Kansas City Chiefs: Behind Enemy Lines With Still Curtain

Pittsburgh Defense

What has the team done to replace Ryan Shazier on defense?

DD: It’s so hard to replace a guy like Shazier, who was in a Pro-Bowl year before getting hurt. In the off-season, the team signed Jon Bostic from the Colts in hopes he could replicate the run-stopping success Pittsburgh so-dearly missed after Shazier departed. The original hope was to have Bostic and backup Tyler Matakevich battle for the starting position in preseason, but Bostic clearly out-shined Matakevich and earned the starting role. Bostic actually played well in Cleveland, grading out as the team’s top defensive player according to Pro Football Focus and even recorded a sack as well. Defensive Coordinator Keith Butler has also experimented with personnel groupings by bringing in a third safety (usually Terrell Edmunds) to assist with run-support.

Your defensive line had a great game against the Browns, do you expect that to be consistent?

DD: We’ve been looking for consistency with these guys for what feels like forever. We all know Cam Heyward is excellent at what he does, yet it feels like Javon Hargrave and Stephon Tuitt couldn’t put together a consistent stretch of games. The defensive line unit as a whole has the potential to be very good on a week to week basis, but I’m not banking on them to wreak havoc like the Rams defensive line, per say. Let’s see them prove me wrong.

How does the Steelers secondary look?

DD: The secondary is all based on the health of Joe Haden, who exited the Cleveland game with what turned out to be a mild hamstring injury. Haden’s status is still unknown for Sunday, but signs are good that he may be able to play. With Haden in the line-up, the Steelers secondary is respectable with Artie Burns playing on the opposite side. Slot corner Mike Hilton has emerged as one of Mike Tomlin’s favorite players, as Hilton has played phenomenally in his role since last season. Without Haden, I’m hesitant to be confident in the cornerback position. Burns proved on Sunday he still has a lot of maturing to do, and Haden’s presumed back-up Cam Sutton found himself being targeted a lot while in the game. Sutton could play well, but at times looked lost on the field. As for the safety position, the team rotated three safeties in Cleveland and will likely do the same this week. Sean Davis looks more natural at free safety after switching from strong safety, with Morgan Burnett slotted as the opposite safety. First-round pick Terrell Edmunds played exceptional for his first game despite the little action we saw him in.

What would you say the weakness is on the defensive side of the ball?

DD: There’s no huge glaring weakness on this defense, yet small ones scattered across the field. One of the main ones I’ve noticed is communication, whether it be pre-snap between two players before the ball is snapped or leaving receivers open in zone coverage, the defense needs to get their calls early and make fast, proper adjustments to stay on par with the offense. The loss of Ryan Shazier still looms large on the defense, as the team doesn’t have that true linebacker that is capable of roaming sideline with speed. Inside linebackers covering tight ends has also been a problem, as neither Vince Williams nor Jon Bostic is able to keep up with most tight ends in the league when in pass coverage. We also need to see outside linebacker Bud Dupree be more consistent in his play, as he tends to overshoot plays and not be able to regain his footing to get back in position on the weakside.