Steelers showing off 4-3 look on defense

LATROBE – With the retirement of safety Troy Polamalu in the offseason, it didn’t seem likely there would be much talk about the number 43 in training camp for the Steelers.
That hasn’t been the case, and it has nothing to do with that being Polamalu’s number.
The Steelers have long been known as a 3-4 defensive team, one that uses three down linemen and four linebackers as its base.
But they have flipped things a bit in their first two preseason games, showing a 4-3 alignment as a base defense.
They aren’t abandoning the 3-4. It’s all part of new defensive coordinator Keith Butler’s plan to make things a little more difficult for opponents in the game planning.
“We’re going to have both. We’re going to have the 3-4, we’re going to have the 4-3,” Butler said at the Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College. “We’re going to have things that we feel will give people problems. We’re going to use our personnel to get some mismatches if we can. Offenses are going to do that to us. They’re going to try to do the same thing.”
The Steelers have always gone to more of a 4-3 look when they put their nickel pass defense on the field, lining up the outside linebackers next to both defensive ends, who act as tackles in that scheme.
In their nickel defense, nose tackle Steve McLendon comes off the field in favor of an extra defensive back.
That hasn’t been the case with the new 4-3 look. In the first two preseason games, Butler used a 4-3 alignment that keeps the nose tackle on the field, shifts one of the outside linebackers to defensive end and stacks the other three linebackers behind the line.
They’ve only done it a handful of times in each game, but they have done it enough that future opponents will have to take notice.
“It’s something we can do no matter who’s out there,” said backup inside linebacker Sean Spence. “It probably adds some diversity to our defense and gives offenses some different looks, makes them game plan for different things.”
It’s a look that allows the Steelers to easily slide inside linebackers Lawrence Timmons or Ryan Shazier to the outside, perhaps giving them some additional pass rushing duties coming off the edge.
“(Shazier) is not always going to be in the middle,” Butler said. “He’s going to be outside some. Lawrence didn’t play in the (last) game. We want to make sure Lawrence is nice and healthy. We’ll see what happens when Lawrence gets healthy.”
Improving a pass rush that has managed just 33 and 34 sacks in each of the past two seasons has been a focal point for Butler, who took over this year for longtime defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.
The defense also ranked a mediocre 18th in yards and points allowed last season, causing Butler, the team’s longtime linebackers coach, to make some adjustments.
He’s already said the defensive linemen will be more of an attacking, up-the-field group than in the past, and the secondary will play more zone defenses behind them.
Throwing some 4-3 looks at opponents on first and second downs also is part of the plan.
“I guess he’s trying to throw some different things out there and see what works and what doesn’t,” Spence said.
Timmons sat out practice Monday with a toe injury that is considered minor. Among those joining him on the sidelines were cornerback Cortez Allen, who has been in and out of the lineup with a sore knee, and defensive linemen Stephon Tuitt and Steve McLendon. … Wide receiver David Nelson, who was signed last Wednesday, missed practice Monday after suffering a shoulder injury Sunday. … Defensive tackle Daniel McCullers, who had been out a week with a hamstring injury, was back yesterday. … The Steelers are off today before returning to practice Wednesday for their final three training camp sessions at Saint Vincent College.