Decline of Steelers’ Woodley puzzling

[stillers4me]

So, what‘s wrong with LaMarr Woodley?

That‘s the question that‘s being asked on the heels of his most unproductive season, including Sunday‘s one-tackle, one-assist, no-sack game against Cincinnati.

Woodley, who has been hampered by hamstring and ankle injuries this year, had been one of the more dominant pass rushers in the league over the past five years, but he has only four sacks and 12 pressures all season. He hasn‘t had a pressure or a sack since Nov. 4 against the Giants — some 195 snaps.

Against the Bengals, it was much of the same............


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/3188450-74/woodley-game-roethlisberger#ixzz2G7Jgw2CM

[salamander]

I'm beginning to wonder myself. Was it merely because of injuries or something else?

[Devilsdancefloor]

i think everyone has to think the same thing where the hell is woodley Is his hammy really that bad?? He has nt been able to set the edge all year

[steelreserve]

The more I've seen of him over the last two years, the more it seems like he benefited a lot from the good play of others and the attention they demanded. With Smith long gone, Kiesel and Hampton basically just average now, and Harrison not playing as much, other teams don't whiff on him or send an RB to block him.

[GBMelBlount]

Woodley is getting paid A LOT of money.

[BlastFurnace]

The league has caught on.

He's not good in pass coverage. He has only one pass rush move and he can't even pressure the QB any longer.

If I were an opposing OC, I'd run at Woodley all day or the Steelers in position to have to put him on a RB coming out for a pass pattern.

[st33lersguy]

Seems like Woodley suffered from Albert Haynesworth Syndrome this past year, play great, get a lot of money, then stop putting forth the effort. The Steelers could have used some pass rush from him, and he was a big reason why the team provided virtually no pass rush all year. If Woodley is going to continue this lethargic, pass rush will be the number 1 need come April.

[steelerdude15]

I'll wait for him to be one hundred percent healthy before I make an judgements. I know he works out pretty well in the off season, but I hope he puts extra effort in this off season. He looks like he's gotten bigger and not in muscle.

[zulater]

Oops. sorry didn't see this was already posted. :doh:

Woodley is a guy who needs to earn his roster spot next season. If he isn't showing his old burst in August then they need to cut him or trade him if they can get anything for him.

[Chidi29]

Oops. sorry didn't see this was already posted. :doh:

Woodley is a guy who needs to earn his roster spot next season. If he isn't showing his old burst in August then they need to cut him or trade him if they can get anything for him.

Not feasible to cut him for the next two years. By my numbers, would be a cap hit of 18.16 million to cut him.

[Steeldude]

I don't see anything surprising in Woodley's performance.


Woodley has been just as dominant a run-stopper over his career but struggled with Cincinnati tight end Jermaine Gresham

He has? The single TE taking care of him I have seen, but dominant against the run?

IMO, if Woodley would drop his weight to about 250lbs(maybe even 240+) he would have more success in sealing the edge, shedding blocks, harassing the QB and pass coverage. Unfortunately, cutting him won't be possible. I am hoping a good OLB is available this coming draft. I don't really want another DE playing LB.

[steelreserve]

Not feasible to cut him for the next two years. By my numbers, would be a cap hit of 18.16 million to cut him.

Unfortunately, that seems about right. They gave him so much in the signing bonus ($22M) that they'd still be on the hook for two-thirds of it. Shitty part about it is - the longer we keep him to reduce the dead money, the higher his base salary gets, so we still have to eat a shit sandwich in the meantime. I think in a couple years it gets up over $10M in base salary alone, at which point the dead money from cutting him is no different from the dead money from having him on the roster. They really screwed themselves with that contract.

[st33lersguy]

Not feasible to cut him for the next two years. By my numbers, would be a cap hit of 18.16 million to cut him.

Shouldn't even be talking about cutting him anyway, Woodley had just one awful year, he hasn't made a career out of sucking. Let's see if he can go back to form next year

[43Hitman]

Like Steeldude said, I think he needs to drop a little weight, he looked slow all year.

[steelreserve]

Shouldn't even be talking about cutting him anyway, Woodley had just one awful year, he hasn't made a career out of sucking. Let's see if he can go back to form next year

Last year wasn't great either. He missed almost half the year, and even though he had a semi-respectable sack total, his impact sure seemed a lot less than that one number. For the amount he's getting paid, he needs to do a LOT better.

