linebackers

i know it's early after a playoff loss but how do you think this linebacker group did? do we draft more? do we let some go? do we keep what we have?

 

I am thrilled about the future of these guys. I think a light has come on for Jarvis since he has got more playing time. Dupree is a future star I think. shazier is great as long as he stays healthy. Timmons is Timmons but I even think his replacement is on roster with Williams and spence.

that being said. you can never have enough good lbers in my opinion

 

I like the group and I think we should keep that group together ... I don't think we should draft that group just yet ...We will need our OLB play to continue to get better , but we have some young guys who are making some plays I think they can and will get better...You know me and here goes the old ,but we need better CB'S and better Safety play before we will ever know what we have at OLB...So until we get some real talent there we are just wasting draft picks on OLB'S...

 

Just curious, what have you seen from Jarvis that says the light has come on? I thought 38 yr old Harrison outplayed him all year, and it wasn't even close.

 

I wouldn't agree with that. I think jones is way better in coverage. I also think he got better has the year went on. this is his first year of seeing much time. because of injury or whatever.

I am sure james had more sacks. I think they both had 2 forced fumbles that I can remember. I think both had a pick. tackles, james probably had more but I am not sure about who had more playing time. I don't think it is so unbalanced you could say he was outplayed

 

I watched these 2 guys very close all year. I can this for sure, I always felt comfortable when Harrson was in . Especially against the run. Jarvis is faster and runs around more but Harrison is stronger and holds his position better. Did you see him make tackles yesterday behind the line of scrimmage? I think he had 3 of them. When has Jarvis done that.

I just think we have to agree to disagree. It's still a shame that this no.1 pick cannot supplant a free agent 38 year old linebacker.

 

JJ is a great run defender, solid in coverage but absolutely cannot pressure the quarterback. In our system with bad DBs, that's a must.

Dupree needs to show a lot more in terms of variety of moves next year -- running eight yards behind the quarterback is great, really, but so far he's just potential.

I am far, far more optimistic about our ILBs.

Pundits will say we have a good pass rush because of the numbers -- but we can only apply pressure when we rush 6-7 and even then I see the quarterback have plenty of time (example: the Peyton "help I've fallen" play)

Lots of promise, but the only developed talents belong to Shazier, Tuitt, Heyward and Mitch.

 

yesterday he probably did play better but Jarvis played better last week. sack and forced fumble

 

Agree with most, but don't see JJ as a great run defender, to me that's his weakness.

 

James Harrison at age 37 played more snaps then Jarvis Jones. What does that tell you. Also Harrison is still the best OLB on the team.
Jones finally seemed to come on at the end of the season and played well yesterday but to me the jury is still out.
Dupree is a rookie and shows more promise then Jones has. He will only get better.
I would like to see Harrison come back next year but as a situational pass rusher and to spell the starters.
I would like to see what Chickillo brings to the table.
The ILB's situation got better due to Shazier finally staying on the field.
The secondary needs an upgrade. Strong Safety and Corner. Golson hopefully shows promise but will be behind the curve. I would like to see Boykin back and I will personally limo Blake anywhere besides Pittsburgh. Gay also showed he is slowing down but can still contribute. Cockrell should get better.

 

Really? It's funny how two different sets of eyes see totally different things. I think JJ is actually a pretty darn good against the run.

Overall it's hard to see James coming back again. If that's the case we probably need to draft another OLB in the mid rounds and try to get a player. We will still have JJ, Bud, Moats and Chickillo, but would like to add to that in case Chick doesn't get it done for us in a reserve role. Can't have too many guys competing at the pass rusher position. We probably go into the season with JJ and Dupree starting. Moats will get some snaps, and so will Chick. I fully expect the starters to dominate the snap count a little more than they did this season tho.

 

I would like to know who had more tackles for the same playing time, Jarvis versus Harrison, without researching my money is on Harrrison

 

This defense as a whole is going to need some new blood.

The Dline really needs an upgrade at the DE positioin. Yes, I love the 2 starters, but the depth behind them....really weak. Now if Walton and Geathers can play 20% of the plays and contribute we could have something without having to do much else. That being said, we need to at least explore some lower to mid round picks to add depth.

