Ryan Shazier was Pittsburgh Steelers best defender on TNF

By Kevin Parvizi | Sep 11, 2015

Although the Pittsburgh Steelers defense was absolutely torched through the air and on the ground in last night’s 28-21 loss to the New England Patriots, not everybody on that side of the ball performed poorly. Second-year inside linebacker Ryan Shazier is widely seen as the team’s most dynamic defensive player, and while his more decorated teammates Lawrence Timmons and Cameron Heyward, who is the best player on the Pittsburgh D, struggled, Shazier shined at times.

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Yes, he, as per Pro Football Focus, missed two tackles last night and did a rather dreadful job of trying to stop Dion Lewis on a memorable pass on the left sideline, but missed tackles will always be a problem for Shazier. Like St. Louis Rams dynamic 4-3 outside linebacker Alec Ogletree, Shazier is a high-flying playmaker with great range and coverage ability, but, like Ogletree, his explosive style of play will yield mistakes.

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However, Shazier is an even faster player than Ogletree, and he’s also better in coverage and more consistent. And just as Ogletree makes more positive plays than negative ones, so too does Shazier.

Last night, he finished with seven tackles including five solo stops, and two of those tackles were for a loss. We’ve seen him repeatedly shoot gaps and get to the ball-carrier first, and he made a couple of beautiful tackles in which he wrapped up his man with perfect technique. When he misses a tackle, it’s usually a desperation lunge or as a result of him guessing a gap or angle incorrectly.

According to PFF, Shazier had four defensive stops yesterday, tying him with New England Patriots stud strong-side linebacker Dont’a Hightower for the lead among all players yesterday. Hightower had one more overall/solo tackle than Shazier did, but Shazier looked, as you would expect, more explosive, albeit less disciplined and less adept as a pass rusher.

What makes me so high on Ryan Shazier this year are four things:

1. We never got to see his beastly physical tools and No. 15 overall pick pedigree last year, because the injury made his 2014 season a lost cause.

2. His run defense looks extraordinary due to his sheer explosiveness and closing speed, and his instincts continue to improve.

3. He played well last year despite the fact that Timmons, Heyward, and the outside linebackers were non-factors.

4. Big guys Steve McLendon and Daniel McCullers are stout run defenders who give him good cover, allowing him to more freely express himself in run defense.

We’ll continue to see Shazier flying around the field and making plays, and he may become the team’s fifth-most important player behind Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, and Cameron Heyward if he keeps it up. Shazier has to be the Pittsburgh Steelers most exciting player on that side of the ball, even if he isn’t necessarily the most consistent.

As for his work in coverage, Pro Football Focus didn’t track him with a single pass thrown in to his coverage despite 20 snaps played in coverage, so take that stat as you will. Due to his athleticism, speed, and emerging instincts, Shazier’s work in coverage is the least of my concerns going forward, particularly because nobody else at the inside linebacker position can cover nearly as well as he can on the Steelers.

Out of all the players on the Steelers defense, Shazier was the brightest spot, and his two huge plays in the Patriots backfield are just a sign of what is to come for the rest of the year; let’s just hope he can be healthy for all 16.

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