[Chidi29]

Unfortunately, that seems about right. They gave him so much in the signing bonus ($22M) that they'd still be on the hook for two-thirds of it. Shitty part about it is - the longer we keep him to reduce the dead money, the higher his base salary gets, so we still have to eat a shit sandwich in the meantime. I think in a couple years it gets up over $10M in base salary alone, at which point the dead money from cutting him is no different from the dead money from having him on the roster. They really screwed themselves with that contract.

His base salary jumps from 700K this season to 9 million in 2013.

Though we did put a big "signing bonus" in his salary for 2012.

[Shoes]

I don't see anything surprising in Woodley's performance.



He has? The single TE taking care of him I have seen, but dominant against the run?

IMO, if Woodley would drop his weight to about 250lbs(maybe even 240+) he would have more success in sealing the edge, shedding blocks, harassing the QB and pass coverage. Unfortunately, cutting him won't be possible. I am hoping a good OLB is available this coming draft. I don't really want another DE playing LB.

I agree....and think he would improve tremendously if he drop down in weight. Dwyer's needs to shed his gut also.

[Craic]

Here's what's bothersome to me. He only has one pass defended this year. Either that means he is playing unbelievable pass coverage, or he is not fighting to knock the pass down, choosing instead to let the RB/TE catch the ball and then tackle him. He has about his average amount of stuffed runs this year, but tackles, assists, and sacks all fell off. That could be however, because we were so dominant as a team against the run, that the offenses chose to go to the air. The other thing is the lack of tackles shows that either (1) his man wasn't being passed to, or (2) his man was catch the ball and then motoring away from Woodley. I can't see that happening as much, so I have to wonder what really is happening.

As far as Woodley setting the edge, I don't know. It's not like teams were running on us this year. We are number one against he run overall and number 3 against the run per attempt, we're number one against the pass in total yards and tied for first in yards per attempt. We're number four in 1st downs allowed and 23rd in first downs given up by penalty. Opposing QB's have only a 78.8 percent rating against us, which is 25th out of 32. In short, we are still dominant on defense. Even our Moreover, except for the first few weeks, the defense played strong in the fourth quarters, allowing only two touchdowns and two field goals in 10 fourth quarters.

As far as tackling is concerned - here's an interesting tidbit:
Broncos only rushed four times towards the RT or RE. Of those, Larry Fotte got two tackles and Timmons one. That's the Inside LB filling their own gaps. Worilds got the other, which, without seeing it, sounds like the off OLB trailing down the line.

Most of the rushes went to the Right Guard or Tackle, rather than the end. The Raiders ran three to the end, and Woodley got all three tackles. The Jets ran two to the end and Keisel got one, and Mundy got one (typical safety work). Broncos ran three to the RE, and Foote, Timmons, and Worilds got the tackles (not exactly a good day that day). Against Philly, there was only one run to the RE and Hood got him for a three yard gain. He was out against the Titans. With the Bengals, there were no rushes to the left or Right ends. They did do a lot of running through the Right Tackle. Clark and Timmons plus Lewis had the most tackles there, with Woodley having one. He did have two passing tackles in this game as well. Against the Skins, there was one run against the RE, Woodley got that, but it went for seven yards by RGIII (probably a scramble and Woodley came from behind). Against the Giants, there's no run to the RE, but quite a few to the RT. Woodley got in on one, but 10 players had tackles that day on the run to the RT, and of the total 8 rushes, only 33 yards were made. Against the Cheifs, there were only two rushes to the RE, as compared to 7 on the RG and 10 on the RT. Of those 10, Woodley stopped forty percent of them, or four tackles, and had a fifth tackle on a run against a RG. Or, he had almost a third of the tackles total against runs to his side in that game. Against the Ravens, there's one rush to the right end, and seven to the RT, 3 to the RG. Woodley had one tackle, and 2 more against middle dives. Against the Browns, he had no tackles, but also had only one run to the RE. Worilds came around and got him for only a 2 yard game.

I lost my patience at this point - and didn't look at the rest. But I do think a pattern is developing as we look. First, teams respect Woodley's ability to defend against the run on the RE. Either they plan, or he is able to turn the majority of the plays inside and when they don't, he takes care of business.

Where he seems to lack here, is pursuing down the line. Now, that may be because he's staying home. That's possible. It also may be an injury, or a lack of hustle. Either way, I really don't think Woodely or the defense should be the primary concern this off season. They played well enough to put this team in the playoffs. The problem, and the focus of the off season, needs to be on the offensive side of the ball, and in getting people that can block without penalty in special teams.

