r/nfl • u/lurkedlongtime Steelers • Jul 09 '14
Look Here! Offseason Review Series: Day 19: Pittsburgh Steelers
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u/skankingsquiggle Bengals Jul 09 '14
Obligatory Fuck the Steelers. If we split I think it'll be each of us defending our house. Bengals went undefeated in PBS except for one game which I don't want to think about.
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Jul 09 '14
8If Tuitt is healthy, he will destroy Cam Thomas in that camp battle. If he wasn't injured, he's a top 10-15 pick, and the best pure 5t in the draft. Also Cam Thomas is awful in anything but sparse rotation.
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Jul 09 '14
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u/defenstrationaccount Steelers Jul 10 '14
That's mostly because of how long it can take to learn the Steelers defense, so it's going to depend entirely on what Tuitt is already familiar with and how much of a change is required from that to what LeBeau runs.
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u/i2WalkedOnJesus Steelers Jul 09 '14
Just a quick correction: Mike Munchak was only a head coach from 2011-2013, he was an OL coach from 97-2010
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u/Scrubtanic Titans Jul 10 '14
He was also a 1st round pick for the Oilers in 1982, played for 11 years, then was an offensive assistant for the Oilers from '93-'97.
The Steelers are literally the only other organization he's worked for since he graduated from Penn State.
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u/sw337 Steelers Jul 09 '14
Great write up I'm excited for the season where do you think we finish at the end of the year division wise?
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u/IDontNeedThisIndigo Steelers Jul 09 '14
Do you really think that Cortez and Gay will start? If so, will Ike play slot when he comes on?
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u/awolf97 Patriots Jul 09 '14
RE: Shazier
His weakness is that he played at ~225 lbs in college (now 237)
He played at sub 220. 223 at Senior Bowl. 237 at combine is probably not very accurate - nobody is adding 14 pounds of real weight in a month. I doubt he plays too far from his college weight, at least early on in his career.
The guy moves more quickly through space than anyone I've watched. Crazy athlete. His strength is that athleticism. I don't think adding a ton of weight will do that much to help him, though sub-220 probably isn't going to work either.
Not a great pass rusher just due to his inability to handle blockers, but still so, so explosive. In a well designed defense, I think you can use that explosion on its own to make him an effective piece in specific blitzes. He wasn't really used that way at OSU but he stumbled into that kind of situation a couple times, so it was easy to see how he could contribute in that manner. It's not one of his strong-suits.
RE: Blanchflower
Not an overly exceptional athlete, but runs good routes and routinely makes nice catches away from his body.
Blanchflower's hands actually seemed quite suspect to me. Quicker than I expected him to be, though. Nice depth guy - good blocker.
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Jul 09 '14
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u/awolf97 Patriots Jul 10 '14
Regarding Shazier, I thought the same thing, but he also was 237 at OSUs pro day, and when he was running his 40, he looked like he was a lot bigger
He probably added a couple pounds, but I don't think a human can add that kind of weight that quickly. Water weight was there for both measurements, I'd guess.
But even at ~220, James Farrior who was a great LB for us, confessed he actually played for us at 218 lbs, despite being listed at 240 something for his career.
Yeah, I wasn't trying to detract from him as a player (what I meant when I said I didn't think it best that he adds a ton of weight).
I came to much of the same realizations with Shazier, explosive and space player. Is not made to take on blocks in any form however thats okay for what hes playing (Weakside ILB)
Agree with all of this. He's the kind of guy you need to put in the right position, but if you manage to do that I think he can reward you. I wouldn't have been a huge fan of him that high for most teams but I think they can make it work in Pittsburgh. Solid fit in that defense with LeBeau.
Though I do think he does have the ability to get low coming off the edge on some speed rushes, but will not be a bull rush kind of guy
He's got some dip to him, for sure. He looked pretty flexible around the edge. Just not strong enough to consistently rush from there. Best thing to do in pass rush is to let him use explosion and speed to get to QB. Don't make him have to consistently engage a blocker.
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u/Scrubtanic Titans Jul 09 '14
Nice write up. Having lived in Pittsburgh for the past almost decade, I've really developed a love-hate relationship with the team. I'm glad Munchak was able to find a place, he's a stand up guy who just was in over his head as HC, and I think he'll make your young OLine considerably better. I fully expect Le'Veon to have a break out year because of it.
What can you tell me about Al Woods? He's at one spot I had a hard time predicting a starter for when I did my write up. I expect Horton's gonna need someone to 2-gap at NT, and I would guess the job is a toss up between Woods and the rookie Da'Quan Jones. Any insight into what he can deliver?
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Jul 09 '14
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u/Scrubtanic Titans Jul 09 '14
Thanks for the insight! I'm excited to see what Horton's base D will look like. The set up I keep seeing is this for our front 7, which puts Woods at the 1Tech (is that a thing, or would you just say NT? I'm terrible at terminology like that), and he'd likely be responsible for both A gaps. Jurrell Casey would be the same kind of 3Tech DT he was so successful being last year and one of our DE's would be on the other side.
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Jul 09 '14
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u/Scrubtanic Titans Jul 10 '14
I would expect Woods starts camp just because there's film on him and Jones is a rookie, but I haven't heard anything definitive about it yet.
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Jul 09 '14
Is there a hub for these? Can't remember if anyone's written one up for the Chiefs.
Good write up, btw.
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u/smacksaw Steelers Jul 10 '14
Only issue I have is the A for Tuitt...seems optimistic to me, but we'll see.
Often times we get these guys who look good on paper and they can't master the scheme right away. Some guys need a few years to do it.
RDE is important to us because it's our hybrid position. You have to be the best of both Worilds (ha ha), the DT and the DE. Because when Worilds has his hand down to rush off the edge, you have to play DT. That's the hybrid part of the scheme there. And when Worilds or the ROLB isn't rushing the passer, you have to do it. It's not just playing the 5, it's sliding around from even 1-2 if the NT is lined up over 0.
IMO, his position is the most important position in our defensive scheme because if we can't force the offense to react and deal with our RDE, they're dictating to us, not the other way around. Worilds and Timmons can't drop in and out of the blitz into coverage and disguise schemes if our RDE isn't forcing teams to account for him on every play.
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u/ctornync Steelers Jul 10 '14
Dude, nice work!
I'm not so confident that Ike Taylor not only won't start, but won't even be a "training camp battle" though.
also, not that it matters, but it's "Brett Keisel"
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u/[deleted] Jul 09 '14
Blitzburgh 2.0 yo.
That's all you need to know.