Why the D will be improved

We all loved Troy Polamalu and Dick LeBeau a few years ago, but all good things come to an end. And this situation definitely needed to come to an end, perhaps a few years too late.

Many will point out the the defense had too much a downgrade in talent, either with players retiring or just being lesser of a talent due to age. And that is true. (Compare the D of even 2010 to 2014 and there is a large drop off, without question.) But there is more to the picture than that, which is why the Rooneys decided Dick would not return as DC. It is now known that Dick was told he would NOT be the DC moving forward and that is why he left.

So why did the Rooneys feel it was time for a change at DC? Well, it just wasn't working very well any longer, and it was more than JUST needing to add talent. If that was all there was to it, Dick would remain DC and we would draft and sign talent with Dick still calling the shots. But that didn't happen. Why?

Dick and his players were in hero worship mode with each other. Listen to how they speak of each other. Dick constantly praised Troy and vise versa. All of Dick's players revered him. As a matter of fact, it seemed that if you didn't worship Dick, it was unlikely you got on the field. And that build up to hero worship does not happen overnight. It takes time, which is one reason young players rarely see the field, and the Rooney grew weary of that trend. Also, with Dick's love for his long-time vets, he was slow to recognize that Troy was so diminished. All he kept saying, even last season, was that Troy had the best instincts of any player he had ever seen. The problem was, it was no longer true, even if Dick failed to realize it. He kept allow Troy to freelance all over the place, even though Troy kept guessing wrong, and screwed up more plays than he saved, by a wide margin.

So, now, with a surely revised, fresh look at things from a perspective of a DC who can see reality much more clearly, and without the handicap of allowing 1/11th of the defense to be virtually gone, this D will indeed be much improved under Butler. And we will see an end to some of Dick's tendencies which often hurt us, such as sending in blitzes that trick no one and having CBs play so far off the WR, even when near the endzone. Dick is a hall of famer, twice over (as player and coach). He deserves much respect. But no one and nothing lasts forever. He is nearing 80 years of age. There is a reason most retire far before that age: because you lose competency at some point. You don't see 80-year-olds running companies very often, and for a good reason.

Look at how greatly Dallas improved their D, coming off a historic bad D in 2013, to improve greatly while arguably losing the best talent they had. And yet they improved, by a lot. Sure, some of it could be explained due to the offense rushing the ball, far more frequently and having a much high time of possession. But much of the improvement had to do with the new DC.

We will now turn the page and start off fresh. No, the D won't likely be elite by next season, but I believe it will be more sound. There will be a cleansing from the old guys like Troy, Ike, Harrison and Keisel. Yes, it could be argued that both Keisel and Harrison were some of the best players we had at their positions, but it's still time to get younger. With vets of such lengthy tenure, the spirit of real competition can be diminished. Not any longer. Without the "guru" DC and his man love, things will get much more cleaner as far as real competition goes. It is more likely that the true best 11 players will start. If Jarvis Jones is a bust, so be it. Move on if he isn't cutting it. Butler has already said he intends on upgrading at edge rusher and CB. He clearly sees what needs to improve. Sure, the holes won't all be filled in just one year, but with that offense, an upgrade in defense by, let's say, 5-6 spots, it could make a big difference.

I believe, come hell or high water, we will see an upgrade in rushing the passer, stopping the rush and better DB play. They will be adding an OLB and CB in both the draft and free agency. On the bad news side, we may find that both our last two first rounders are not what they team thought them to be. I think both Jones and Shazier will be proven to be ordinary, not difference makers. But, we will overcome that, in time.

 

Waaayyy to much for me to read!!!!!!!

 

expecially under influence

 

I read somewhere, linked from here, that the new DC was due for a new contract while still holding his old position.

 

I bet Michael Sam wished we would have picked him up..

 

I do believe that Art II had a say in jettisoning Ariens out. Art II wanted to reestablish the run game and keep his QB protected. Simple economics. Since Haley's been OC Ben's sack numbers have gotten better.

As far as LeBeau, it was time. And I believe it was Tomlin that wanted the move. Tomlin worked with Butler previous. They stuck with their promise to retain Butler. I appreciate what LeBeau has done, but his schemes had little adjustment, younger players were not developed to contribute right away, and the Defense got long in the tooth due to this. That's on the DC. Tomlin stayed out of LeBeau's way, but rumor has it Tomlin was more vocal this past season with the Defense and i'm sure he will have more imput with Butler at the helm. I'm excited to see the transition.

 

Talk about jumping to conclusions

 

I agree with the premise established by the OP in his thesis above.