[Psycho Ward 86]

he needs to hit the leg curl machine and stretch A LOT. not going to defend him if he's injured or playing injured anymore. imo. things are still looking up at OLB. When harrison was out for all of those games last season, woodley played REALLY well playing OLB on the other side. worilds seems to be showing flashes. Still very young, and bound to improve.

[BlastFurnace]

Stan Savran said this morning that he spoke to one of the Steelers "Higher Ups" recently and he told Stan that the Steelers are very concerned about Woodley's weight.

There is no way to explain his season away. He was horrible this year.

[Craic]

Stan Savran said this morning that he spoke to one of the Steelers "Higher Ups" recently and he told Stan that the Steelers are very concerned about Woodley's weight.

There is no way to explain his season away. He was horrible this year.

That's interesting. I noticed he looked a lot thicker this year.

[Austin87]

Woodley had a truly disappointing season. If he struggles early next season, it may be time to bench him in favor of Worilds. Hopefully Woodley comes in at top shape next season.

[BlastFurnace]

Woodley had a truly disappointing season. If he struggles early next season, it may be time to bench him in favor of Worilds. Hopefully Woodley comes in at top shape next season.

Depends on what happens to Harrison next year. Wordlis might be starting opposite of Woodley if Harrison is cut. Personally, I think James still has a year left in him as a starter.

For those that know better about the salary cap, can the Steelers ask Harrison to take a pay cut like they did with Bettis with no negative effect on the salary cap?

[Chidi29]

Depends on what happens to Harrison next year. Wordlis might be starting opposite of Woodley if Harrison is cut. Personally, I think James still has a year left in him as a starter.

For those that know better about the salary cap, can the Steelers ask Harrison to take a pay cut like they did with Bettis with no negative effect on the salary cap?

Yes, there would be no negative effect on the cap. That is the purpose of the pay cut.

[Steeldude]

Stan Savran said this morning that he spoke to one of the Steelers "Higher Ups" recently and he told Stan that the Steelers are very concerned about Woodley's weight.

There is no way to explain his season away. He was horrible this year.

I guess that makes that particular Higher-up a hater. Woodley's weight has been an issue before 2012.

[Seven]

I'm not ready to give up on Woodley. Something is definitely amiss but this guy was a great player not long ago. It's a frustrating situation, but one that isn't going to be easy to escape from just by shipping him out somewhere. That leaves us with Jason Worilds and Cris Carter depending on what happens with Harrison.

[Steeldude]

I'm not ready to give up on Woodley. Something is definitely amiss but this guy was a great player not long ago. It's a frustrating situation, but one that isn't going to be easy to escape from just by shipping him out somewhere. That leaves us with Jason Worilds and Cris Carter depending on what happens with Harrison.

I think it's more of a "People thought he was a great player" not long ago because he had some sacks. I have never seen much of anything from Woodley to call him great, yet. He is an average to slightly above average LB for the Steelers' system. His play against the run and in pass coverage is average to below average. I know people think he is awesome against the run, but I've never noticed it. I am not saying he doesn't make plays or tackles in the run department. What I am saying is Worilds pretty much does the same at a cheaper cost.

I have commented on Woodley's weight since he has been here. I think he has the potential to be a very good to great all-around LB if he could get his weight down to 240lbs - 250lbs. I feel this would reduce his fatigue and injuries too.

It would be nice if the Steelers actually drafted an OLB instead of DE hybrids.

[Seven]

I disagree with a few things being said here.

First, let me say that I spent some time watching Woodley last night and this morning. I compared a few games from this season against a few games from 2009.

Three years ago Woodley was a great pass rusher. Multiple moves, power, and even a little bit of speed (when compared to the tackle, that is). He still had issues in space and with running in general. There was one play against Tennessee where James Harrison was a good six or seven yards behind Woodley in pursuit of the ball carrier and by the time the tackle was made by a DB Harrison was about four yards in front of him. And it was only like a nine yard run or so - not a total breakaway. So as we can see, Woodley has always had problems with speed. However, I do believe he was a much better player regardless of that. He was quicker, got more penetration, got off blocks faster and really just looked like he was much more comfortable.

Fastfoward to now, and Woodley is truly a shadow of the player he once was. His stance has gone to hell, something that I noticed during the season but attributed to play calls - I didn't think he was actually rushing the quarterback after starting the snap with his hands on his knees. He was. His previous stance - one fairly similar to James Harrison's but not nearly as low to the ground obviously - has disappeared in favor of the bent over, hands on his knees variation. Which right there should speak to his level of fitness. He has lost all of his pass rushing moves, for example, in 2009 he had a pretty wicked spin move for someone his size. It accounted for a couple sacks and plenty of hurries during the stretch of games I watched. In 2012, he tried to use that spin move @ Oakland and literally feel down. And in coverage, while it was never a strength of his, at least in 2009 he could keep his feet - now, he stumbles all over the place when trying to drop back.

