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Breakdown of the D-line

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Blast Furnace, Jun 25, 2019.

  1. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    PPF did a breakdown, good stuff. They are very high on Sutton, calling him a diamond in the rough by nabbing him in the 6th.

    Wish they could find a way to get Hargrave on the field more, he actually saw a decrease in snaps last year, I didn't know that but his level of play remains very good.

    Watt is a star in the making, if only we could get someone on the other side of him. Now or never for Bud. Maybe Sutton.

    Tuitt and Heyward of course are very solid.

    https://www.profootballfocus.com/ne...-defensive-front-ahead-of-the-2019-nfl-season
     
  2. NY STEELERFAN

    NY STEELERFAN Well-Known Member

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    I couldn't read the whole article as it says I need PFF Edge to read it but I agree on Hargrave but this is the style MT wants to run. I think we are lucky to have 2 guys like Tuitt and Hayward on our dline. However with as bad as our defense has been over the last few years we have a boat load of money tied up in these two. They are 2nd and 3rd on our team as far as cap number @ 14.9 mil and 13.6 mil. So we have 97 mil spent on our defense and almost 29 mil of these 2 guys, is that worth their production?

    I like Digger a ton and think Alualu is a very good fill in. I also have hope for Buggs but have no clue why we even have mcCullers around. All in all our Dline is pretty darn good but imo it should be.
     
  3. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    Agreed on Hargrave. They REALLY need to re sign him. As I said, the NCAA sans Derrick Brown from Auburn is not exactly flourishing with pass rushing Nose Tackles.


    Tuitt has the potential but has never flashed quite like Heyward. That being said though, he is a monster in the run game. That you cannot replace.



    Watt is what I thought he was going to be but better. Dupree?! I am officially done with him. Regardless of what he does Blast, he is as good as gone.



    The real X-Factor is still, in my opinion, Devin Bush Jr. The Steelers do not trade up in any round very often, top 10 at that. Devin Bush Jr. is going to upgrade this defense far more than anyone realizes.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2019
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  4. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    This is the last hurray for alualu. His numbers dropped last year. alualu is getting up there. buggs will be hungry and fits the mold of a guy that can play DE in our system and jump inside in the sub packages. I am with you on mccullers. Why? We have some young guys in here that can make some noise for us. Preseason may tell a lot. Will this be hooks year to get back? Sayles? The kid from Wisconsin sheehey? The two new guys? One from lsu and one from ore.. There is some talent in the wings. This is year 9 for cam. He is getting up there, so we have to start to rest him more at some point. :cool:
     
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  5. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    I am very high on Hargrave, but I think he’s miscast as a nose tackle. He’s a one-gapping 3 tech all the way. I honestly think that he could be a Geno Atkins caliber player if he’s allowed to play fully to his strength.
     
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    • Agree Agree x 2
  6. Roonatic

    Roonatic Well-Known Member

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    Devin is the closest specimen to Shazier that we've had since he went down.
     
  7. turtle

    turtle

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    I'm hopeful for Buggs to come in and spell Grave Digger, but i really wanted Daylon Mack out of Texas A&M. Unfortunately he went to the ratbirds.

    I soooooo wanted BJ Hill last year out of NC State but he is kicking ass with the Giants. I still think Hargrave will explode if he has a competent guy to rotate with.

    I thought the D-lineman in this year's draft just didn't fit what we look for in a player, which sucked because we need some new blood there. LT Walton is down the road, Alualu is good but another year older and we have question marks for depth. They will need to spend a premium pick on DE next year imo.
     
  8. SteelersFanIrl

    SteelersFanIrl Well-Known Member

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    That front seven looks really good now and hopefully the secondary is improved too. If the defence is not significantly better in 2019 it will be a huge disappointment.

    Looking at both sides of the ball do the Steelers have the best linemen in the NFL collectively speaking? I can’t think of any team with a better group tbh.
     
  9. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    I would agree. There are challengers though for both groups.




    Jacksonville: Their Defensive Line is arguably the best in the league. On paper, the likes of Cam Robinson, A.J. Cann, Brandon Linder, Andrew Norwell and Jawaam Taylor are going to be a massive issue for the entire conference should they stay healthy.



    Kansas City: Frank Clark and Chris Jones are going to be great. I believe Alex Okafor will be better than he was in the Big Easy. Issue is Steve Spagnolo. His defense takes considerable time to install. Offensive wise?! Mitch Morse and Eric Fisher are really good. Mitchell Schwartz has also been one of the best.



    Dallas Cowboys: Offensive Line speaks for itself, hence why I am not going in depth. Defensively?! Demarcus Lawrence and Malek Collins. The issue is availability. Too many suspensions.



    Indianapolis Colts: Balance. They do not have a multi sack edge rusher... yet. They also do not have a disruptive interior lineman... yet. Offensively?! Among the very best. Too many unknowns defensively.



