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Steelers defense hoping to turn up pressure

5 min read

LATROBE – For years, the Steelers were known for having an aggressive, opportunistic defense that picked up a lot of sacks and turnovers.

But the past two seasons, both have been missing as the Steelers have been just another team rushing the passer, generating 35 sacks in 2011 and 37 in 2012.

As a result of the overall lack of pressure, the team’s turnover numbers have been down as well. Pittsburgh had just 11 interceptions in 2011 and 10 in 2012.

With James Harrison, who ranks fourth on the team’s all-time sack list with 64, now a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, figuring out where the pressure is going to come from has been a big part of the offseason and training camp for the Steelers.

They believe they are formulating a good plan.

A healthy LaMarr Woodley at outside linebacker will help. Woodley has 48 sacks in the past five seasons, but only had four in an injury plagued 2012.

But he can’t shoulder the entire load.

Veteran outside linebacker Jason Worilds is getting the first opportunity to replace Harrison at right outside linebacker. Worilds, who has 10 sacks in three seasons, including five in limited playing time in 2012, feels he’s up to the task, especially after finally having a healthy offseason.

A second-round pick in 2010, Worilds has seen his offseason progress slowed by a wrist injury last season and the NFL lockout in 2011.

After limited playing time in his first three seasons behind Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, he feels he’s ready to shine.

“Last year, I just didn’t have the opportunity to work out as much as I wanted to,” said Worilds, who is back at practice here at Saint Vincent College after sitting out a couple of days with a toe injury. “When you get a wrist injury, you think you’re capable of doing things. But when you have a serious wrist injury, you have to think about it when running. The impact affects you. Upper body lifting; I couldn’t do a push up. Just having an opportunity to work out in the offseason for me was big.”

It’s a big season for Worilds. Not only is he finally getting an opportunity to start, he’s in the final year of his rookie contract. The Steelers also selected linebacker Jarvis Jones in the first round of this year’s draft as a little added motivation.

“You know that any time there’s an outside linebacker that falls to them, they’re going to take him,” said Worilds of the Steelers. “I guess that’s one of the plusses of playing outside linebacker here. You’re going to get great competition every year. If you’re a guy that thrives on competition, this is the place to be.”

If Worilds isn’t the answer for adding extra pressure on opposing quarterbacks, the 6-2, 245-pound Jones might be.

The NCAA leader in sacks last season with 14.5 at Georgia, Jones is explosive, strong and agile.

Jones has shown he’s adept at reading a quarterback and batting down balls at the line of scrimmage. He did it three times in practice last week, including one against Ben Roethlisberger on which he also caught the deflection out of the air for an interception. He added two more batted balls at practice here Wednesday.

“It’s kind of a feel thing, an athlete thing,” said defensive end Brett Keisel, who also is adept at batting down passes at the line of scrimmage. “I don’t know if Jarvis played basketball, but playing basketball I think has helped me knock down some balls. He’s gotten three or four in camp. He’s even picked, I think, a couple of them.”

If the pressure doesn’t come from the linebackers, it might come from a slightly different philosophy from the defensive linemen.

In previous years, the linemen were taught to push the pocket and flush the quarterback to the linebackers. Sacks were almost accidents for the linemen. Now, they’re going to be turned loose a little more.

“There’s been an emphasis on getting on the edge, rather than pushing the pocket, getting on the edge and trying to make something happen,” said Keisel.

Regardless of how the pressure gets there and who applies it, the Steelers agree that it must occur for the defense to be successful.

“We’ve got to do a better job of getting to the quarterback,” said Woodley. “That affects everything. It puts teams behind the chains, helps create turnover opportunities. I think we will.”

Odds and end zones

Tight end Matt Spaeth left practice Wednesday after aggravating a previous knee injury. … Cornerbacks Cortez Allen, Curtis Brown, DeMarcus Van Dyke and Terry Hawthorne missed practice. … The Steelers signed cornerback Devin Smith and running back Alvester Alexander and released defensive end Cordian Hagans and running back Curtis McNeal. … The Steelers are scheduled to practice at 3 p.m. today. The session is open to the public.

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