“Watt” do the Steelers do with their linebacker rotation?
We joked internally here at SCU about the potential for using T.J. Watt’s last name for puns, but what’s no laughing matter is the state of the Steelers outside linebacker rotation.
Heading into training camp last season, the coaching personnel made it clear the Steelers were scrapping their outside linebacker rotation which was utilized frequently throughout the 2015 season.
During that year, the Steelers used an array of schemes featuring as many as four outside linebackers including Jarvis Jones, James Harrison, Arthur Moats and Bud Dupree. Since Dupree was a rookie and Harrison an aging veteran, Pittsburgh was content with keeping fresh bodies on the field who wouldn’t become a liability due to inexperience or fatigue.
That was to go by the wayside come the start of the 2016 regular season. Linebackers coach Joey Porter said it. Defensive coordinator Keith Butler reiterated it. And head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed it.
But it didn’t happen.
Bud Dupree was placed on Injured Reserve to start the season, forcing the team to revert back to their rotating ways. The season began with Jarvis Jones, Arthur Moats, Anthony Chickillo and James Harrison all splitting time at outside linebacker. Jones manned the right side of the line, splitting time with Harrison while Moats started on the left in place of Dupree, giving up roughly a quarter of the defensive snaps to be relieved by Chickillo.
The 38-year-old Harrison hovered around half of the snaps until Bud Dupree returned in Week 11. By Week 13 James hit the 75% mark and then played the entire game (or nearly the entire game) throughout the regular season and playoffs.
Dupree was eased into the defensive gameplan in his first three games back from injury, before dominating the snap counts as well. With Jarvis Jones now out of the picture, it will be interesting to see if the Steelers deploy a similar rotation with his replacement being first-round draft pick T.J. Watt. Dupree should have his side of the field locked down, but Pittsburgh could be cautious about allowing the 39-year-old Harrison to play the entirety of each contest within the 16-game regular season, and allowing a rookie to start the season. The team didn’t use the same philosophy when Jarvis Jones was drafted, but opted to not to rush Bud Dupree onto the field during his first year.
As such, the versatile Arthur Moats could once again become the early season standard bearer as he was last season. Moats would play less than Jarvis Jones or James Harrison throughout the first half of the year but continued to log at least 40% of the defensive snaps before Dupree’s return. That’s why I would predict the Steelers might be hesitant on putting Watt on the field for anything more than spurts at a time, at least starting the year.
Or, could the Steelers lean on Harrison more to start the season with an expectation of getting Watt more reps as the 2017 campaign wages on?
My prediction and this is without any training camp drills or preseason games to base this guess on, is that Arthur Moats once again becomes the man who fills the gap between keeping Harrison fresh and allowing Watt to cut his teeth.
Look for Moats (3.5 sacks, 3 passes defensed) to be the opening day “starter” alongside Bud Dupree, while waiting for Watt to come up to speed and Harrison to find his second gear in sub packages.
