Steelers Linebacker Battle Between Shazier, Spence Becoming Heated in Preseason

August 13, 2014   ·   Curt Popejoy   ·   Jump to comments

Is there a linebacker controversy brewing with the Pittsburgh Steelers? Perhaps not, but things have quickly become very interesting among the inside linebacker depth chart.
The Steelers made inside linebacker an area of emphasis in the 2014 NFL draft, spending their first-round pick on Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier. Shazier is making the conversion from a 4-3 outside linebacker to a 3-4 inside linebacker.
The goal is to utilize his speed and explosion in a multitude of ways, including coverage and as a pass-rusher. In 2013, this inside linebacker spot became something of a liability, which forced the defense into sub-packages far too often. Shazier’s ability to drop into coverage should eliminate some of this, and by extension, improve the run defense.
However, after a fast start to training camp, Shazier has hit a little speed bump in his fast track to stardom. A knee injury called a “boo boo” by head coach Mike Tomlin at the press conference I w...

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