Ok. so I don't think I've brought this one home to you guys yet but if I did it's worth repeating. This guy has had some injury issues but not to the extent of worry. On the cusp, but if he can stay healthy in our Black and Gold, God forgive me, but there will be more than once this season we'll be saying "Ryan who?" I mean absolutely no ... I MEAN NO disrespect to Ryan Shazier, but this guy has speed, hits like a hammer, disrupts passing lanes, hijacks a QB's sense of security ... if you, as a ball carrier don't have your peripheral vision antennae up, well ... watch what he does to the unsuspecting ... old time hits that power through the tackle clean and finish ... watch ... outstanding FO - Coaches pick-up per history and film.
I hope he turns into Farrior 2.0 in (by that I mean a disappointing player elsewhere who blossoms with the Steelers).
Pittsburgh is Bostic's fifth team since being drafted by the Bears in 2013. Bostic's first NFL INT was against Flacco. HA! That's promising. Honestly, I think the Bears evals and coaches were the problem there. They had SHAME (Shea McClellin) starting ahead of him. So, there's that. He was traded to NE and was the backup behind Jamie Collins. With Collins and Hightower owning the lion's share of the LB snaps, Bostic was very limited for BB's usage and schemes. He was then traded to Detroit, where he sustained a leg injury during a joint practice with... the Steelers. He was IR'd for 2016. Next stop: Indy as a FA signing. He won the starting ILB job over Edwin Jackson and Sean Spence. He was placed on IR with a knee injury after Week 15. In 2017, his 97 tackles (57 solo) were career highs and ranked 25th on the season. PFF gives Bostic a 74.9 rating (38th in the NFL for his position). His father, played DB for Detroit from 1985-1987. After retiring from the NFL, Jon Sr earned his doctorate in Pharmacology. Jon Earl Bostic II, welcome to Pittsburgh!
Gotta say i wouldn't have thought you could find 4mins of Bostic highlights to put together. Huh. The hit on the Chargers WR at 15secs happened in the 2nd or 3rd preseason game his rookie year. Bears fans went nuts when they saw that, Bostic became an instant fav. Sadly it was all downhill from there. The OP is right about Bostic having speed and hitting like a hammer, but there's not a huge amount more there...or at least there wasn't in Chicago. As a Bear Bostic was known to miss assignments pretty frequently. He also never displayed "football instincts" or any innate feel for where the play was gonna go, which always surprised me a little given the fact his dad played and junior was literally around football from birth. Not good in pass coverage and the owner of precisely zero pass rushing moves. At his best when the play is in front of him or if he picks up the play quick enough and can use his speed to get to the sideline. Despite all of that, im sure this is a low risk move for the Steelers. And i always kinda liked Bostic even tho he drove me nuts at times. Guy has a great attitude and will work hard, and in some ways is a throwback player which given the lineage at LB for the Bears & Steelers makes him a fit somehow. I hope he catches on with the Steelers and can still make a success of himself. He's probably on his last team if not. This isn't accurate really. Shame(at that time) was purely an OLB having already been a failure at 4-3DE. Bostic is a MLB. Its true Bostic did get a little time at OLB for a while, but that was just a combination of injuries hitting the OLB position and coaches trying to get Bostic on the field so playing him at 4-3 Will after he failed to supplant DJ Williams(hardly an all-pro himself) at MLB. If Bostic catches on in Pitt it will def be at MLB. No way is he a 3-4OLB. Didn't see much of him in Indy but those numbers aren't bad.
Ev pretty much nailed it. I will say, I have always thought Bostic was a better fit as a 3-4 ILB than a 4-3 Cover MLB, which is what Chicago tried to do. That peg was never going to fit.
So, my suggestion that the Bears' coaches and evaluations weren't too far off, whether it be injuries and/or other team circumstances (OLB v ILB//4-3/3-4 needs). Thanks for clearing that up.
Thanks for clearing that up BWW. Let me second that Ev and dline, thanks for the intel. His gif's here look really good, but I'm sucker for first time eye candy. He will absolutely be relegated to ILB responsibilities and that does seem to be his forte (not Matt ... for you two!) The Steelers have a great history of picking up LB's with prior experience and having great effect with them... Kevin Green, James Farrior et al, so here's hoping Bostic will join the choir. He certainly looks the part. But as you say, looks can be deceiving. Guy has a great attitude and will work hard, and in some ways is a throwback player which given the lineage at LB for the Bears & Steelers makes him a fit somehow. and this can never be replicated or faked and is exactly as you say, a tribute and personification of Pgh and Chitown LB heritage. The shoe just fits ...
http://www.steelersdepot.com/2018/06/fittipaldo-starting-to-think-ilb-job-is-up-for-grabs/ Is this concerning? Or just giving Bostic time to learn the playbook before joining the #1s in training camp? I mean if he cannot put Matakavich with the #2s than either he is doing a hell of a job or Bostic was a waste. I was pretty excited about Bostic, but this is isn't exactly giving me that warm fuzzy feeling...I'm hoping he comes in and has a good camp and takes the starting job.
I have hopes that VW can become our backup, meaning he was outplayed by Matakevich and Bostic, outside of his sacks he really didn’t impress me much.
Watched the attached/above highlight reel again .... man does this guy scream potential difference maker / game changer. Hope he can stay healthy and keep his engine running all game / every game.
Necro! So i see Bostic survived final cuts and made the team. How do you guys feel he did this summer? Is he in line to get the starters job or is he more just a guy and will play a backup role?
I think he’s a starter until the team has better options. He was aggressive and made some good plays this preseason. The Steelers are very thin at ILB with Bostic and Matt Thomas being ... it. I liked what I saw of Bostic. Not great but more than serviceable.
Meant to reply to this but forgot. Don't need to rehash it all again, but dline made a good point about playing 3-4ILB rather than 4-3 Mike. I could see it helping Bostic to have someone next to him in the middle. Don't know who makes the calls for the Steelers D, but when Bostic did it for the Bears, which is normal for a 4-3 Mike, there were some missed assignments. Anyway, how did he do in real game time action? I really haven't seen much at all from that Browns game so have little to say. But giving up 21points in 5quarters of play seems like a good effort overall for the Defense no? And i know there were multiple turnovers from the QB position, which puts even more pressure on a Defense. Like me with the Bears, im sure the 4th quarter was a big disappointment though.
Bostic received the highest grade of all Steelers from PFF. Not quite sure how he could grade out better than TJ Watt but he did. He was solid. He didn't miss tackles. In pass coverage he was targeted 4 times and allowed 4 receptions but only allowed 17 yards receiving. He had a sack, 4 solo tackles, and five assisted tackles. He played 59 of 89 defensive snaps. He was much better than I expected. Hopefully he stays healthy and on the field.
