Steelers Tackle the Offseason (Part II)

Over the last few days we have discussed the Steelers offseason moves and gave a little preview to next year’s offense. With the signings of Ryan Clark and Casey Hampton already in the books, let’s take a look at how the Steelers’ defense will look next year.

Defense

The Steelers biggest problem last year, besides kick coverage of course which we will discuss shortly, was their pass defense, particularly in the fourth quarter. Blown leads in the Chicago, Kansas City and Oakland games, three of the worst teams in the NFL, cost the Steelers a chance at defending their title in the playoffs. Overall the defense was not terrible, finishing 5th overall in yards against, 3rd against the rush and 16th against the pass. Their points against was rather bad ranking 20th in the league, but that number was heavily inflated by the number of kick returns and interception returns for touchdowns the Steelers allowed. These numbers, while finishing well off pace from the Steelers dominant 2008 defense, are not terrible when you consider the Steelers played without two of their best three players, Aaron Smith and Troy Polamalu, for a majority of the season.

This is an important aspect to remember when I say that the Steelers will return all eleven opening day starters from last year’s defense. That is the same defense that just had a historical 2008 season, won the Super Bowl, and was being compared to the greatest units in the history of the game, not the same defense we saw cave in the 4th quarter against inferior foes without two of its best players last season. The Steelers age on defense, however, is what has led me to keep harping on the fact that this team is built to win now, and that they must approach their offseason with this attitude. While it is certainly true that a number of players on defense are getting up there in age (6 of the 11 starters will be 30 or older on opening day), the Steelers should have a defensive unit that looks much more similar to the 2008 unit than the 2009 unit if they can remain relatively healthy. Taking a step back and looking at the defense unit by unit, we can see where some of the defense’s deficiencies are that could be addressed.

The Steelers’ defensive line looks to be very solid on the two-deep level. Yes, starters Casey Hampton, Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel are all north of the big 3-0, but each has at least two and possibly more years of good football left in him. All are locked into contracts, as well, that should keep them in a Steelers’ uniform through their productive years. Chris Hoke is a very dependable back-up for Hampton at nose tackle and last year’s first round draft pick, Ziggy Hood, showed some promising signs toward the end of last season. Veterans Travis Kirschke and Nick Eason give the unit valuable and experienced depth. The Steelers look very strong once again along the defensive line and are at least another year or two away from addressing the age factor once again after selecting Hood last year.

The Steelers’ linebackers, the bread and butter of the defense, have a great mix of young blood and veteran stars. Lawrence Timmons and Lamarr Woodley are exciting, emerging stars in the Steelers’ 3-4 defense and give the unit the speed it needs in both the pass rush and in coverage. James Harrison, while being 32 years old, is young by playing standards having only started the past three seasons and is one of the most feared pass rushers in the NFL. James Farrior, the other starting inside linebacker with Timmons, is the old dog of the group with his 14 years of experience. Farrior seemed to have possibly lost a step last year, but his experience and wisdom make him integral to this defense both from a production and leadership standpoint. This unit should once again remain very productive next season, and any drop-off in production from Farrior should be made up by the continued development of Woodley and Timmons. Keyaron Fox is a decent stop-gap replacement on the inside and a good special teams player, but other than him there’s nothing to be excited about in terms of depth at linebacker. This was my reason for liking the Steelers’ interest in bringing back Larry Foote. Timmons gives the Steelers flexibility with the ability to play inside or out in case of injury, and bringing in a productive back-up, no matter the position, will give the Steelers the necessary depth at LB for a 3-4 defense. I also see the Steelers using some of their mid to late round draft picks on guys that can be groomed to replace Farrior and offer special teams help.

The Steelers’ secondary is perceived as the weakest of the three units and with that belief I could not disagree. Yes, the Steelers will return all four starters from last year, but that also means returning their two cornerbacks that did not perform up to expectation and their premier weapon at safety that seems to be injured more and more with each passing year. Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu will once again man the safety spots. Both are locked into long term contracts now and should continue to be a great duo as long as Polamalu can stay healthy. The signing of Will Allen gives the Steelers depth and another solid special teams performer. I expect William Gay and Ike Taylor to be the starting corners once again, and it is imperative for the Steelers success that the two play up to their 2008 levels and not their 2009 performance. If the two do not perform the Steelers will have their two draft picks from last year, Keenan Lewis and Joe Burnett, who must then develop in a hurry to fill the void. While Lewis and Burnett have shown some ability, it is not an ideal situation to lean on second year players drafted in the 3rd and 5th round, respectively. It is for this reason that I think the Steelers must once again address the corner position in the draft. I would love to see the Steelers trade up for CB Joe Haden out of Florida, but if he is off the board when the Steelers draft at 18, I think it is still imperative that the Steelers draft corner help with one of their early picks.

Special Teams

As mentioned a million times by a million people, the Steelers special teams, and in particular their kick coverage, was downright pathetic last year. The Steelers acknowledged this and went out and tried to find players to fix this. Will Allen and Arnaz Battle are proven coverage guys and should immediately contribute on kick coverage. The departures (or likely departures) of back-ups such as Stephan Logan, Limas Sweed and DeShea Townsend, all guys who either did not or were not good at coverage, will allow spots for those that can get the job done. The Steelers also fired their special teams coordinator and have said and done things that have shown this is a priority for the team to upgrade in the offseason, and rightfully so. Jeff Reed will be back as kicker and Daniel Sepulveda will be back at punter, both positives for the club as both have proven they are among the elite in the league. The kick and punt return duties are up in the air, but the Steelers will have plenty of candidates including Mike Wallace, Joe Burnett and Antwaan Randle El. The Steelers special teams probably could not get much worse than last year, but I do expect to see some heavy improvements.


All in all, I think the Steelers are well positioned for next season. They have jumped off to a great start in free agency, addressing key depth issues they had at offensive line, wide receiver and in the secondary. The Steelers now must add to the puzzle with a successful draft, one that I am sure we will talking about in great depth as it nears. But for now, the Steelers have the pieces in place to make another run at Lombardi Trophy #7 and the philosophy of the organization must be to go for it. So far they have done that, and I applaud the Steelers front office so far this offseason.