Mike Tomlin isn't saying the Steelers want to become a team that is more reliant on their nickel defense, but the acquisition of linebacker Joe Schobert screams that from the heavens.
Teams always tell you their intentions or thoughts with the moves that they make.
Schobert is a premier coverage linebacker in the NFL. He's not a downhill thumper. Many have asked why the new Jaguars regime would be willing to part with him for such a cheap price, including taking on half of his 2021 salary.
It's obvious the new coaching staff in Jacksonville, led by longtime college coach Urban Meyer, hasn't been paying attention to the trend in the NFL. It's a copycat league, and the Buccaneers just won the Super Bowl with a defense whose primary personnel grouping on defense was the nickel.
Tampa Bay spent just under 63 percent of its defensive snaps last season in a nickel package. That was slightly above the league average of 58.9 percent. But Tampa Bay could do so because it had Devin White and, more importantly, Lavonte David -- maybe the best off-ball linebacker in the league -- roaming the middle of its defense.
David played 99.34 percent of the defensive snaps for the Bucs in 2020. White played 93.2 percent. They rarely come off the field because they don't need to do so.
And there's the beauty of having two run-and-hit linebackers who can cover. Opponent comes out in a three-receiver set? Fine. Those two linebackers are staying on the field because they can cover in man or zone while still playing the run. Multiple tight ends on the field? OK. They can handle that, as well. Short-yardage situation? Ditto.
The Steelers were 31st in the NFL last season in nickel defense usage, largely because they didn't have two linebackers that could cover. Heck, after Devin Bush was lost five games into the season to a torn ACL, they didn't have one who could competently do the job consistently.
Because of that, they were forced to play more base and dime defense, which made them awfully predictable. And Robert Spillane gets matched up on Jarvis Landry in third-and-short in the playoffs because of it.
Now, typically a linebacker on a wide receiver is still a mismatch. But Bush ran a low 4.4-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2019. He can at least cover a receiver in the slot for more than the couple of seconds it takes for what is the league's best pass rushing team to get home.
Spillane could not.
So, even though Tomlin has dodged answering when asked twice about his team's intention to run more nickel defense with the acquisition of Schobert, the answer is a resounding yes. Bet on it.
It's great to be able to play "sub-package football," as Tomlin likes to call it, without having to use too many subs.
• Some are making a big deal about Schobert's proclamation that the coaching staff wants him to wear the green dot this season. It's not.
Bush will still wear the green dot, which designates the defensive player with the communication device in his helmet to hear the calls from the sideline. Bush will still be on the field 100 percent of the time, as he was last season prior to his injury.
But Spillane was going to likely be the player who also had that designation. Teams get two such players who can have the speaker in their helmet. They can't have both players with green dots on the field at the same time, but that's a simple fix. The second player with the green dot either has a second helmet ready to go, or the team can make a quick switch -- NASCAR style -- if something happens to the primary play caller.
Bush will be on the field a lot, likely 100 percent of the time barring injury. Perhaps the team will decide it wants Schobert to be the primary play caller. He's done it before. But it's more likely that will continue to be Bush.
• Schobert counts $1.88 million against the salary cap this season after the Steelers got the Jaguars to pick up half of his base salary in 2021 and then restructured the remaining portion of his deal.
That pushes some money into future years, meaning Schobert now will count $9.84 million against the team's 2022 cap. But the Steelers also could release Schobert in the offseason -- which seems unlikely -- and have just $1.77 million in dead cap space.
Trading for players already under contract is a win-win. You not only acquire a player who is a proven commodity, you get to do so without paying any of his signing bonus.
The Jaguars essentially paid Schobert more than $18 million for one year of work. It just goes to show that there's nothing free about free agency.
• Schobert's deal does nothing to preclude the Steelers from signing T.J. Watt to a long-term extension. In fact, the Steelers also freed up just over $6 million in cap space Monday by restructuring the contract of Stephon Tuitt, as well.
Makes one think the Watt deal is coming soon. And the Steelers are readying to give Watt a big signing bonus.
• The Steelers' practice Sunday marked the first time we've seen the starting offensive line unit listed on the depth chart together on the field in this training camp.
That meant Chuks Okorafor and Zach Banner at the tackle spots, Kevin Dotson and Trai Turner at guard and ... wait for it ... J.C. Hassenauer at center.
Kendrick Green was given an excused absence from camp the previous two days. And it marked the second time he's been given an excused absence from camp. He's obviously dealing with something.
But the Steelers still are intent on the rookie being the starting center.
I would expect when the Steelers return to practice Tuesday, Green will be back at center with the top unit. But Hassenauer is better than he was a year ago.
• Is that line a concern? Sure. It has been since Day 1.
But anyone making any judgments about how this group is going to come together is guessing. They haven't been on the field together.
The player, to me, who is the biggest question mark at this point is Banner.
Some have questioned why Banner, who suffered a torn ACL a month prior to Bush and had his surgery to repair that issue earlier, hasn't returned as a full participant just yet, while Bush has been on the field running around for weeks now.
The answer is a simple one. Bush weighs 100 pounds less than Banner. Therefore, there is a lot less pressure on his surgically repaired knee.
"He had a little bit of a head start the first week or two," Banner said recently. "I wasn’t doing as many reps as him. That’s part of it. Two different bodies, similar injuries. I can only compliment him and his hard work coming back.”
Banner has begun ramping things up. But until he's able to stack multiple days of back-to-back practices, his full return is going to remain a question mark.
• Because of that issue, the decision by the coaching staff to get rookie Dan Moore up to speed playing right tackle is the right one.
Moore had been used exclusively on the left side since joining the Steelers as a fourth-round draft pick. Now, he's starting to acclimate himself on the right side.
"He doesn’t perform like a young guy. But sometimes, particularly when you look at the circumstances that he comes from — he’s in that SEC West, played left tackle over there, and logged a bunch of starts — that’s like dog years," Tomlin said. "That experience is showing. We’re going to challenging him this week and let him play on the right side some and look at his positional versatility."
Moore has been something of a pleasant surprise. He's gotten better as time has gone on in this camp, going from a player Alex Highsmith was whipping on a regular basis, to one who has performed well in the team's two preseason games.
But those pushing for him to be a starter might be putting the cart before the horse. He's looked good against other backups and rookies.
This was a deep draft for offensive tackles. So it's realistic to think Moore might have gone at least a round -- or even two -- earlier in a normal draft.
But it's highly unlikely the Steelers line up in Buffalo Sept. 12 with two rookies in the starting lineup. Unless Banner isn't ready to go.
• Moore's early struggles in camp might show more about Highsmith than they do Moore. He's been really good in this camp.
If you're looking for a star of camp and this preseason, the second-year outside linebacker might be that guy.
• While on the subject of that offensive line, they're going to seriously be up against a distinct timeline to get ready for the start of the regular season.
Going into Buffalo in what promises to be a very loud and hostile environment for that opener with a line that has only spent just over a dozen practices and a quarter of so of a preseason game together on the field will be a challenge.
This line will be solid in terms of run blocking. But will it be ready to work on a silent count against an active line that will surely throw a lot of stunts at it at Highmark Stadium in less than a month?
• The Bills are a team, by the way, that live in the nickel defense. Buffalo had its nickel defense on the field 90.8 percent of the time in 2020, the highest total in the league.
Why? Linebackers Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds can run and cover.