The Steelers traded up 10 spots in the 2019 draft to select Devin Bush with the No. 10 overall pick in hopes he would become a three-down linebacker who never had to come off the field. Then this summer, in the middle of training camp, general manager Kevin Colbert traded for Joe Schobert to replace Robert Spillane as the inside linebacker next to Bush.
Now, six weeks into the 2021 season, the coaches are devising ways for Spillane to get onto the field in a personnel package where he replaces Bush and Schobert.
That’s what happened Sunday night in the game against the Seahawks. When the Steelers went to their dime defense, they brought Bush and Schobert off and brought Spillane and rookie defensive back Tre Norwood onto the field.
“Spillane has done a good job for us in third-down situations,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said. “A lot of times when we want to run some stunts up front with him, he does a good job with that. He’s got a good feel for the timing of when we want him to blitz and faking blitzing sometimes. He’s been around here as long as any of those guys, so he knows a little bit more about it. At some things, he’s a little bit better than they are. And some things, they’re a little bit better at than he is.”
Not that Spillane is threatening to take anyone’s job. He played 10 snaps against the Seahawks while Bush played 55 and Schobert 50.
Yet it is noteworthy for Butler to acknowledge Spillane is a better option in some situations for the Steelers. He created some buzz last season when Bush was lost for the season in Week 6 with a knee injury.
In his first NFL start the following week, Spillane burst onto the scene when he made a highlight reel hit on Titans running back Derrick Henry on a 4th-and-goal. He ended up starting seven games and looked like he was a candidate to become a full-time starter when Vince Williams abruptly retired in July.
The Steelers, however, jumped at the chance to trade a sixth-round pick in next year’s draft to acquire Schobert in August and immediately inserted him as the starter over Spillane.
“He’s a capable guy,” head coach Mike Tomlin said of Spillane. “He’s played a lot in the past. We’re just trying to carve out a role for him to allow him to find some footing and be an available guy if called upon. He’ll have some in-game experience. We know he’s capable.
“Plus, the other guys, it gives them the opportunity to remain fresh. When people are running a platoon of backs at you, for example, it’s good to have some depth and play multiple people to match that. In recent weeks, and even in upcoming weeks, you should be able to anticipate a platoon of backs. Oftentimes, you combat that with a platoon of backers.”
The simplest answer might just be the coaches are searching for a spark out of a linebacker group that has been average at best early in the season. Schobert, who was acquired to improve the pass defense, has been targeted 23 times in coverage and has allowed 14 receptions. He has given up 13 yards per catch and opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 100.1 against him.
Bush has been targeted 15 times and has given up 13 receptions. Opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 116.1 against him.
Spillane, meanwhile, in a much smaller sample size has been targeted four times and has given up three catches with a passer rating against of 96.4.
The run defense has been an even bigger issue in the past three games. The Steelers gave up a season-high 147 rushing yards against the Seahawks. Spillane played only in passing situations.
Wouldn’t Spillane be a better run defender than a pass defender?
“Well, you would think that because he knocked the crap out of Henry down in Tennessee,” Butler said. “I’m sitting there going, ‘Yeah, yeah. OK.’ But he does, at times. At other times, the other two guys are pretty good players, too. Both of them. All three of them have different talent levels that we like.”
Butler also made sure to note the inside linebackers don’t bear all of the responsibility for the issues with the run defense.
“Sometimes they were, but sometimes the front wasn’t in the right place too,” Butler said. “It wasn’t just them. There are some things we need to shore up and make sure we can play in certain situations. They ran up the middle on us a couple times. That wasn’t exactly the dadgum inside linebackers’ fault or both of them.
“We have to be a little bit better in terms of what we’re doing there. Not just the inside linebackers, but the defensive line and the way we coordinate the secondary and stuff like that.”
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: October 20, 2021, 2:36 p.m.
Updated: October 20, 2021, 3:02 p.m.
