Potential of D line

Lets say gravedigger lives up to the hype and is really good, and tooey/cam cam do as good as last season and even improve, plus big dan and ricardo do well... How do you think our D line would rank? Top 5?

 

It could be really good. I'd expect quite a few sacks from the DL this season too. I really feel good about the DL this year... What a difference a year makes haha

 

well given the state of our linebacking core, and our secondary, if our D line doesn't pan out or if we get injuries our defense will be atrocious. If our D line is beastly and our LB/secondary are decent then overall will be a good defense.

 

All of the Defensive lineman not named Heyward and Tuitt have impressed me thus far; McCullers a lesser extent.


Biggest surprise though has been Ricardo Matthews. Did not think he would have that level of explosiveness off the snap. LT Walton also gets an honorable mention. After seeing some All-22 tape, his ability to hold the POA and his leverage has improved substantially. His block shedding is still a work in progress as well as his toolbox of pass rushing moves.. but he is far greater than he was a year ago.

 

The DL better be good, we will need them to get after the QB and produce sacks.
Here is hoping Ricardo Matthews gets some playing time when the season starts.

 

Tuitt was awesome last night in limited action.

The hallmarks of the great Steelers D's in the past twenty years have been to absolutely stuff the run and blitz like crazy. It'll be nice to hold some of the league's top rushers to fifty yards a game again with Tuitt, Heyward and . . . Hargrave(?) shutting it down and allowing a guy like Shazier to fly to the ball and make tackles.

It'll be nice to get back to 'fifteen guys in the huddle, guys parachuting in from airplanes, people coming out of the stands to help us get people' football (as Kevin Greene once referred to the old Blitzburgh days).

 

You know, it's funny. I'd love for the DL to get a bunch of sacks. But essentially doesn't that mean the entire defensive unit as a whole has failed? Shouldn't the LB's be the ones putting up the sack numbers? I'd be fine with not many sacks from the DL if they can hold the point of attack and allow the linebackers to do their job.

 

this defense will be much improved. you heard it here first.

 

Go with where the talent is.
If that is the team's strength this year, I'd expect the defense to scheme for the LB to contain the pocket and absorb blockers to free up the DL, instead of the other way around.

 

Essentially this is Butler's "Eagle" scheme in a nutshell.

 

Thats the problem, unless Butler lets Shazier Timmons loose our OLB are lacking, especially JJ. That is why it
is so important to have DL getting after it. Here is hoping Silverback stays injury free and Chickillo steps up.

 

I think we have the best 3-4 d-line in the league... the starting ends go without saying... the Walton and Matthews pairing could start on most other teams and lyons has impressed. He'll be a victim of the numbers game, but is a lock for the ps....
Grave digger is the real deal... the contrasting styles between him and mccullers will be impossible to adjust to in a rotation for all but the best c's in the league..... this unit is definitely trending way up

 

So from what I am getting is we will have an elite D line, mediocre linebackers, and blah secondary.

 

The dline performed very well last year and with these additions...I expect even better, because heyward/tuitt will be fresher at the end of games

 

this is a must
they had to be winded last year

 

Keep in mind, the ilbers are stacked and also will be elite.... even with jj on the outside, we are still above average overall on the outside, and I expect the secondary to be average

 

Elite D line, Elite ILB, Above average OLB and average secondary makes for a very good defense my friend. Lets hope.