The Steelers need Payton Wilson to step up this season

I haven't been impressed with a Steelers ILB since the days of Shazier. That's how long it's been since we've had an consistently above average, occasional game-changer at ILB.

 

Much better ILB play is needed, hoping the FA pick up of NT
helps these 2 under achievers.

 

I watched Ham and Lambert and was amazed how one of the Jacks would make a play just when it was needed most. Ham was considered the most cerebral LB in the NFL. Plus there was Andy Russell who was consistently effective enough to be in the HoF with them. You will never see anything dominant like that again, especially in 1976.

 

Its impossible. That's the difference between teams before free agency, and now. No freaking way you keep that team together after one SB today, let alone 4 of them.

 

Glorified safety who keeps getting hurt

 

Don’t let facts get in your way

 

your right, hes been pretty injury free with Pittsburgh. Still need help in run support, hes more of a coverage guy

 

ill try to do better than our government

 

Well that’s a low bar

 

I think the change of scheme will help them immensely as well. Tomlin always pinched things in the pass game into the middle of the field, giving the ILB's a LOT on their plate in coverage. Some schematic changes can take some of the onus off the ILB's and free them up to make some plays. Not saying that it is a guarantee or anything, but putting these guys in a better position to succeed should help make them look a lot better than they have.

 

bulking up a little might help him hold his ground

 

Its not his size. Luke Keuchly was exactly the same size as Wilson (height/weight nearly identical). The problem is that he is either just not in the right places or that the defense didn't fit his strengths. Shoot, even Shazier was a good bit smaller than Wilson and he held up fine. Just needs to continue to improve his game.

 

Lambert was way undersized at 220 but he was in the right place

And before someone suggests the game has changed or players have gotten bigger he was still undersized

 

You’re right as far as size, hes more or less what an ILB should be. Even Vince weighed a little less although he had a lower center of gravity. So whats the problem? Maybe the D line isnt doing their job and the O linemen are getting past them to our ILB’s. They have to look at how our D linemen are absorbing blocks (or not) and make adjustments. Could it be position too? Possibly but i would guess its a lot of the former, without looking at tape.

Still if hes going to take on blockers he does need to bulk up a bit more or gain strength. His taller frame can handle it.

 

Or use his length/quickness to his advantage. He doesn't have to stack and shed every time, he can beat someone to the spot, or slip a block with athleticism.

He looks "skinny" because he's 6'4''. Most ILB's are around 6'1''-6'2''. At about 240 lbs he's roughly average weight for the position.

I am excited to see a new direction for the defensive scheme. It will be a good test to see how the front 7 looks with a bit of a different look. Graham got a lot out of pretty lackluster talent in Oakland/LV. It will be interesting to see what he does with a much more talented defensive roster.

 

You made me look and I’m not sure what girth up front has to do with it.

Not knowing what a split safety look was other than just the alignment I went and did some homework:

At its core, split-field coverage divides the field into two halves, allowing the defense to employ different coverage schemes on each side. This approach offers several strategic advantages. First, it allows defenses to match their coverage to the offensive formation, providing the flexibility to defend different route concepts simultaneously. For example, the defense might employ a Cover 2 scheme on one side of the field, while running Cover 4 on the other. This mix-and-match approach makes it harder for quarterbacks to diagnose the coverage pre-snap, increasing the chances of forcing them into mistakes.

An interesting nuts and bolts read:

https://alleyesdbcamp.com/leveraging-split-field-coverages-a-guide-for-defensive-backs/

And if anyone digs into this why does the CB on the top play 5 yards off and the one on the bottom is 10 yards off?

In general I like the approach because it is not the same thing we kept doing last year.

 

This right here is what is wrong with Wilson. Dude's T-rex arms are too short against long arms of DL. I remember during the draft it was a concern for some.

 

i'm sure that inch and an 1/8 difference from he and queen are the difference. he still led the team in tackles playing 68% of the time. the kid will be fine. i'm glad we have him. this year will tell a lot about these two. getting them out of that stagnant defense should help. better d- front should help as well. i still think the two down lineman sets MT liked to run so much of will help the LB'ers. it gave o-linemen free releases towards them. we shall see.

 

Todays generation of NFL fans would have hated the 76 Steelers. Unless you are a Steeler fan. Way to much defense to keep them interested. Total of 9 points given up over 5 straight games. 5 shut outs in one season. This just would not happen in todays NFL. I had to follow that season from Europe.

 

The greatest ever assembled!

 

AFN radio
Stars and Stripes newspaper
Not too worried about PW
YET

 

Sports media always gushes over the 2000 Ravens defense since they won a Super Bowl... but if data is looked at objectively, the 1976 Steelers defense was the greatest to ever take an NFL field. It's not even close.