Life after LeBeau Keith Butler has young Steelers defense on right track

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For 11 seasons, Keith Butler worked as a linebackers coach under Dick LeBeau. Last offseason, the parted ways with LeBeau and promoted Butler. Naturally, there was trepidation about the move. LeBeau was a Hall of Famer, a defensive innovator, beloved by everyone, and had spent more than a half-century in football. But there was also no denying that Brooks Orpik Jersey those vaunted Steelers defenses of recent Super Bowl runs were a thing of the past. When the Steelers faced the in XL, was a second-year quarterback who benefitted from having the league's . When the Steelers returned to the Super Bowl in 2008, Roethlisberger had established himself as one of the NFL's best young quarterbacks. But the defense had also improved -- to the and arguably one of the most complete defenses of the last decade. Similar story in 2010, Pittsburgh's last Super Bowl appearance: Roethlisberger carried the offense, but a dominant defense (again ranked No. 1) was that team's hallmark. But things began to change in 2011. The defense ranked seventh, according to , but a wild-card playoff lo s to and the ended the Steelers' season on . By 2012, the defense dropped to 13th before falling to 19th in 2013 The Steelers went 8-8 both seasons. Pittsburgh returned to the postseason in 2014, but it was due in large part to one of the league's most explosive offenses. Led by Roethlisberger, and , that group ranked second behind only and the . Meanwhile, the defense continued to languish, falling to 30th. In more sobering terms, they were third from the bottom ahead of only the and . Then, in January 2015, the Steelers and coach Mike Tomlin decided to move on from LeBeau and give Butler, who had pa sed up opportunities with other teams, the task of restoring Pittsburgh's defense to its previous glory. If Butler's first season is any indication, the rebuilding proce s is ahead of schedule. Again, referring to Football Outsiders' advanced metrics, the defense ranked 11th last season, an improvement of 19 spots. The unit also went from 30th to Rod Langway Jersey 13th against the pa s and from 17th to 5th against the run. On the surface, losing key personnel would appear to have complicated Butler's job. Safety Troy Polamalu, cornerback Ike Taylor, defensive end Brett Keisel and outsider linebacker Jason Worilds all retired, and cornerback left in free agency. But veterans and were a steadying presence in the secondary, showed glimpses of dominating along the defensive line, and outside linebacker and first-rounder played more as a rookie than we were accustomed to seeing during LeBeau's tenure.Also critical: Butler simplified a scheme that was often described as complicated and intricate under LeBeau, allowing younger players to get on the field sooner. "He tweaked the defense into things he likes," outside linebacker and 2013 first-rounder said last November, via the . "We still have many of the old concepts, but (Butler) has simplified things so we can play faster and communicate better." Defensive end Cam Heyward added: "There were times in the past when we sat more on blocks, and let the linebackers make plays. In Butler's defense, we (defensive linemen) have more freedom. ... There are lot more blitzes involved, and there are more opportunities to execute one- Nathan Walker Jersey on-ones. When we win the one-on-ones, we're a much better, succe sful team, and that's nothing against Coach LeBeau's defenses." "I have three sons, and I have two Super Bowl rings. I have to get one more. One of them's gonna be pi sed if I don't." Keith Butler Simplifying the scheme meant young players were thinking le s, playing faster and, ultimately, getting after the quarterback. In 2014, the defense managed just 33 sacks. Last season, they had 48. In terms of FO's , that's an improvement from 21st to 7th. And while LeBeau was known as the Godfather of the zone blitz and primarily a proponent of the 3-4 scheme, Butler isn't concerned with labels. "I would consider myself a whatever-it-takes-to-win guy," Butler said . "If it's a 3-4, that's fine, if that fits your players. I think you have to be able to fit your defense around the players you have. With what offenses are doing nowadays in the National Football League, they're playing a lot of three wide receivers and a tight end and a running back, for the most part. In those situations, we're going to be in kind of a 4-3 anyway, but we're still going to be able to run the 3-4 also. It gives you a little bit more versatility, I think." But as Tomlin has said throughout his tenure -- and reiterated after last season -- football is scheme-dependent. "We're all limited schematically, in terms of what we want to do," Tomlin said in January, via . "I think anybody that's an architect of football schematics, you have what you want to do, a vision of what you NHL Washington Capitals Jersey want to do, and then you have the reality. And the reality is usually a sociated with the abilities of the players that you have, the amount of time, or your ability to teach and the way that your opponent stre ses you." The Steelers began rebuilding the defense in 2014, LeBeau's last season. The team drafted inside linebacker and defensive end Stephon Tuitt with its first two picks that year, then landed rush linebacker Bud Dupree and cornerback in 2015. After an injury-plagued rookie season, Shazier came into his own in '15. And Tuitt and Heyward have a chance to be two of the best defensive ends in football. Dupree Alexander Alexeyev Jersey 's raw athleticism can take your breath away but he's still learning the position while Golson redshirted his rookie season after being sidelines with a shoulder injury. But the Steelers weren't done; in 2016 they used their first two picks on cornerback and safety , two long, athletic talents who, in Butler's defense, could see the field sooner rather than later. The good news is that Steelers are clearly serious about fixing a secondary that was one of the league's worst as recently as two seasons ago. The bad news: It's an extremely young group, and it's reasonable to expect growing pains. Gay and free safety are veterans, but after that, there could be plenty of inexperience on the field come September. Don't be surprised if Burns and Davis earn playing time immediately, or if Golson plays in sub-packages. It'll likely be a trial by fire for this group, though the upside is once it all comes together, their athleticism and playmaking ability will make the Steelers dangerous on both sides of the ball. Which brings us to the offense. Rare is the story about the Steelers that doesn't with the NFL's most potent offense, but if the defense continues to improve under Butler, offensive coordinator Todd Haley won't need to worry about , something the unit was just shy of last season (26.4), when Big Ben mi sed four games with various ailments.But here's the thing; a year ago, we were talking about Pittsburgh as a legit playoff team if the defense improved to middle-of-the-pack levels. The group did slightly better than that and the Steelers were a late fumble away from beating the Broncos in the AFC Divisional game. This time around, the expectation is that the Steelers' D will be a top-10 unit, the offense will continue to light up the scoreboard, and the Super Bowl is a realistic expectation. In fact, the most recent odds have the Steelers , behind only the , Packers and Seahawks. As for Butler's goals, odds aren't nece sary. "Win a Super Bowl the next three years," . "I have a three-year contract with the Rooneys. I aim to fulfill my contract. I have three sons, and I have two Super Bowl rings. I have to get Kody Clark Jersey one more. One of them's gonna be pi sed if I don't."
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