Big role again for Harrison not likely
Time to make way for younger Jones, Dupree
If all goes as expected, the Steelers will start four first-round draft picks at linebacker this season, perhaps as early as the opener in New England.
It will only be a matter of time before Bud Dupree, their No. 1 choice in the three-day draft that concluded Saturday, moves in as the starter at left outside linebacker. Who knows, he might even get the Ryan Shazier treatment and instantly be handed the starting job when the Steelers begin their offseason training activities later this month.
The Steelers did not use the 22nd overall pick in the draft to have Dupree (6 feet 4, 269 pounds) lead the band at halftime. They hope he will pair with Jarvis Jones, their No. 1 pick in 2012, to give them the type of productive outside passrush tandem they once enjoyed with Joey Porter and Jason Gildon or James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley.
And they still have Harrison, who turns 37 today and was brought back for one final season. But Harrison, a former NFL defensive player of the year, has already been told he will have a reduced role in 2015 designed to keep him from wearing down.
And the person who told him is none other than Porter, the player he replaced on the Steelers defense in 2007.
“Harrison is going to be a better player for us if I keep his snap count down to 25 snaps [a game],” said Porter, one of the team’s linebacker coaches who is only a year older than his former teammate. “I’ll get the best James Harrison I can out of him instead of trying to make him play like he was 25 [and getting] 60 snaps a game. I told him already, the James Harrison [of before] is over.”
Porter was promoted this offseason to linebackers coach, along with Jerry Olsavsky, when Keith Butler was named defensive coordinator to replace Dick LeBeau. Because he played in front of Harrison for three years before he signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2007, Porter said he has a “solid bond” with Harrison and can be honest with him about his new role.
Harrison started the final four games last season, including the playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens. In each of those games, he never played fewer than 52 snaps. He was off the field for only 19 plays in those four games.
But it is not just about Harrison’s age. The Steelers do not want him taking away from the development of Jones, who enters his third NFL season. Jones played only 16
snaps in the final three games after returning from a wrist injury.
“He’s going to play his role and his role is going to be effective,” Porter said of Harrison. “He knows what we’re asking out of him and he’s going to be ready to answer the bell. I just told him, ‘You’re not going to play the whole game like that anymore.’
“I just tell him exactly what it is. ‘Hey man, you’re 37. ... You’re just a couple months younger than me. I’m 38 and you’re 37.’ He isn’t going to be able to play 60 snaps anymore. He can’t argue with that. He knows where he’s at.”
Dupree wasn’t the only outside linebacker they added in the draft. They took converted defensive end Anthony Chickillo (6-3, 267), who had 15½ career sacks at Miami, in the sixth round.
That gives them five outside linebackers heading to training camp, including veteran Arthur Moats.
“You never can have enough pass rushers, especially the way the NFL is being played now,” Porter said.
“When I played, I think it was more about being able to stop the run and being able to play both. The way they’re playing the game now, it’s a track meet out there.”
The Steelers have had only 67 sacks since the start of the 2013 season, including just 33 last year. That is their lowest two-season total since they had 65 in 1989 (31) and 1990 (34).
“You have to put pressure on the quarterback,” said Porter, who had 60 of his career 98 sacks with the Steelers.
“I feel like if we had done that last year, we would’ve been a little better. I think we’re addressing some of the problems we had.”