One and solidifies a running game that was awful last year. We have no idea why the Steelers retained Jonathan Dwyer in the off-season.  Dwyer recently said he's lost 25-30 pounds in the past month or so -- which would have put him at 260-265 lbs. at about the time of OTAs.  Really.

To draft Bell, however, the Steelers passed on two other players we would have loved to see in Black 'n Gold -- SMU's 6'8" defensive end Margus Hunt (went to the Bengals, Round 2, pick number 53 overall) and Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown (to the Ravens, number 54 overall, at 6'0", 241).

Margus Hunt's the guy we really hated to see get away -- he would have been perfect for the Steelers -- and Brown looks like he'll be a perfect fit in Baltimore. It is a bit worrisome that both Hunt and Brown went to our top two rivals in the division.  Hunt, especially, seems like he could be a special force for years to come, and if he blocks field goals or extra points that keep the Steelers out of the playoffs ... we won't be happy. We're keeping our fingers crossed Hunt and/or Brown won't be Steelers nemeses for years to come.

On the other hand, we have high hopes for the Steelers' sixth-round pick, linebacker Vince Williams (Florida St., No. 206 overall, 6'0", 247). Maybe Williams will have every bit as good a career as Arthur Brown. Or not. We shall see. Our feeling is that Williams is going to be a good one, and possibly very good.

As for the Steelers' third-round pick -- wide receiver Marcus Wheaton -- absolutely loved him before the draft and were elated the Steelers got him. He's a perfect fit here, and they got him in the perfect spot. He'll be terrific.

Speaking of wide receivers, our feeling before the draft was the Steelers made a mistake in April by retaining wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders instead of letting him go to New England in return for a third-round draft choice (91st overall).

We were hoping WVU wide receiver Stedman Bailey would be available and sure enough, he was. Bailey went to St. Louis with the 92nd pick overall (the very next pick after the pick the Steelers would have gotten from New England, which, interestingly passed on Bailey).  Intuition says Bailey would have made a perfect Steeler. We would have had both Wheaton and Bailey, and both would be under contract for four years. As it stands now, Sanders can become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

As for the fourth-round picks, we love the toughness safety Shamarko Thomas brings, but we're concerned about his height (5'9"?).  Might he have trouble covering the likes of Eiffert, Dickson, A.J. Green, Torrey Smith, etc.?

The other fourth-round pick, QB Landry Jones out of Oklahoma, eh, we have concerns about him.  The Steelers are long past due drafting a good young quarterback. But we're not sure Jones is the guy. Certainly we hope Jones leads the Steelers to the Super Bowl many times and cements his place in the Hall of Fame. We have doubts, however, and we also have concerns that Big Ben will last a full season -- ever.

Before the draft, we made the case for drafting Duke QB Sean Renfree, who went to Atlanta in Round 7, 249th overall.  Too bad.

Another college player we had our eye on as a potential draft pick was Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor, who went in the fifth round to Bruce Arians's Arizona Cardinals.  Taylor had a lousy Combine but compiled 4,300 yards and 40 touchdowns during his career at Stanford.

Well, you can't get everybody you want, and we'll trust the Steelers know more about what they're doing than we do..  

That's it, Fort Pitt.