PFW: Steelers Young CBs Coming Along

[BlackAndGold]

Young cornerbacks developing nicely for Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers have the makings of a deep secondary for years to come

Tyreek Hill ran a 4.29 40 at his Pro Day and he looked all of that as the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver sprinted past Pittsburgh Steelers rookie cornerback Artie Burns in the fourth quarter of Sunday night's game.

But Burns surprisingly caught up, and at the last nanosecond reached out an arm to deflect the deep pass away from Hill's hands.

Not that the play mattered in the outcome of a 43-14 Steelers win, but it mattered to the coaching staff and personnel department of the Steelers, who have to be pleased with the development of Burns and the rest of their young secondary.

Of course, the Steelers still rank 30th in the NFL in pass defense. That's where they finished last season, and that's why they spent their first- and second-round draft picks on defensive backs.

Burns and second-round safety/cornerback hybrid Sean Davis are 6-foot cover guys with outstanding speed. And then they threw Justin Gilbert into the room as a reclamation project right before the start of the season and – voila – a group of sub 5-10 mutts had turned into tall run-and-cover specimens for DBs coach Carnell Lake to mold in his own image.

"We do have a lot of young talent," said starting left cornerback Ross Cockrell. "If you just go down the line from Gilbert, obviously you know he was a top-10 pick; Artie was a first-round pick; Sean Davis was an early-round pick, very talented, plays a lot of positions for us. You've got guys like Senquez (Golson), who was an early-round pick. He's still coming back. We've got a lot of young talent, but the thing that's most impressive about them is they just have that hunger, they have that fire. They want to learn, they want to grow, they want to get better each and every week, each and every practice. It's a good thing to see."

Read More: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2016/10/05/young-cornerbacks-developing-nicely-for-pittsburgh-steelers/a87g31q/

[Skinart82]

I still think those numbers have a lot to do with them forcing other teams to be one dimensional, either from them playing from behind like KC or stuffing the run, not counting Philly though.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Total missed tackles in 2016: 59

Defensive Missed Tackles

Sean Davis — 9
Artie Burns — 6
Mike Mitchell — 6
Stephon Tuitt — 6
Lawrence Timmons — 4
Ryan Shazier — 4
William Gay — 4
Ross Cockrell — 4
Vince Williams — 4
Arthur Moats — 1
Robert Golden — 1
Cameron Heyward — 1
LJ Fort — 1
Jarvis Jones — 1
Anthony Chickillo — 1
Jordan Dangerfield — 1
Ricardo Mathews — 1

Special Teams Missed Tackles

Steven Johnson — 1
Sammie Coates — 1
Tyler Matakevich — 1
Justin Gilbert — 1

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2016/10/steelers-vs-jets-missed-tackles-report/

[steelreserve]

We've played two teams in a row with no quarterback. That helps a lot.

[teegre]

Stephon Tuitt — 6


That is the one that stands out to me. I predicted that he would surpass Heyward (at some point), but he will NOT if he doesn't do the fundamental stuff (tackle).

More specifically, if he makes those tackles, Tuitt would have one more sack and the defense would have given up at least one less long run.

[Craic]

Total missed tackles in 2016: 59

Defensive Missed Tackles

Sean Davis — 9
Artie Burns — 6


I really don't have a problem with these, at this point in their careers. Do I like it? No. But it's not a tell-tale of a bad player; rather, it's the sign of a rookie. From the article, I also like how Artie Burns has already announced his desire to bulk up in the offseason as Cockrell has done. That, plus the hard work he's putting in scheme-wise, hopefully amounts to him being a bit of a beast for years to come if adding those muscle-pounds doesn't slow him down.

For Davis, that adds up to two missed tackles a game. Again, as a rookie, I'm willing to give him a pass on it for now. Not that it doesn't frustrate me or I don't want to see him improve, but there's a reason for the term, rookie mistake. ​

[Psycho Ward 86]

I really don't have a problem with these, at this point in their careers. Do I like it? No. But it's not a tell-tale of a bad player; rather, it's the sign of a rookie. From the article, I also like how Artie Burns has already announced his desire to bulk up in the offseason as Cockrell has done. That, plus the hard work he's putting in scheme-wise, hopefully amounts to him being a bit of a beast for years to come if adding those muscle-pounds doesn't slow him down.

