Steelers outside linebacker Jarvis Jones makes one thing clear in a recent interview with Post Gazette reporter Gerry Dulac.
They didn't draft trash-talking, attention-garnering Joey Porter when they took the Georgia OLB in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Porter's results on the field are what Jones is aiming for, not the actions of the guy who tried to coerce Ray Lewis off the Ravens' team bus for a fight.
"Nobody’s got to fix my attitude. I’m ready every day," Jones told Dulac. "Just because I’m chilling and I’m nice to y’all, my attitude is fixed. They wouldn’t have drafted me if they thought they had to bring someone in to fix my attitude."
Fair enough. Jones doesn't need to be Porter - no one else is going to be anyway. Displaying what Dulac wrote about, though, a bull rush that stood up left tackle Kelvin Beachum, allowing Jones an easy move to the inside, certainly works just as well.
The Steelers have meticulously retooled its future pass rush, and Jones is the centerpiece. The highest drafted 3-4 OLB in team history was bolstered by, what the team feels, is the strong base defensive end to work right in front of Jones on the defensive right side. Stephon Tuitt, the team's second-round choice out of Notre Dame this year, projects to be a long-term starter right in front of Jones, and the young pair could combine for an impact as early as this season.
Using the combination of those two over the offensive left guard and tackle is the Steelers' response to a division with outstanding pairs of left side blockers. The teams outside Pittsburgh have at least one leg up in terms of their left tackles - Joe Thomas in Cleveland and Andrew Whitworth in Cincinnati are among the best in the league. Whitworth will move to left guard with Andre Collins playing left tackle this year, which only bolsters the best offensive line in the AFC North.
Baltimore's Eugene Monroe is a solid tackle in his own right, and another season for Kelechi Osemele at left guard should help shore up the Achilles heel of Baltimore last season.
The real issue here is what the Steelers can do off that blindside edge to generate more pressure than they have - which is close to none the last few years. Jones increased strength but didn't add weight, giving him the lanky, explosive look of a young pass rusher. It's still up in the air what the Steelers will do in the long run with their defensive ends, but Cameron Heyward will likely assume the right defensive end spot if Brett Keisel isn't retained. Tuitt could have that spot in the future, giving the team the option of moving Heyward into interior positions on passing downs (much of his production last season came on pass rushes from the inside of the line).
If Jones has a solid technician in front of him, working stunts and delays in tandem, his sack numbers, and those of the team's, will increase in 2014.