Defense on spot as OTAs kick off
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin will put his team through a practice for the first time in more than four months today when the Steelers begin organized team activities (OTAs). It’s the first of four consecutive weeks of workouts that conclude with a week of mandatory minicamp before the team gets four weeks off before reporting to training camp at Saint Vincent College.
Under the collective bargaining agreement, no live contact is allowed, but the team can do 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. Tomlin likes to say he does not evaluate talent in shorts in May. He prefers the padded, full-contact practices of training camp for that, but the extra work this spring can be beneficial for Tomlin and his staff, especially when it comes to piecing together a defense that has taken on a new look since the Steelers lost to Baltimore in an AFC wild-card game in January.
Longtime linebackers coach Keith Butler takes over for Dick Lebeau as defensive coordinator, and he will have a new starters at strong safety, one cornerback spot and at least one outside linebacker position.
Cornerback Cortez Allen, right outside linebacker Jarvis Jones and inside linebacker Ryan Shazier look to regain starting jobs they lost in 2014 due to injuries and ineffective play. When the Steelers played the Ravens in that wild-card game, Brice McCain, James Harrison and Sean Spence started in their place.
“New faces,” defensive end Cam Heyward said. “Obviously, we have a new defensive coordinator. It’s exciting to grow with a group of guys, approach the season and get ready.”
There are other jobs to be won on defense as well. Antwon Blake rose to become the slot corner in sub-packages by the end of the season, but he will be pushed by rookies Senquez Golson and Doran Grant.
Seventh-round pick Gerod Holliman could challenge Robert Golden for a reserve role at free safety, and young linebackers such as Jordan Zumwalt, Anthony Chickillo, Howard Jones and Shawn Lemon hope to secure spots on the roster or practice squad.
As for changes under Butler, Heyward does not expect many.
“I don’t think there will be too many changes,” Heyward said. “It will be the same details. He might have a couple of more wrinkles, but we’re not going to share that
now.”
There are not nearly as many questions on offense because every starter returns from a unit that finished second in the NFL in total yards and passing yards.
For the early portion of the season, that unit must overcome a suspension to running back Le’Veon Bell, who must sit out the first three games of the season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
The Steelers signed former Carolina running back DeAngelo Williams to fill in during Bell’s absence. Williams compiled 6,846 yards in his first nine seasons in the league with the Panthers. He has been going through voluntary workouts with his new teammates for the past few weeks.
“We like him,” center Maurkice Pouncey said. “He’s adjusting really well. He has a great attitude toward things. I think it will be a lot easier for him because he played in a two-back system before. For him to jump in would be awesome for us and for him.”
The only other significant personnel decision on offense is whether Martavis Bryant unseats Markus Wheaton as one of the starting receivers, and that won’t matter much because the Steelers are expected to use three-receiver sets as part of their base offensive package.
Expectations are for the Steelers to remain as one of the league’s top offenses, but Pouncey said they have to be more consistent. They managed to score only 17 points in the playoff loss to the Ravens.
“We have to keep working because we lost in the first round of the playoffs,” Pouncey said.”We want to keep pushing every year.”