The Steelers need Payton Wilson to step up this season

We had a radioman on the ship that thankfully was a Steeler fan. There were 5-6 of us that were Steeler fans. We'd gather in a super small room (nut to butt) and he'd get the game info for us. Little delayed but we were thankful.

 

And I have noticed since Omar has taken over he seems too lean towards bigger bodies

 

I was with you till You said Shazier held up fine.

 

I agree with you, and
Hell I can remember seasons with Cowher when we would have 6 , or 7 games in a season when we never scored over 14 points

 

The main problem is that Wilson is constantly paired with a much shorter inside linebacker (around 6'0") who is terrible in coverage. Height, quickness, and speed are not the issue with Wilson. He’s clearly the better player in coverage especially when matched up against tight ends. Another issue last year was the coaching. Teryl Austin and Mike Tomlin (the “double head monsters”) had him on the field way too much on 3rd downs and obvious passing situations sometimes even covering wide receivers.

That was last year.

 

I mean in terms of taking on blockers... not necessarily his health. He got injured in a freak hit. He certainly didn't have an issue shedding blockers and making an impact in the run game.

 

I wouldn't call it a freak hit, myself. I said many times he was making dangerous tackles.

 

Shazier might’ve held up even more fine if he had better tackling technique.

 

I'm assuming you meant the long arms of OL?

Linebackers don't win a lot of matchups with offensive linemen. If offensive lineman are able to climb to the second level, they are usually swallowing up linebackers.

Ray Lewis is considered one of the best linebackers ever. If the interior defensive line is getting pushed around and can't hold up at the point of attack with offensive lineman getting to your linebackers, there are no linebackers that are going to dominate. The interior defensive line has to keep linebackers clean for them to consistently make plays for little or no gain in the run game.

When Ray Lewis' DL didn't play well in front of him, he was mostly a non-factor.

 

Payton and Queen should do just fine in TC. Apparently, MM is a HC that doesn't like guys being put on the ground in drills.

 

I just think Wilson is generally weak against the run. There is a reason his snaps dropped below 50% in the last games of the season, especially when you consider he was replaced with Harrison who is no great shakes.