The Steelers Have Their Starting Inside Linebackers in Williams and Bush
The biggest struggles of the Steelers defense for the better part of a decade has been the inability to defend the middle of the field. After the tandem of James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons, the Steelers were tasked to find the next duo of inside linebackers that could keep up the elite level of play left behind.
They eventually found a solid linebacker in Vince Williams, and then landed Ryan Shazier a year later, who grew to become one of the game's best inside linebackers. Of course, we all know by now that in a career-year where he was making a serious case for Defensive Player of the Year, he suffered that horrendous spinal injury that still leaves him sidelined today.
The Steelers were then tasked again to find someone to replace Shazier. After failing to address the the position following the 2017 season, the Steelers traded up for Devin Bush in this year's draft. The Steelers also signed free agent Mark Barron this past offseason, a former safety who converted to linebacker.
With incumbent Vince Williams still on the roster, there would be three players competing for two starting spots. Obviously, a rotation of some kind was going to become the best solution to involve all three players.
Now that we are six games into the season, we have enough game film to see which of these three have truly been the most deserving of significant playing time.
Just to get it out of the way, Devin Bush should see more snaps than anyone else at linebacker, if not on the entire defense. He still is a rookie and will continue to make rookie mistakes, but 2019 needs to be about the youthful Steelers and every snap counts.
Not to mention, Bush has been their best inside linebacker. Williams and Barron have both been hobbled by hamstring injuries and Bush is on pace for a record-setting rookie campaign.
When it comes to who is the best fit alongside Bush, my personal opinion on the matter was quite clear in the win against the Chargers.
Williams and Bush did a fantastic job at taking away the middle of the field underneath and were even better at stopping the run. Mark Barron sat out in Los Angeles due to a hamstring injury.
Barron's performance this season has been...underwhelming. As a former safety, he was expected to improve the pass coverage in the middle of the field. On the other hand, we have seen way too many of plays like this happen.
This is not an isolated incident. Barron has continually blown coverages or miscommunicated coverages when he's had the green dot on defense.
Barron has been better in run defense, but Vince Williams is clearly the better option at stuffing the opposition's running game.
Here are two nearly identical plays where Barron and Williams have to make the same read. Williams' read and reaction was obviously the better play.
Of course, highlighting Williams' ability in run defense is not breaking news. The biggest knock on him has been his inconsistency in pass coverage. Williams is deep enough in his career that we know exactly what he brings to the table. He'll never be a monster in pass coverage, but for the first time in along time, he doesn't have to.
The addition of Minkah Fitzpatrick takes away the deep middle of the field that we constantly saw Williams chasing slot receivers and tight ends down the seam. Then, add Bush's freak athleticism and speed underneath and Williams' coverage area gets a lot smaller than it used to be.
Mark Barron should still get reps when he's healthy. After all, he is learning a new system that has proven difficult for a lot of players to pick up quickly. That is also a huge complement to Minkah Fitzpatrick and how quickly he picked up on it and made an impact.
Barron has a unique skill set and isn't void of the ability to be a playmaker on this defense. Throughout these first six games though, his play has clearly struggled way too often.
The Steelers are still trying to compete this season, no matter how slim the odds. If Pittsburgh truly wants to get the most out of every position on either side of the ball, Devin Bush and Vince Williams are the clear choices to start at inside linebacker.
