Ryan Shazier's future.

Ryan was an 4-3 OLB in College. With the Steelers being primarily a 3-4 team the logical position for him was ILB. The move was made. Shazier when healthy has shown the ability to be a special player in the league.......... when healthy!

Problem is Ryan hasn't been healthy but injured quite a bit.

Is he actually playing out of position in the NFL? I ask because it seems playing inside LB he may be dealing with the Big Uglies too much. Is his body not stern enough for that kind of contact?

What if he moves to SS next year? He's super fast, solid in coverage, great tackler and very good hands. That move would fill a need, Serious & Big needs at SS and he could be replaced by V. Williams inside.

Just conjecture on my part, curiousness I guess. I just want to see him on the field....often.

Cajun-

 

I would like it, but many here wouldn't. He is a bust imo in the sense he cannot stay healthy. Safeties are a draft must.

 

Count me as one of those that wouldn't like it. He has too much value and talent to turn him into a SS.

 

He didn't practice yesterday due to his knee injury. Not a crucial practice but also not a positive sign.

And coverage appears to be his weakness, strangely enough, so I wouldn't really want to see him move to SS.

 

I agree it seems to be his weakness right now but that's from an ILB position where he has certain assignments he must stay true to. From the SS position those assignments change, not saying his coverage skills would improve, but with his size and speed playing him in space would Add to his skillset.

Then there's this.... Tomlin is from a Tampa 2 system and Shazier seems to fit the Tampa 2 Mike perfectly, we've already made the shift to allow the DL to be agressors and attack the QB, we just don't have the complete DL for it though.

Cajun

 

Honestly, I don't know if I'd like it either. He has the potential to be a probowl ILB, if only he can stay healthy. But a guy with that size and Speed is being limited a bit and may be a better asset playing is space. Just imagine if he Thrived at SS, what that would do for our Defense, kind of like it was when Troy thrived at SS......... hhmmmm

Cajun

 

No I would not like it a bit. Shazier is special at ILB. He has run into the injury bug in the NFL. It is weird because he was very durable at OSU. I would rather see us address our safety issues through the draft.

 

We've already addressed it. We drafted Shamarko Thomas. Oh! Wait! LOL!

 

I don't think he'd be any less injured at SS. I just think it's one of those things that happens to some players. Hopefully he can shake the bug and stay healthy. He's far too valuable at LB to move him at this point

 

I think some were saying this last year too. It's not gonna happen.

 

Yeah. Watching the bucks I think he only missed one game in 3 years... His rookie year injuries were more rookie mistakes. Both times standing around a pile and taking a hit from the guys flying to it. This years injury was kinda fluky I think too. IIRC, he made a big hit on a WR on a crossing route or slant? Took a helmet to the shoulder and probably separated it. He hasnt taken any injuries that really worry me. He at least has avoided the serious ones.

I don't think he's out of position at all though. He needs to be at the LB spot knifing into the backfield for TFL's, stringing out outside runs, and blitzing. In the 6 games he's played he's been pretty productive. Around 8 tackles a game, 3 sacks and 2 FF. His weakness are his pass defense instincts, and idk if a move to safety helps that at all. He just needs to work hard in that area and improve. If he does, he will be a very complete LBer.

Lets just draft a good SS and let Shazier develop into a better ILB. He can create splash plays, and eventually should turn into a really good, well rounded player.

 

Shazier,timmons,moats,Dupree,..what do you think?

 

Maybe he was just playing some REALLY deep coverage? LOL!

 

If bulking up results in less injuries I say go for it. He is already so unbelievably fast, I can't imagine him even losing a step or two would stop him from being a pro bowl caliber player.


I know the sports analysts do say absolutely NO to safety. I can only wonder about OLB though, he has the speed, and might have better instinctual moves than Jarvis at least. Plus it would be less guys falling at his feet.

 

Not going to happen, they need to draft a SS.

 

He doesn't have the coverage skills to play safety, He needs to dedicate himself
to getting stronger and add weight so he can take on OL. He did this last preseason
and needs to continue. Better get his head on straight and play thru these injuries.

 

There's a lot of players in the NFL that get hurt 2 or even 3 years in a row. It doesn't make them injury prone. Sometimes injuries are a fluke thing. You just happen to get hit at the wrong angle or someone rolls up on you from behind. **** happens in football. I'm sure Shazier will be fine. It's not like Bell is injury prone

 

I know this sounds kind of weird but there's really a difference between "getting" hurt and "being" hurt. Bell actually "gets" hurt. He doesn't just have sorta nagging injuries like some players do. I think the same goes for Pouncey. With Shazier's injuries it's tough to tell because they seem so ambiguous as to when they actually happen. But I'm hoping that he falls in the "getting" hurt category. If that makes any sense. LOL!

 

He didn't practice again today. I think he's out Sunday. It has gotten to the point where I really dislike him, at least as a LB. He is so small he was bound to get hurt in the pros.

 

shaner82 is correct however there are others on

Not sure if I trust the injury report based on what I just saw. It actually has Boykin as DNP for Fri..

 

I do like the thinking but I am against the move to SS. I think we need to add a SS pretty early in the draft, I haven't started looking at prospects yet. The only thing I can hope for is Shazier can find a way to shake off these injuries cause when he is on the field he is pretty damn good at LB.

 

I don't think he has SS ball skills .....He seems to be much better dropping and scanning than stalking and scanning ...I have played both positions as well as CB and each position requires a different eye ....We have also moved around players a bunch and it can work , but the move from LB to Safety is 1 of the hardest to make IMO....It is actually easier to flip a WR to Safety than move a LB back....

As stated most LB'S read and key on different things , most have been taught to read and key on OL or TE releases to get there drop... The Safety position is like the QB of the Defense they need to read and recognize the entire field and diagnose possible plays and possible route combinations while all the while assigning there on responsibilities on those possible plays ....

 

I don't think a move to safety is plausible or has ever been a consideration by the coaching staff. His future is at ILB and not OLB either. The players in the NFL are just bigger, faster, stronger and his injuries could be a result of that. He needs to put his head on a swivel so he doesn't get caught up too close to the piles like in his first year and maybe some refinements in technique could help avoid some others. Not sure what the latest injury is from. Again we are lucky to have some nice depth in Spence and VW98.