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Old and 'In the Way' – A tale of the Steelers' Amazing, Well-Aged Defense

Bumped. Awesome to see one of BTSC's finest writers and data purveyors. - Michael B. -

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As the Steelers run at free agency closes before it seems to have begun this year, some newer fans are scratching their head. How is it possible that, apart from a half hearted attempt to land Plaxico Burress, the Steelers did nothing in free agency apart from re-signing a few of their players and acquiring a back up 31 year old tight-end?

A big part of the answer of course has to do with the Steelers salary cap woes. Prior to some restructuring of contracts they found themselves $10 million over the salary cap. A big reason for that is that the Steelers are veteran heavy team, who have paid out big salaries to players who grew up in their system.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Steelers number one ranked defense. To get a sense of just how veteran heavy this defense is I've compiled a list of all of the starters, sorted by age.

No.

Name

Pos.

Age

Years

Yrs as Starter

94

Timmons, Lawrence

ILB

25

4

2

56

Woodley, LaMarr

OLB

26

4

3

20

McFadden, Bryant

CB

29

6

3

43

Polamalu, Troy

SS

30

8

7

25

Clark, Ryan

FS

31

9

5

24

Taylor, Ike

CB

31

8

6

99

Keisel, Brett

DE

32

9

6

98

Hampton, Casey

NT

33

10

10

92

Harrison, James

OLB

33

7

4

91

Smith, Aaron

DE

35

12

11

51

Farrior, James

ILB

36

14

9

Avg = 31

Avg = 8.27

Avg. = 6.09

As you can see, of the 11 starters on the team 8 are over the age of 30, with the average age being 31. This group also has an average of 8.3 years NFL experience with Lamar Woodley and Lawrence Timmons being the young bucks each with only 4 years under their belts. Not only do these guys have a wealth of time in the league, they also have a ton of experience playing together and playing Lebeau's system. Timmons has "only" two years as a starter, while Woodley and McFadden each notched 3. Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu have played together for 5 years in the defensive back-field, while Aaron Smith and Casey Hampton have been lining up next to each other for a full decade.

As I look around at the frenzy of free agent signings by top teams around the league, I can't help but wonder how much of the Steelers success is due to a team first concept that emphasizes the cohesion of an entire unit over the talents of the individuals who make up that unit.

By all accounts Dick Lebeau's defense is complex and demands a great deal of, learning, practice and mental concentration on the part of the players. It is not unusual to see defensive linemen dropping into coverage while corners blitz or to see linebackers in charge of patrolling big underneath zones on pass plays. This type of scheme requires players to take on difficult assignments that don't always compliment their primary skill set, with the knowledge that the overall scheme will yield results beyond the capacity of the individual players.

Having guys who have played with each other for 5-10 years means a certain level of trust and familiarity in each other and in the scheme. What's more while this defense is chock-full of stars (7 of the 11 starters have gone to the pro-bowl at least once, and one could argue that both Lawerence Timmons and Ike Taylor - two of the four have not played in a pro-bowl are among the top players in the league at their position) its hard to say that it has one star or one leader.

Sure, Troy Polamalu and James Harrison are both multiple pro-bowlers and each has won defensive player of the year, but neither really take center stage. The teams' captain for the past 7 years is James Farrior. Aaron Smith is perhaps the most respected member of the squad. Larry Foote, a former starter, now relegated to back-up duties is considered a locker-room leader.

In contrast imagine the explosively talented Eagles defense. The highest paid player has never played a down for the team. All together you will have 4 new defensive starters: Jason Babin, Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and Cullen Jenkins - all four were starters on different teams. Now they come to an Eagles team whose defensive star from last year, Asante Samuel, may be out of a starting job, and has been rumored to be on the trading block and whose defensive captains from the past two years, Quntin Mitchell and Stewart Bradley are both gone. Who steps up in that locker room? How much do the guys watch each other's backs? How much do they trust each other? How well do they communicate? How intuitive is their sense of what each will be doing during any given play? How well do the guys share in the responsibility of winning and losing? Who mentors the younger players? How cohesive is that unit?

While it's hard to answer those questions, it's fair to say that all of these intangibles are at the heart of the Steelers defensive success. While I certainly wouldn't sneeze at the defensive firepower the Eagles will bring to the field, as a fan I like the Steelers philosophy of consistency and character.