I do think there may have been a mutual admiration society mentality going on between DL and some of the players that caused an inflexibility when it came to making necessary changes on defense. When Tomlin exclaimed "because he's Dick LeBeau" when asked by a reporter why he wouldn't a change at DC I realized then that maybe the team had deified DL just a bit much. His contributions to the organization should be recognized, but he should not be given the title of lifetime DC. He is not bigger than the franchise. The fact is, had Tomlin not made the change LeBeau would have remained the DC until he died in the middle of the third quarter in a game against the Ravens at the ripe old age of 95.

One last point about the Shazier/Jones comment. I do have very high hopes for Shazier but have MAJOR CONCERNS about JJ at this point. Shazier has freakish speed and is a pretty strong guy in spite of maybe being slightly undersized. Butler will get the most out of him. JJ is weak and slow. Not a good combo for an outside pass rusher. I'll give him next season but if he doesn't show anything then the Steelers just may have to admit that they missed and move on.

 

teams miss on players from time to time but remember most of these LB'ers that are here are from a direct result of butler picking them and coaching them. he has had a ton of input in drafting these guys. he is there with Colbert and MT at these critical pro days for his input. he is also the one that told worilds he won't see the field much when Woodley was here. butler is going to have to show me he's better than DL first. I'm not going to just assume because he's different that we will have better results yet. time will tell.

 

not to mention he was yelling for arthur brown in the second round that year he was drafted from the rats...

 

Thanks TTF. I agree the D would likely improve even if DL stayed, however, if he still stayed with Troy that would hinder their development, in my opinion. I saw many plays where he guessed wrong, hurting the D, and few plays where he made a difference, and yet, DL was still going on and on about he was the most instinctive player he ever say. Great. 5 years ago. I was pleased to read that the Rooneys were not going to bring back DL as DC regardless; that gave me more confidence that they know what they are doing. I feared they would stick to the "same old thing" and we would not really advance all that much. Butler was promised this gig a long time ago, and turned down other DC jobs to get it. It was simply the right thing to do for more than 1 reason.

 

LeBeau was pure class, 100%. But it really was time for a new direction. Some say Butler coached under DL, so he won't bring anything to the table that we already had with DL. I disagree with that assumption. I was pleased to hear that Butler already said that they will find a better edge rusher no matter what, and that an upgrade at CB is a priority. For whatever reason, the team seemed hell bent on NOT addressing the CB position as a priority. No, we don't need to use a first round pick every year on CB, obviously, but, considering where we stood on the position entering last year's draft, was it really appropriate to not draft one until the 5th round? That is bonkers to me. At the very least, they should have used the 3rd round pick on a CB instead of on a RB who weighs 150 lbs and appears to offer no value at all, at least as a rookie.

 

Yes, we could have made tremendous Gaines in the secondary if they went that route.

 

I agree with everything. The deity status with DL went a tad too far. And Jarvis needs to do SOMETHING to get stronger, at least. He is stale mated constantly and can't move an OT anywhere at all. That is not good recipe for success. I assumed he'd come in bigger and more muscular year two, as he even admitted he needed to, but the same body showed up that was there his rookie year. Fact is we watched this team without EITHER last two first round draft picks not on the field. If this continues, we will be in a world of hurt. You can't miss on any 1st round picks and expect to contend. It doesn't work.

 

An interesting article on the former DC's sway with drafting.

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news...J-Mosley/1cf08fa7-674a-47ee-8981-a30bd5896cbb

I know its from a ratbirds site, but Mosley himself stated it. "When I was getting scouted, they pretty much told me I wasn’t going to be a Steeler,” Mosley said. “I’m fine with it. I’m at the right place and I’m glad I’m a rival with them.”

Seems like the LeBeau-OSU connection had a lot of weight. I hope the current DC doesn't hinder himself and the team by eliminating good players based on where they went to school.

 

Wow, we really improved the team by using our 3rd pick on a midget. A 3rd round CB has more of a shot than waiting until the 5th. We KNOW how that pick worked out, i.e. didn't even make the team.

 

No doubt round 1 goes to the Ravens with these two LBs. One season does not tell the full story, but there is no doubt Mosley looks like a solid pick and Shazier has shown virtually nothing yet. Sure, he got hurt, but when he was on the field he didn't show anything, while CJ produced well enough to make the pro bowl as a rookie, no less. I am just hoping they didn't get dazzle with Shazier's athletic ability and have it not equate to superior football play. OSU is known for some wild athletic talents who don't necessarily pan out to becoming great football players.