The LB starters group I like. Timmons, Shazier, Dupree, and Jones. Really solid group which should only get better. I have no problem with keeping any of the other 6 guys we had on the roster this past year. I would like to see what Chickillo can do given some more opportunities. The year of practice time should have been good for him. Now, Harrison, I would bring back just because if he wants to keep playing, he deserves to do so. In addition, he is still good enough that he doesn't hurt us. Moats I am indifferent to, but I honestly don't think he is anything but depth.

Mike Mitchell and Robert Golden are our only options at S right now. I would even be okay with them as starters.. IMO, we need to draft a draft a FS and sign a SS in free agency. It brings an immediate boost to our depth at that position, especially if you bring in a vet which can start. The other option IMO is to bring in a FS and move Mitchell to SS which is a position he may be better suited for in reality.

The CB position this year was a mess. Gay being your #1 guy is part of the problem. The whole excuse about liking him in the slot I understand, that is where he should be, the problem is we had no guys who were better than him. Here is my issue at the moment at this position, we have a ton of youth, some of which you don't know their ceilings yet. Cockrell, Grant, Golson, and even Allen, have yet to really reach what they can be. Add in Blake, who if not hurt might have been decent depth, and you suddenly have issues. We need to find a true #1 either in the draft or in free agency. A guy like Josh Norman from Carolina would totally fit our system and he brings some Ike-like swagger as well. He may break the bank though and I don't think we are willing to do that. This position needs an overhaul.

On another note, it would not surprise me to see Carnell Lake let go and a veteran DB coach brought into the fold. It has been a disaster and Lake hasn't helped much making it any better.

 

Harrison had more tackles but not alot more. According to one article harrison played 611 snaps and next closest was dupree at 560 so I would say he had a good deal more than jones. They forced about same amount of turnovers and harrison had 3 or 4 more sacks

 

Honestly our safeties and corners seemed to do better blitzing this year than our backers did. We've got 4 first rounders on the field and I'd like to see a lot more production out of them than we are getting.

 

Dupree had 560 as a rookie?! Wow, no wonder he hit that wall! Even though you could tell he was getting better technically he seemed to be a little flat late in the year. Next year though....after seeing what it's like to grind and play 2 playoff games? I'm excited for this kid!

 

I hope James Harrison comes back for Next year, Jarvis Jones is NOT an every Down player, too weak and useless in getting to the QB...

 

Jarvis is an interesting guy. He seems to really polarize fans, but not in a passionate way like with Mendenhall or Kordell Stewart. No one is foaming at the mouth either for or against Jarvis, but at the same time, no one can even agree what his strengths and weaknesses are, let alone if he's any good or not.

I'm still waiting on a quality rush stat. As someone very fascinated with Jarvis, I always watch him closely, and it was frustrating for me to see him always dropping into coverage, or out of the game. Or, if he did rush, sometimes he didn't get a clean rush, instead chipping a TE or RB or something, or just hesitating for some other reason (that could be his fault). That, opposed to someone like Dupree or some edge rusher on another team who just crashes the QB 100%. Jarvis only got 3 sacks on the year, but it seemed to me he only had a fraction of the opportunities other guys had. I think if he played full time he could regularly be an 7-10 sack guy, and that's plenty if Dupree pans out on the other side.

Does anyone know if that stat is out there somewhere? A measurement of how many quality rushes defenders get on the QB. PFF members? I hope to God I don't have to get in there and do the research myself.

 

I think Dupree will be fine, I think Timmons is fine but may have lost a step,
I think Silverback should be back for 1 more. I think Shazier could be a monster if
he could stay healthy be consistent, I think Chickilo is an interesting talent. I think
all other LB's will be looked at. I think the Steelers need more QB sacks from the LB position.

 

Agree with this, which is why I think we need to focus on OLB come draft say. Basically, we have 1 year left with JJ, maybe Harrison, and Moats is the role player. Looks like a big hole to me.

 

Comparing LBers to Harrison is tough. He is a once in a blue moon find like Aaron Smith was and even a 1st rounder will find it difficult to fill those shoes.

 

I think we keep most of the group together. JJ has improved but not to the point I wouldn't look for another OLB in the draft or even a passing rushing Defensive lineman. We need to get pressure on the quarterback and the group out there currently can not do that. I'm not saying we need to invest a number one pick, ( I think we take the best available player at OLB, DE, SS, CB, TE or G) but the bottom line we need to generate more consistent pressure.