I don't think that Golden has been an issue at strong safety, but hopefully Dangerfield can bring some energy. Probably see some Dime with 4 CBs and 2 safeties
At least they skipped the Shamarko experiment and went straight to Dangerfield. Big shoes to full both at safety and special teams
Guard B.J. Finney (finger) was also limited on Thursday after suffering a finger injury during practice and was thus added to the team?s injury report. Should Finney ultimately be unable to make his first career start Sunday night against the Chiefs, reserve offensive lineman Chris Hubbard will likely have to start in his place at left guard being as Foster is currently expected to be inactive. Per the depot ?
I'm with you. I really like Dangerfield. This guy lays the lumber and according to some guys in the know he showed enough in coverage this summer. I love these undrafted guys with heart and toughness and he's in a good role. Also like the idea of getting Burns significant snaps on the outside. He's gonna get beat at some point, it's inevitable but he's gonna grow so much playing the game that's it worth it. Cockrell, Burns and Gay in the slot with Gilbert coming in in the nickel would be a nice coverage unit. Hopefully they can tackle too.
Agree. Vince Williams is Stevenson Sylvester to me - the feel good story that fans completely overrate. I like the guy but he's not close to Shazier or Timmons. The defense is much worse with him on the field.
Williams isn't as fast as Shazier but tackles better and the most important thing is he's ready to play. It seams like Shazier can only play a game or 2 then is off.
I'll give you the injury thing, but there are very few linebackers in the NFL who can tackle better than Shazier and Williams isn't one of them. Shaz is one of the most complete linebackers in the NFL when healthy.
"While other factors and injuries to other players have certainly played a role in it, the Steelers are 6-5 in the 11 regular season games that Shazier has missed so far during his career. In games that Shazier has played in, the Steelers are 17-7." That certainly explains why I feel like he is the Ben Roethlisberger of our defense. "To put all of this into a better perspective, Shazier has played just 1,074 regular season defensive snaps since he was drafted by the Steelers and that?s only 46.8% of all defensive snaps the team has had so far dating back to 2014." Quotes per: http://www.steelersdepot.com/2016/09/steelers-lb-ryan-shazier-miss-12th-regular-season-game-sunday/
Na Demo, Shazier over Pursuits often. Just like Timmons. They make 2 miss 5 although Timmons got better over the years and Shazier probably will too if he can ever stay healthy
I think "make 2 miss 5" is an extreme exaggeration. In both cases. Speed can betray you in football. Sometimes you are going to get beaten while trying to make a play, and Shazier does over pursue on occasion, but its certainly not at that rate. Perhaps the opposite. If he was missing 5 out of 7 possible tackles, he would not be in the NFL. According to Steelers Depot, for example (and missed tackles is an arbitrary and subjective thing), Ryan Shazier has missed 4 tackles so far this season. He has been involved in 20 tackles. That means he misses one tackle for every 5 he makes.
Unfortunately, that's becoming a very big "WHEN". He's about to miss his 12th regular game out of a possible 36, meaning he hasn't even been available 1/3 of the time. But it doesn't end there.......... We all know what a healthy Shazier "looks like" on the field, and its a beautiful thing. But its not just the games missed. He's probably played at least a half dozen games where he's CLEARLY been at less than 100%. So if you factor that in, its probably closer to 50% of the time that he's been too injured to play, and/or significantly less than full strength. A player that misses games or is noticeably hurt half the time is a big factor to weigh in deciding to pick up a player's 5th year option..............something Pitt will have to do for Shazier in about 7 months.
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...elers-injured-out-Chiefs/stories/201609300270 "Seven Steelers, including four starters, have been ruled out for Sunday night?s game against Kansas City at Heinz Field. The Steelers will be without starting inside linebacker Ryan Shazier and starting strong safety Robert Golden as well as left guard Ramon Foster and slot receiver Eli Rogers. The one bit of good news Friday came when rookie defensive back Sean Davis said he was hopeful to play despite a back injury that forced him to miss practice Wednesday and Thursday. Davis is hoping he did enough to convince coach Mike Tomlin that he can have a role against the Chiefs. ?We talked [Thursday],? Davis said. ?He?s big on practice, especially for a rookie. Not practicing for two days is big. I wanted to show today I knew all the checks and I was still in it mentally when I was sitting. I did really good things today so hopefully I can contribute in some way, whether that?s safety or nickel. I?m not expecting to play the whole game. We already talked about it. But I?m looking forward to contributing.? With Golden out and Davis? role to be determined, first-year pro Jordan Dangerfield will make his first NFL start at strong safety. Dangerfield, who was on the practice squad the past two seasons, made the 53-man roster out of training camp, but he played only special teams in the first three games. Finney to start First-year offensive lineman B.J. Finney is in line to get his first career start in place of Foster, who will miss the Chiefs game with a chest injury. Finney replaced Foster when he left the Eagles game in the first half and did not return. Finney injured a finger in practice Thursday, but it won?t keep him from playing against the Chiefs. ?It?s not a big deal,? he said. ?I?m ready.? Finney was on the practice squad last season, but he has ascended to the top reserve on the interior with Cody Wallace still working his way back from a knee injury he sustained in the preseason. The Steelers also will be without fullback Roosevelt Nix (back) and cornerback Senquez Golson (foot) against the Chiefs."
Per stillcurtain.com: http://stillcurtain.com/2016/10/01/steelers-news-deangelo-williams-ryan-shazier-antonio-brown/ "After not participating all week long with a knee injury it was made official on Friday that inside linebacker Ryan Shazier will not play Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. Since being drafted in 2014 his longest streak of consecutive games played is three." Only three consecutive games at 100%/less than 100%. I'm wondering if Ryan Shazier should play safety as some suggest or if he will be able to become a durable ILB.
I agree with the whole move him to safety next year thing provided he can show he will do well there. His body, in my opinion, just can't take the pounding at LB. Either that, or they are going to have to make him a part time LB and just rotate him a lot. I don't think that would go over well with Shazier, but a move to safety probably wouldn't either. At this point he's beginning to look incapable trying to stay healthy and play LB full time.
I said this before the season, the Steelers might need to just go 4-3. Obviously they don't have OLB talent nor the NT to stick to the 3-4. I do understand they mix up the 3-4 and the 2-5 but. .. I think Shazier will be the perfect MLB in the Tampa2 that Tomlin came from. This may help Dupree's future with the team.