So, I do think his play has diminished, I don't buy into the opinion that there was never anything there. He was a great fit for this scheme in his prime.

While I was originally skeptical, I have decided that the court of public opinion actually does have it right in this case. The dude just needs to hit the treadmill.

[zulater]

Kovacevic: LaMarr’s lament? Who knows?

But that still won‘t stop me from saying this: No one, not any player or coach or executive, let down these 2012 Steelers more than one LaMarr Dewayne Woodley.
And it might not be close.
After yet another afternoon of being engulfed by whatever warm body was playing right tackle for the opponent — zero sacks, five tackles, zero everything else — Woodley finished his season with a grand total of four sacks.
None after Nov. 18.
None in his final 204 snaps.
Forget his other numbers, none of which were any good anyway. Sacks are Woodley‘s game. That‘s how he earned that six-year, $61.5 million extension last summer, by recording 11.5, 13.5, 10 and 9 the previous four seasons. The guy was an undeniable, often unstoppable force.
Take that element out of the defense, and it‘s a whole lot easier to explain the paltry 20 defensive takeaways, which, to my mind, best defined these Steelers‘ shortcomings as a whole: They scared no one. If you seldom put any opponent outside its comfort zone, even Oakland, Tennessee, San Diego and Cleveland can hang around long enough to bite you.
Tomlin had to know he wouldn‘t get the classic James Harrison at the other outside linebacker spot, given Harrison being 34 and coming off knee surgery. But the coach had every right to expect so much more from Woodley, in his prime at 28 and — presumably, anyway — fully recovered from his long-nagging hamstring trouble. He had every right to expect a star.
It never materialized, barely even in a spurt or two.
In fact, to watch how Woodley plodded about the field almost all season, it‘s fair to wonder if it wasn‘t more than the hamstring or a wobbly ankle that was — ahem — weighing him down.
I approached Woodley after this game to ask about his conditioning and much more, but upon being asked, he silently declined and left the room.


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/dejankovacevic/dejancolumns/3213044-74/woodley-sacks-steelers#ixzz2Gba8VMm9
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[43Hitman]

Kovacevic: LaMarr’s lament? Who knows?

But that still won‘t stop me from saying this: No one, not any player or coach or executive, let down these 2012 Steelers more than one LaMarr Dewayne Woodley.
And it might not be close.
After yet another afternoon of being engulfed by whatever warm body was playing right tackle for the opponent — zero sacks, five tackles, zero everything else — Woodley finished his season with a grand total of four sacks.
None after Nov. 18.
None in his final 204 snaps.
Forget his other numbers, none of which were any good anyway. Sacks are Woodley‘s game. That‘s how he earned that six-year, $61.5 million extension last summer, by recording 11.5, 13.5, 10 and 9 the previous four seasons. The guy was an undeniable, often unstoppable force.
Take that element out of the defense, and it‘s a whole lot easier to explain the paltry 20 defensive takeaways, which, to my mind, best defined these Steelers‘ shortcomings as a whole: They scared no one. If you seldom put any opponent outside its comfort zone, even Oakland, Tennessee, San Diego and Cleveland can hang around long enough to bite you.
Tomlin had to know he wouldn‘t get the classic James Harrison at the other outside linebacker spot, given Harrison being 34 and coming off knee surgery. But the coach had every right to expect so much more from Woodley, in his prime at 28 and — presumably, anyway — fully recovered from his long-nagging hamstring trouble. He had every right to expect a star.
It never materialized, barely even in a spurt or two.
In fact, to watch how Woodley plodded about the field almost all season, it‘s fair to wonder if it wasn‘t more than the hamstring or a wobbly ankle that was — ahem — weighing him down.
I approached Woodley after this game to ask about his conditioning and much more, but upon being asked, he silently declined and left the room.


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/dejankovacevic/dejancolumns/3213044-74/woodley-sacks-steelers#ixzz2Gba8VMm9
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook

I love how the first comment on that article is blaming Haley. lol, that's right, I said HALEY!(caps for emphasis) :lol:

[Seven]

I love how the first comment on that article is blaming Haley. lol, that's right, I said HALEY!(caps for emphasis) :lol:

I do believe that's going to get a lot of play around here for quite some time :chuckle: