What to Expect from Pittsburgh Steelers Defense in 2015
Change is not a word associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that is exactly what the defense will face in 2015 as it undergoes its most significant transition in over a decade.
Gone is its architect, Dick LeBeau, as well as defensive icon Troy Polamalu. So is vocal leader Brett Keisel. Keith Butler was promoted to take over as defensive coordinator. The unproven Shamarko Thomas will compete to start at strong safety, while Cameron Heyward figures to become one of the team’s vocal leaders.
These are only a few of the changes that the Steelers will make to their defense. As painful as they were, it was essential for Pittsburgh to make moves. After years sitting atop the defensive standings, it fell to the bottom half of the league.
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A strong offense wasn’t enough to carry the Steelers past the first round of the playoffs last season, so general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin made the moves necessary to get the team back on track. In their eyes, that was by building the defense through the draft.
The defenders who helped lead the Steelers to a tremendous amount of success are now gone, and it is up to a new generation of players to lead the defense in the future. Here is a preview of what to expect from Pittsburgh’s defense in 2015.
Why the Downward Trend?
It is no coincidence that the Steelers have not won a playoff game since the 2010 season. That is the last time the defense was truly in dominant form.
Although the Steelers ranked first in yards and points allowed, the defense began to show cracks in its armor. Nothing was more indicative of this than when the Tim Tebow-led Denver Broncos torched the secondary for an overtime win in the playoffs.
The lack of production due to aging talent—and the inability to replace that talent—is the major reason why the defense has failed in recent years.
| Year | Total Yards (rank) | Passing Yards (rank) | Rushing Yards (rank) | Sacks (rank) | Takeaways (rank) | Points Allowed (rank) |
| 2014 | 5,654 (18) | 4,049 (27) | 1,605 (6) | 33 (26) | 21 (23) | 23.0 (18) |
| 2013 | 5,402 (13) | 3,552 (9) | 1,849 (21) | 34 (25) | 20 (27) | 23.1 (14) |
| 2012 | 4,413 (1) | 2,963 (1) | 1,450 (2) | 37 (15) | 20 (25) | 19.6 (6) |
| 2011 | 4,348 (1) | 2,751 (1) | 1,597 (8) | 35 (17) | 15 (32) | 14.2 (1) |
| 2010 | 4,429 (2) | 3,425 (12) | 1,004 (1) | 48 (1) | 35 (2) | 14.5 (1) |
A stark decline in the rush defense has set a tone. The inability to control the line of scrimmage has allowed the opponents to dictate what they do on offense. That has exposed the Steelers not only to the big play, but also to an increase in points allowed.
The lack of pass rush is another significant issue, as even average quarterbacks are able to pick apart the secondary. Without a defense applying pressure, the Steelers have consistently ranked low in takeaways.
| Year | Player | Position |
| 2015 | Alvin "Bud" Dupree | OLB |
| 2014 | Ryan Shazier | ILB |
| 2013 | Jarvis Jones | OLB |
| 2011 | Cameron Heyward | DE |
Lawrence Timmons is the only defensive starter remaining from the 2010 season. Since then, the Steelers have invested heavily in the draft to upgrade the defense.
Over the past five drafts, the Steelers have selected four defensive players in the first round (Cameron Heyward, Jarvis Jones, Ryan Shazier and Bud Dupree) and another two (Stephon Tuitt and Senquez Golson) in the second. By the end of the season, all five may be in the starting lineup.
Personnel Changes
The 2015 defense will have a much different feel than it had last year. The Steelers lost personnel at each level of the defense, and it is up to the coaching staff to find replacements.
Pittsburgh released Brett Keisel, while outside linebacker Jason Worilds, safety Troy Polamalu and cornerback Ike Taylor all retired. Although the Steelers are not losing any All-Pro players from this group, they are losing a ton of leadership and knowledge.
However, the Steelers have spent the past few seasons preparing for this moment. They selected linebackers in the first round for three consecutive years and added Mike Mitchell in free agency last season. This year, they used six of their eight selections in the draft on defensive players.
The infusion of youth onto the roster is one of the reasons why Chase Goodbread of NFL.com believes the Steelers are one of the teams that improved their defense the most:
"With age catching up to certain areas of the Steelers' defense, a big injection of youth was needed. It started with pass rusher Bud Dupree, whom Steelers fans hope becomes the player Jarvis Jones was supposed to be, with the No. 22 overall pick. A significant need at cornerback was filled with Senquez Golson of Ole Miss in the second round and Ohio State's Doran Grant in the fourth. Don't be surprised if the small-but-aggressive Golson settles into, and thrives in, a nickelback role. Late in the draft, Pittsburgh added defensive lineman Leterrius Walton, a massive small-school prospect (6-5, 319) who could help anchor its interior front. Defensive end Anthony Chickillo of Miami and NCAA interception leader (14) Gerod Holliman of Louisville, a free safety, were nice late-round finds.
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The new-look secondary will provide some of the most intriguing storylines at training camp. These will begin with the competition at cornerback.
William Gay is coming off a season in which he led the team with three interceptions—all returned for touchdowns—and figures to lock down a starting spot. The other starting position and nickel role will be up for grabs.
Allen has the inside track to the other starting position. Defensive backs coach Carnell Lake was confident in the young defensive back when asked if Allen could bounce back in 2015 during a draft-day press conference, per Steelers.com:
"I do. I know from talking to him that he had some issues with the lower extremities. He was injured most of the year and was fighting through that. That really affected his game. Playing the game myself, I know that if you can’t run, it’s hard to play corner. It’s almost impossible really. So I have to give him credit for fighting through it. I think it’s good that he’s not around so far to kind of clear his mind, refresh and comes back ready and rebooted. Maybe he can out there in Arizona and Florida, I know those are two places he trains in the offseason. He gets some sunshine and kind of lets those green buds sprout and come on back. It’s a new season. We’re not going to talk about the old season. We’re just going to talk about where you are now and let’s get you back where you should be.
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At 6’1”, Allen brings some much-needed height to the defensive backfield—Mike Mitchell is the only other defensive back at least 6’0”. He has the ability to play the ball but needs to regain the mental and physical edge that made him such a promising prospect early in his career.
Behind Allen, Golson and Grant will compete for playing time, and both show a transition into what the Steelers will ask from their cornerbacks.
Rather than focus on size and physical play, their two rookie cornerbacks have the ability to play the ball—especially Golson, who had 10 interceptions last year.
This was a common theme with what they wanted at safety, where they selected Gerod Holliman in the seventh round. Like Golson, Holliman was an excellent playmaker and led the nation with 14 interceptions last season.
Unlikely to find a spot in the starting lineup, Holliman does have a chance to get on the field on passing downs due to his plus ball skills. While he is a potential sleeper, the X-factor for the defense will be Shamarko Thomas.
Thomas will replace Polamalu in the lineup, where he hopes to develop into a playmaker against the run and pass. Combined with Mitchell, the Steelers will have a pair of safeties who like to hit but struggle in coverage.
Ahead of the secondary is a trio of former first-round selections playing linebacker, with a fourth on the way.
On the inside, the Steelers are set with Timmons and Shazier, who are athletic enough to drop into coverage but are willing to rush the quarterback. However, Shazier does not play with a physical edge and will struggle against the run.
That is where a player like Vince Williams can step in. Outside of James Harrison, Williams is possibly the most physical linebacker on the team and will provide excellent depth. He—along with Sean Spence—will provide valuable depth on the inside.
Harrison is another depth player who, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac, will see a limited number of snaps, according to outside linebacker coach Joey Porter. Not only will this keep Harrison fresh, but it will allow Jones to take the reins at right outside linebacker.
Jones, along with Moats, will man the starting positions and will look to improve upon a lackluster pass rush. Dupree may step in as the season progresses, but he will be limited early on as he develops his technique.
With so much uncertainty at linebacker and in the secondary, Pittsburgh’s strength should be along the defensive line.
Heyward and Tuitt provide the Steelers with two powerful defensive ends who can defend against the run as well as pressure the quarterback. In the middle, the combination of a healthy Steve McLendon and a more experienced Dan McCullers should provide a run-stopping presence as well as free up space for the linebackers to make plays.
Of all of these players, Tuitt is the one with the most upside, and the team has high expectations for him this year. It is no wonder that he is excited to get started with organized team activities:
“It’s going to be very valuable,” Tuitt told Teresa Varley of Steelers.com. “Everything we do is important. I think for me, especially for the team, they will be able to see I did get better, I worked hard, I studied my butt off to make sure I am ready to play for this defense and help the Steelers win some games and the Super Bowl.”
With so much change with the defensive personnel, there is cause for concern entering the season. However, there is also a lot of untapped potential, and it is only a matter of time before the young players begin to maximize their talent levels.
Defensive Scheme Under Butler
With a new generation of defenders on the field, it is only appropriate that they will have a new general.
Keith Butler waited patiently for his turn to run the defense, and now he has the chance to develop a young, talented group that includes five first-round and two second-round draft picks.
Although it is still unknown how he will run his defense, we do know that he has been working on it since the day the Steelers promoted him:
"It's the dream of a lifetime," Butler said in the statement, per Scott Brown of ESPN.com and the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "There are only 32 of these jobs on this Earth. I am excited about the opportunity and I look forward to getting this process started immediately."
Part of this process will include getting Pittsburgh’s defense back to its roots—stopping the run, rushing the quarterback and preventing the big play. How it achieves this, though, is a question. One thing we can expect is that it will not continue with the same approach.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Tomlin took a more active role in defensive game-planning last season, which was an indication that “he was seeking to change how the Steelers play on defense.”
With that said, Tomlin knows that Butler has a bright defensive mind and is going to allow his coordinator to do his job, per Scott Brown of ESPN.com:
"The nature of our relationship has changed over the years and I enjoy that. We have a great deal of comfort and continuity. Also I'm looking forward to the impact he can have of putting his spin on what we have been doing. I am excited about how that might make us different and more competitive as we move forward. Change isn't something that I fear. If you are trying to be the very best that you can be, you can't have that mentality.
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Fundamentally, the Steelers will not change much in terms of scheme. They will still run out of the base 3-4 defense as well as play a significant amount of time out of their sub-package against three- and four-receiver sets.
Heyward all but stated this in recent comments he made to reporters; however, he admitted there will be some new looks as well.
It would be naive to think that the Steelers will enter the season with the exact same plan on defense. If that was the case, why move on from LeBeau?
The Steelers promoted Butler to adjust the defense, whether it is in terms preparation in training camp, game plans, use of various personnel or adjustments he makes throughout the game. Only time will tell how he will change it.
However, we did get some insight from a former player who knows Butler well.
“He is an aggressive coach,” former Steelers linebacker James Farrior told Teresa Varley of Steelers.com. “Some coaches lay back and let athletes make plays. He is an aggressive coach and they will have some exciting things going on this year.”
Farrior knows Butler’s personality and what he likes to do on defense, but he also recognizes that Butler will not completely change Pittsburgh’s defensive philosophy:
“I think it’s going to be similar,” said Farrior. “He coached under Dick LeBeau and being around him and the system. It will be similar, but he will add a little spice to it.”
“He has been around the team for a long time," he continued. "He knows the heartbeat of the defense, what the guys like to do. He will make the calls accordingly. They have been around him enough for them to be comfortable with his personality.”
A defense stocked with young, athletic players will be eager to get after the ball once the season begins. They will feed into a more aggressive approach under Butler.
It won’t be until the season begins that Butler reveals all of his defense's wrinkles, but you can be sure they will be there. An attacking defense that uses a variety of personnel packages would represent a deviation from what we have seen in recent years, but do not expect to see a drastic turnaround either.
Butler has a young defense to work with that has shown many problems in recent years. Although there is talent on the roster, it is unproven talent, and we cannot expect Butler to be a miracle-worker.
A return to the top of the league isn’t in store the Steelers defense this season, but Butler’s approach and Pittsburgh’s young talent will breathe new life into a unit that is ready to take off.
Note: Unless otherwise noted, all stats are courtesy of ESPN.com, and roster information is courtesy of Steelers.com.
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