Defensive Shift
Secondary, Line Steal Spotlight From Linebackers
By Jerry DiPaola

The names require no further identification. Last names will suffice.

Russell. Ham. Lambert. Lloyd. Greene. Kirkland. Gildon.

They are some of the players who made linebacker one of the most important positions in Steelers' history through the decades of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and the start of the new millennium.

Those players went to 36 Pro Bowls, totaled 14 Super Bowl appearances, sacked quarterbacks like kids trampling on ants in a playground, generated fear and earned respect throughout the National Football League.

If Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher could do nothing else, they could pick linebackers.

But the real strength of the Steelers' defense no longer sits in the middle. The young, rising stars now play on the defensive line and in the secondary, and they are the main reasons the Steelers had the league's best record (tied with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles) through 11 weeks of the 17-week season.

It started last year when the 2003 season marked only the seventh time since 1970 that the Steelers failed to send a linebacker to the Pro Bowl.

Joey Porter was shot in the butt, Kendrell Bell played through shoulder pain, Jason Gildon was on his last legs and James Farrior - the best of the bunch - had not yet built the rock-solid reputation that he has forged this year.

This season, the linebacker position has improved just like everything else on the team. Farrior is having a season that should land him in the Pro Bowl - he was leading the team in tackles and had four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three passes defended, three sacks and two interceptions. There aren't many more ways than that to evaluate a defensive player, and Farrior passed all tests.

The rest of the linebackers have been good, if just this side of great. Porter had seven sacks, but he talked and fought almost as well as he played. Bell has battled injuries and missed eight of the first 11 games of the season. Larry Foote has filled in for Bell admirably, but lacks his size and ferocity. Clark Haggans showed quickness off the corner and a steady pass rush. James Harrison provided depth.

But the Steelers were the No. 1 defense in the NFL through nine games because defensive end Aaron Smith and his linemates can't be moved while providing a ferocious pass rush; and strong safety Troy Polamalu plays like a linebacker and cornerback in a safety's body while the others in the secondary are almost always around the ball.

No one in this city has been more grudging with praise for the Steelers than Cowher. (How many times can he say, 'We haven't done anything yet.'?) But he recently made mention of improvements in the secondary.

Asked about the revamped secondary, he said, 'Yes, we have played well.We really have.'

For Cowher, that is high praise.

What pleases Cowher more than anything is how the team has not allowed big plays in the passing game. The season started out poorly when Oakland Raiders' quarterback Rich Gannon hit the Steelers with 58- and 38-yard touchdown passes in the opener. But those were two of only three big scoring plays through 11games. In fact, there were only three pass plays of 35 yards or longer against the Steelers in four games in October.

'We eliminated the big play,' Cowher said.

But it's more than just what the other team isn't doing. It's what the Steelers are doing. Sacks were up to a league-high 36 before week 12. At that time, the Steelers had 24 takeaways - 13 interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries - and four defensive touchdowns.

'I keep saying situational football is so big,' Cowher said. 'If you can win the turnover-takeaway, obviously, that is big.'

Big plays on defense mean opponents can't convert third downs and hold onto the football consistently. Of the first 108 third downs faced by the Steelers' defense, they allowed a first down only 30 times. 'I think when you look at those stats, they will have a lot to do with how you are able to get into a rhythm on third down,' Cowher said.

Plus, opponents scored only nine touchdowns in the red zone, another statistic that led the league through 11 games.

'We get down there twice in the first half (in Cleveland) and we scored two touchdowns,' he said. 'They get down there one time, they have to kick a field goal.So instead of it being a one-score game, it was still a two-score game at 14-3, instead of 14-7, and that is big. That is huge.'

A big part of the success has been the defensive depth that the team has managed to stockpile on both the line and in the backfield.

Pro Bowl nose tackle Casey Hampton was lost for the season after the first six games with a knee injury. Undrafted Chris Hoke stepped in, and - immediately - the team's run defense became stouter. Hoke punctuated his early success with four tackles and a sack against the Browns. Hampton was having an outstanding season, but he was not irreplaceable.

At cornerback, Chad Scott, the most experienced player in the secondary, suffered a serious quad injury in Dallas and missed the next five games. Willie Williams, who was unwanted as a 33-year-old backup in Seattle, became the starter and knocked down two passes in the victory against the Eagles.

'Guys have stepped in when they have to step in, and they are playing together,' Cowher said.'We are communicating very well.You don't see a lot of missed assignments.They are getting more comfortable with each game.'

Much of that credit must go to a Steelers' defensive coaching staff that has a good mix of old and new.

Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau puts it all together with some of the best understanding of offensive and defensive concepts in the NFL. LeBeau has been a respected player, assistant coach and head coach in the league for the past 45 years. He has forgotten more about playing defense than most people know.

Line coach John Mitchell has been with Cowher since 1994, longer than anyone on the staff with the exception of 65-year-old running backs coach Dick Hoak. Defensive backs coach Darren Perry, 36, and assistant Ray Horton, 44, played in Super Bowls, and they are young enough to connect with their players.

The coaches' input into getting players such as Hoke and Williams ready to play can't be minimized.

'There has to be a commitment from (the backups), but they have to be getting taught,' LeBeau said.

Among the players, no one has had a bigger impact on the Steelers' success than Smith and Polamalu, who are quietly making cases for inclusion in the 2005 Pro Bowl in February. Cowher saved some of his best compliments for those two players.

Cowher is most impressed with how Polamalu is able to excel in multiple roles.

'Troy gets moved around a lot,' Cowher said. 'We have a lot of different packages that utilize him in a lot of different roles. He is back there at safety on first and second downs. On some third-down packages, he is up there for Larry Foote, and some third-down packages, he is still back there as a safety.

'We have him blitzing. We have him covering. He is a very instinctive guy.He has done a great job of being able to sort through where we are moving him around and being able to handle all that responsibility.He can handle a lot, and he can also do that in a matter right now where he is comfortable. He has got a great feel for the game. He really does. The last interception that he got against Kelly Holcomb (in the Browns game), he baited him right into throwing it.'

Smith was tied with Porter for the team lead with seven sacks after 11 games, but he also had two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. Often, he literally refuses to be blocked.

'I will say this,' Cowher said, 'Aaron Smith has played more than pretty well. Aaron Smith, I think, is one of the best defensive ends in the game. He never comes off the field. It takes two people to block him. If there is one guy (trying to block him), he is usually 2 or 3 yards in the backfield. The guy can rush the quarterback and has made a lot of plays for us. He is having a big-time year.'

Jerry DiPaola covers the Steelers and NFL for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.