    Philadelphia Eages: Availability. Can both sides stay healthy?! Not elaborating here as there is not much of a need to. Take what I said about Dallas and insert different names.



    Los Angeles Chargers: Jerry Tillery is the big addition here. He will give the likes of Ingram and Bosa a boost. Offensively... again... stay healthy.






    These are the teams that come to mind when comparing best of both lines overall.
     
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  10. Wardismvp

    Wardismvp Well-Known Member

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    I like our DL. If we can get a steady rotation going
    by the end of season. I think our defense benefits.
     
  11. SteelersFanIrl

    SteelersFanIrl Well-Known Member

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    @AskQuestionsLater Saints might deserve a mention too although I know they are making changes on D. Steelers don’t really have what you’d call a weak link in either line, they have a nice balance and I don’t think I’d swap for what any of the above teams have.

    Fans of other teams might disagree of course
     
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  12. bigbenhotness

    bigbenhotness Well-Known Member

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    Agreed. Dallas has a better front 7 than most. Pittsburgh hopefully will have a Great front 7 this year
     
  13. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    We are quite deep in the offensive line. Getting rid of mccullers needs to happen. :cool:
     
  14. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    Hopefully Isaiah does that.
     
  15. Iowasteeljim

    Iowasteeljim

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    McCullers is an ad hoc cheerleader. You can't just let talent like that walk away.
     
  16. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    And who says the Steelers don't have cheerleaders. :smiley1::cool:
     
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  17. HeinzMustard

    HeinzMustard Well-Known Member

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    Based on what?
     
  18. Roonatic

    Roonatic Well-Known Member

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    Speed at ilb.
     
  19. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    He will need a lot better solo numbers then he produced in michigan. Fast is one thing but it you don't go fast to the right spot it's just a fast guy running around on the field. The NFL has a lot of fast guys. We shall see. :cool:
     
  20. Roonatic

    Roonatic Well-Known Member

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    Neon Deion was a fast guy on the field. Why don't you give the kid a chance before you snub your nose at him. Steelers stuck their neck out a bit for him, I imagine they know what their doing given their success in the NFL.
     
  21. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    Mac has a point though. Fast on the field is a good thing, fast with a fast football IQ is better. The speed can cover up for if you make a late read, or stumble at the snap. Speed and I.Q you are making finger tip grabs on a tipped ball or sprinting from near the line to a middle zone to deny a seam route like Troy P. I like to talk about Vince Williams when I talk football I.Q. now VWILL is a heck of a thumper and when the play is simple he arrives quickly and in a bad mood. However more often than not when he has to diagnosis a play he is slow or impatient. He jumps the first open gap he sees and the RB say's thank you and cuts back into the hole he just created. His instinct is to make the big hit and that will cover up for making mistakes. His rookie year the one play that has always defined his play to me was a goal line stand vs the Ravens. It's a hand off to the left, Timmons has it read beautifully, makes the perfect tackle midsection above the hips, so that he can keep the RB from lunging over the goal line and breaking the plane, all he needs is some help to brace himself in case the try to push him in before the whistle. Williams has no idea what to do so he launches himself at the RB and hits his shoulders. Since he left his feet his full body weight forces Timmons down past the hips and onto the thighs allowing the back to bend at the waist and break the plane.

    Every body always says well he was a rookie and he tried to help. Yeah he was and he did but he was stupid trying to use strength to cover for low football IQ. Still does that today. So heck yeah excited about Bush's speed more excited to see how he responds to being the signal caller.
     
  22. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    not snubbing my nose at anybody but the comparison to shazier isn't there in numbers. I also just rewatched the OSU vs Michigan game and Bush did squat, so yes I have my reservations. Not every player the team drafts has a great career despite the teams success. Deione could run fast and cover but didn't like contact in the run game. We need Bush against the run game too. The rewatch of the OSU game didn't reinforce my trust in his ability at this level in that aspect of the game. As I said, we will see. Shazier had a lot of solo tackles and was the first guy to the ball. Bush has been the second and third guy to the ball more often. Hence my concern.:cool:
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2019
  23. Roonatic

    Roonatic Well-Known Member

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    Shazier had his growing pains as well in the NFL. And yea some of you are snubbing your nose at the kid for being drafted where he was which he didn't have too much control over other than being one of the best ilbs in that year. We should be more critical of the players that have proven they are not up to snuff (Dupree, Williams) other than hypothesize on the "iq" of a unproven first round pick that is going to make our interior defense harder to take advantage of.
    Just need to get him deHarbaughrized & a new D coordinator.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2019
  24. Roonatic

    Roonatic Well-Known Member

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    Well I will throw this bone out there:
    Bush will be closer to Shazier than Bince when he settles in. Playwise & iq wise.
     
  25. Lizard72

    Lizard72

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    It's definitely the rotation that hurts. Leaning hard on the top guys early and often leaves them gassed at the end of the season and often hurt.
     

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