The most vulnerable Steelers linebacker going into this season is not who you might think.

I think most of us would say that Jarvis Jones has an opportunity to supplant Jason Worilds as the ROLB pretty early on, but might I suggest that another linebacker besides Worilds may find his job in serious jeopardy this season. His name? Lamarr Woodley. The last couple of seasons have been quite pedestrian for Woodley and while most of that can be attributed to him being oft-injured, he also didn't seem to have the kind of playmaking ability that he flashed in his first couple of seasons with the Steelers. The offensive linemen that he went up against seemed to be having less and less trouble handling Woodley one on one. I realize the injury could have played into that but the fact is for whatever reason he hasn't been the dominating force he was his first couple of years. The injury bug has bitten Woodley as hard as anyone on the team it seems. His hamstrings seem to be made out of Treet Meat and are pretty easily torn in half. He may be one of "those guys" who just can't seem to stay injury free and it may end up haunting him throughout his career.

Jason Worilds, on the other hand, seems to be a player on the rise. He quietly had a pretty good season filling in for Woodley and seemed to make his presence known each game he played in. He always seemed to apply good pressure on the QB and had a habit of being around the ball carrier. I believe he tied for the team lead in sacks with six in limited playing time. He's had a couple of injury issues himself but if he can get past those and continue to learn the position, he could yet be a pleasant surprise.

I think we all know it's a matter of time before Jarvis Jones is inserted as a starter, but I don't believe it will be at the expense of Worilds' job. Instead, I believe at some point this season Worilds will be moved to LOLB to replace Woodley, either for injury or ineffectiveness, and we'll have our new linebacking corps with Woodley, regrettably, on the outside looking in.

 

This season should tell us a lot, and not just about Woodley.
IMO, Woodley's contract might be a lot more overweight than he has been.

 

Woodley will certainly not be benched due to performance, no matter what it is. No way he plays that bad. I can't say he won't get hurt again. The hamstrings may or may not be conditioning related, but stuff like an ankle sprain can just happen. Hopefully he stays 100%.

I think he'll have a good bounce-back season, and he'll do it despite seeing more double teams than before.

 

I wouldn't call nine sacks in 11 games pedestrian that's what he had two years ago. Last year he was out of shape and hurt from the pics I've seen he looks like his old self again.

 

Whats the over/under that he misses more than six games? LOL