For Davis, that adds up to two missed tackles a game. Again, as a rookie, I'm willing to give him a pass on it for now. Not that it doesn't frustrate me or I don't want to see him improve, but there's a reason for the term, rookie mistake. ​

what? 2 missed tackles a game is a LOT. prorated to a 16 game season, we have 4 key defenders that will have a horrid number of missed tackles. Sean Davis is particularly alarming. We've really been throwing a lot at him, but he's just been bad at everything so far. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt this season because he's been playing in a spot that he was terrible at in college too. I cant help but wonder if the defense cant benefit a lot from having Cockrell and Burns outside, and Gay in the slot where he's at his best anyways. Burns has been playing too well to be going back to the bench again. Even though he's tied for 2nd on the team in missed tackles, the man has saved more than a handful of big receptions and TD's

[polamalubeast]

786679482413383680

[Craic]

what? 2 missed tackles a game is a LOT. prorated to a 16 game season, we have 4 key defenders that will have a horrid number of missed tackles. Sean Davis is particularly alarming. We've really been throwing a lot at him, but he's just been bad at everything so far. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt this season because he's been playing in a spot that he was terrible at in college too. I cant help but wonder if the defense cant benefit a lot from having Cockrell and Burns outside, and Gay in the slot where he's at his best anyways. Burns has been playing too well to be going back to the bench again. Even though he's tied for 2nd on the team in missed tackles, the man has saved more than a handful of big receptions and TD's

You're missing my point, which was at this point in their careers. I pretty much expect them to take bad angles and miss tackles, because last season, those angles were perfect. As they adjust to the speed and the NFL game as a whole, that'll change. But condemning them now (not that you're condemning them, I'm talking in general here) is foolish because it misses the idea of growth.

As for Davis—I think you're being a little too harsh. He's been asked to learn two positions at the same time as an NFL rookie. While he hasn't lit up the field, he also played better than half our DB starters from last year. Now that he's going back to a safety-only position, I think he's going to make a couple big steps forward.

[Psycho Ward 86]

786679482413383680

YES. This is perfect. Hopefully its with Burns/Cockrell outside, Gay inside as i hoped for in the previous post.

If this is the case im predicting a huge boon to our pass defense

[Craic]

YES. This is perfect. Hopefully its with Burns/Cockrell outside, Gay inside as i hoped for in the previous post.

If this is the case im predicting a huge boon to our pass defense

That's exactly what I think I read somewhere.

[Psycho Ward 86]

You're missing my point, which was at this point in their careers. I pretty much expect them to take bad angles and miss tackles, because last season, those angles were perfect. As they adjust to the speed and the NFL game as a whole, that'll change. But condemning them now (not that you're condemning them, I'm talking in general here) is foolish because it misses the idea of growth.

As for Davis—I think you're being a little too harsh. He's been asked to learn two positions at the same time as an NFL rookie. While he hasn't lit up the field, he also played better than half our DB starters from last year. Now that he's going back to a safety-only position, I think he's going to make a couple big steps forward.

he has had a lot thrown at him but being on pace for 36 missed tackles is insane, especially for an early round pick whose strength is supposed to be tackling. To put into perspective, Antwon Blake if i recall correctly from PFF led the league in missed tackles with 28 last season

[Craic]

he has had a lot thrown at him but being on pace for 36 missed tackles is insane, especially for an early round pick whose strength is supposed to be tackling. To put into perspective, Antwon Blake if i recall correctly from PFF led the league in missed tackles with 28 last season

Except, I don't believe we can extend it to the end of the year after only 5 games. It's about trajectory, and I see him as someone whose going to get better—also note, I think he has that many missed tackles because he's put himself in positions to make plays, and just doesn't have the experience to finish them off yet.

I understand what you're saying, and if I was on the coaching staff, I'd be checking in with him, even watching tape with him to diagnose the issue. But, as a fan five games into the season, I just don't find it a big deal right now. In December? Sure, because he's had almost the entire season to adjust by that point.