The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has given up 737 yards in the past two weeks, with 362 of those yards coming on the ground. Inside linebacker, Ryan Shazier summed up the Steelers defense in one word in his most recent post-game comments; ‘garbage.’ The Steelers bye week came at a perfect time, following two dreadful defensive performances against the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. Shazier aggravated a knee in the Steelers loss to the Philadelphia Eagles but returned against the Patriots in week seven.
Ryan Shazier‘s Impact
Injury Problems
Shazier has missed 13 of the Steelers last 37 regular season games, but he is a force whenever he does suit up and play. Shazier started 12 games in 2015 and played in nine games in 2014. So far in 2016, Shazier has started three games and played in four. However, in just the four games that Shazier has played in this season, he’s recorded 22 combined tackles. In the 12 games that Shazier played in last year, he recorded 87 combined tackles. So far, Shazier has averaged fewer tackles per game this season compared to last season, but that is likely due to him attempting to play through his MCL injury.
Depth
Shazier’s backups, Lawrence Timmons and Vince Williams, lead the team in tackling so far this season. While it may seem that the Steelers have enough depth at the linebacker position without Shazier, Timmons and Williams lack Shazier’s speed and quickness. Shazier is fast enough to keep up with wide receivers and big enough to not be bullied by tight ends. The Steelers depth at linebacker is what makes their defense so unpredictable. Jarvis Jones, Arthur Moats, Bud Dupree and James Harrison all receive playing time at the outside linebacker positions, while Shazier, Timmons, and Williams all share time at the inside linebacker positions. Opposing offenses don’t know whether the Steelers will blitz, or let their linebackers sit back in zone coverage. Shazier excels at this.
Opposing quarterbacks aren’t going to be that worried if Harrison or Timmons sit back in zone coverage, but they should be worried about Shazier. Having Shazier back allows the defense to be able to blitz more because of his ability to cover the middle of the field almost entirely by himself. This also helps out the Steelers secondary because safeties will be able to help the cornerbacks cover receivers on the outside, instead of helping out linebackers on the inside. Shazier is also able to cover much more ground than Timmons or Williams, allowing the safeties to focus their attention on stopping the run or helping out cornerbacks.
Defensive Quarterback
Shazier’s impact and importance to the Steelers defense were on display against the Patriots. Shazier acts as the defensive quarterback, directing teammates and taking some pressure off of the secondary. Without Shazier, the Steelers would’ve likely been beaten by a much larger margin against New England, but his presence alone affects how well opposing quarterbacks are able to read the defense. Shazier is almost as big of a loss for the Steelers as Ben Roethlisberger. Expect the Steelers defense to play much better in the future with Shazier back. Once Shazier and Roethlisberger are both healthy, the Steelers will have both of their signal-callers back, and will once again be Super Bowl contenders in the NFL.
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