Too old?

That being said, I think we would be foolish to pretend their isn't a downside to having an older defense. The NFL is a young mans game. Aaron Smith, Troy Polamalu and Brett Kiesel all struggled with serious injuries last year. James Harrison spent the off-season rehabbing a bad back that obviously slowed him the second half of the season. James Farrior, while undoubtedly a freak of nature has had moments of looking a bit slow when chasing down zippy young backs. Casey Hampton is no longer the dominating force in the middle he was 2-3 years ago. There is a lot of money tied up in men who may well be past their football prime.

What's more, in a pass first NFL the Steelers looked at time befuddled by teams who were able to spread the field and throw short routes. Against the Patriots and Packers, our pass rush looked ineffectual and our nickel and dime packages looked downright silly. In a 39-26 beatdown of the Steelers Brady threw for over 350 yards and 3 TDs and was neither sacked nor intercepted.

Could it be that the Steelers lack the speed and skill in the DB and LB position to play against great QBs who know how to spread the field? The possibility has certainly crossed the minds of many Steelers fans and we are not alone. Across the league teams like the Jets, Eagles, Patriots and others are trying to load up on DB talent in hopes of neutralizing high octane passing attacks. Many were sure the Steelers would go this route in the draft, but for better or worse the Steelers chose to play their board and wound up with another DE.

In the meantime, while its nearly impossible to run against our front seven, some teams don't believe it's necessary. After all, why run against Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith and Brett Kiesel when you can throw against Bryant Mcfadden, William Gay and Keenan Lewis?

As the Steelers move into training camp, it seems that this defense will continue to be one of the better units in the league, due to it's experience, cohesion and talent. What remains to be seen is how Lebeau and company will deal the evolving passing attacks of good teams. The answer in that question lies partly with the group of guys behind the starters. We can count on starters going down and younger players getting rotation reps and playing time in sub-packages. While these guys lack the pedigree and cohesion of the starting unit, their play will likely determine the Steelers postseason fates.

Here are is a partial list of Steelers back-ups again sorted by age:

No.

Name

Pos.

Age

Years

39

Allen, Cortez

DB

22

0

40

Brown, Curtis

DB

22

0

95

Heyward, Cameron

DE

22

0

54

Carter, Chris

LB

22

0

55

Sylvester, Stevenson

ILB

23

1

97

Worilds, Jason

OLB

23

1

28

Butler, Crezdon

CB

24

1

96

Hood, Ziggy

DE

24

2

22

William Gay

CB

25

4

23

Lewis, Keenan

CB

25

2

29

Mundy, Ryan

FS

26

2

26

Allen, Will

S

29

7

50

Foote, Larry

LB

31

9

69

Chris Hoke

NT

35

9

Avg. = 25.13

Avg. = 2.56

I think its fair to say the biggest question mark for this unit will be the ability of the DB's to step up and perform. At the moment the D-line looks incredibly deep with Ziggy Hood and Chris Hoke both capable of starting and Cameron Heyward coming with appropriate college experience and pedigree.

The linebackers are a bit more of a question mark, but not much. Larry Foote is a capable former starter. Jason Worldis and Steveson Sylvester both showed flashes of excellence in their rookie campaigns - I think it is fair to say that it's a deep and talented unit - any special teams contribution from Chris Carter will be great.

The real questions come when we look at the DBs. Will Allen, the old man of the group at 29, has a year and half of starter experience under his belt in Tampa Bay, before being demoted to a back-up in his fourth year. Tomlin must have liked something he saw out of Allen to bring him in as a free agent last year (his selection as a pro-bowl alternate for special teams in 2009 didn't hurt), but since then he has rarely seen the field on defense. If need be though, he seems capable of stepping in at either of the safety slots.

Ryan Mundy is entering his 3 year with the Steelers (he was drafted in 2008, but a high ankle sprain in preseason relegated him to the practice squad that year). When Troy went out last year, it was Mundy who got the call for two games. He played active and serviceable football, leading the team in tackles his second game as a starter.

Bottom line the true hardcore faithful will be watching to see how all those young DBS look during the four preseason games. When push comes to shove it's the development of this unit that may well be the most important thing to this teams chances come the post-season.

The opinions shared here are not those of the editorial staff of Behind the Steel Curtain or SB Nation. These posts are not approved in any way by the editorial staff of this web site.