PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler said Devin Bush has made some improvement, but talked more rotation at the linebacker spot on Thursday before hosting Tennessee.
"We hope for him to get better," Butler said. "We need for him to get better for us to be any good. We are still going to play other people. We are not just going to him all the time."
It's not necessarily a revelation, but given we saw rookie Buddy Johnson at linebacker for the first time against Minnesota and even Marcus Allen. Seems like now they are willing to try other options, even if only in short spurts.
"There is nothing wrong with competition, it's always good," Butler said. "Always will be good. We are going to put him in there in as many competitive situations as we can."
Butler said it's good to have linebacker Robert Spillane, their best run stopper, back from a knee injury and the COVID-19 list. He said they need Spillane's physicality and he will play and rotate in.
They expect the Titans to start running the ball and keep running it until the Steelers prove them can stop them. As Butler put it, it's what I would do if I were in their position. That brings a concern about not only Titans QB Ryan Tannehill's mobility, he's their third leading rusher, but the play-action passes.
"If they got a good running (game) and all of a sudden your daggum linebackers just come downhill to stop the run and they throw it behind you," Butler said. "It's effective if they can run the ball. If they can't run the ball it's not effective."
So they need to find a way to stop or at least limit the run. That will allow them to dictate terms and put Butler, or Mike Tomlin, in a position to call defenses that let TJ Watt loose.
While Butler admitted he needs to coach better, he won't really be changing things up with his methods. He said the same techniques he's used for the last 19 years have worked for what turned out to be some really good defensive players. It's not the drills, maybe more the message and he emphasized 'unison' on defense.
"All of us have to win our individual battles," Butler said. "The old cliché about 11 guys doing what they are supposed to do is really true. It's not just something coaches just use. It's something that has to happen for us. We got to win the individual battles and part of the individual battles is getting off blocks."
"Not only understanding the defense, understanding what is going on around you, getting off blocks and being physical at the line of scrimmage," said defensive captain Cam Heyward as to what is missing. "We have to tackle a lot better too."
A coach on the Steelers Super Bowl XL winning team, Butler remembers how bad a shape the team was in before winning its final four regular season games and eventually a championship in 2005.
"What happens is we got hot at the right time," Butler said. "I'm not giving up on them at all. I still think we have a chance to do that. We got young guys that are playing for us. They got to learn to play the game and hopefully we will have a chance."
"I'm not saying we will do that. I'm just saying let's give ourselves a chance."
