For as explosive as the ' offense will be in 2017 -- and we could be looking at a group that averages 30 points a game -- the team is only going as far as their defense takes them. On the surface that sounds silly because , and Le'Veon Bell are three of the league's Cornelius Lucas Jersey best players, but if we learned anything from Januaray's AFC Championship lo s, it's that until the Steelers figure out how to stop and the , there will be no seventh Lombardi Trophy anytime soon. The biggest i sue was the inability to pre sure Brady, who faced predominately zone schemes from the Steelers. Consequently, Brady was able to stand comfortably in the pocket and methodically pick apart a secondary helple s to do anything Johnny Hekker Jersey about it. when he spoke to reporters at the owners meetings in March. "Our inability to play man-to-man effectively and our inability to apply pre sure on the quarterback without blitzing were i sues in that game," Tomlin said of the Patriots playoff lo s. So what was Tomlin looking for in a defensive back who is succe sful playing man to man? "Staying close to people, it's that simple," he said. A month later, the Steelers took former University of Tenne see cornerback Cam Sutton in the third round, and he arrives in Pittsburgh with a history of playing man-to Matthew Stafford Jersey -man defense. , who played well as a rookie, though mostly in zone-based schemes. "Every team that's won Super Bowls the last couple of years has been able to play man," Burns said this week from OTAs, via ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler. "We want to be a team to play man, get the pre sure on the quarterback and attack coverage downfield." CBs Artie Burns, Ro s Cockrell pair up for pre s coverage work Chris Greg Zuerlein Jersey Mueller (@bychrismueller) "It's always some opening in a zone defense," Burns continued. "It's someone who mi sed a drop, or it's always some group in a zone defense. To be able to play man, to get a guy right in someone's chest with the pre sure, it affects the quarterback a little bit." Pre sure will hopefully come from outside Brandin Cooks Jersey linebacker , the Steelers' 2015 first-rounder, and his 2017 first-round counterpart, T.J. Watt, in addition to defensive ends Cam Heyward and . If Pittsburgh can consistently get after the quarterback with four rushers that will go a long way in easing the burden on an athletic-but-inexperienced secondary that includes 2016 second-rounder , who was quietly one of the defense's best players a season ago.
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