Steelers Defensive MVP of 2016

[Steeldude]

How about a vote on the MVP of the defense?

[ALLD]

Either one of the old guys showing the young guys how to show up and play.

[Craic]

Future threads such as this one will probably be dominated with votes for Burns, Shazier (if he can stay healthy), and Sean Davis, not to mention Tuitt. But right now, I think it falls to Timmons. When he's out, offenses run the ball all day on us, right up the gut. When he's in, we seem to almost sufficate the run.

[st33lersguy]

When Harrison was inserted into the starting line-up the defense played better. Got to go with him. 38 and still getting it done

[Rotorhead]

Tuff choice between JH and LT, but I gave it to JH because when he got the starting nod, the defense started playing better. Timmons has been a beast the last few games also, but I am hoping we get JH one more ring, and he is my favorite player of all time so theres that bias as well.

[43Hitman]

Harrison. He's the man.

[86WARD]

Harrison. Easy choice.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Harrison. Not even all that close. Shazier was injured for a bit/a little rusty in some games otherwise he might run with this one. Timmons had his usual suck fest for the first 5ish games of the season before playing normally. Harrison has still got it though.

[The bell ringer]

No brainer to me, it is Tuitt. He has come on HUGE this year...especially after the loss of Heyward. His loss this past Sunday showed why. The last 5 games, our run-D was top-3..Baltimore had a some great success with him out. Stephon has Improved in so many ways this season. Okay, his game film at times doesn't show what maybe Timmons has shown, and he is someone to consider as well. Harrison has been okay, but not game changing by any means. For me it is Tuitt.

[SteelerFanInStl]

I love me some Deebo but I gotta go with Timmons. No one player had a standout year but down the stretch Timmons was a rock.

[zulater]

I went with Harrison, but I was real close with Tuitt. I think Tuitt is going to be a dominant player next season. But Harrison by deed and example was the heart and soul of the defense this year.

[steelreserve]

I went with Timmons. Harrison has made a huge difference in the demeanor of the defense, getting them to finally play with some "fire," but the guy I see making play after play is Timmons.

Not just the big highlight-reel plays, but the important ones like stopping a 4-yard gain from becoming a 12-yard gain (when last year he would've been the guy who let the TE run past him and tackled him from behind for the 12-yard gain).

Not to mention that he seems to somehow have learned how to cover the TE or RB, after 10 years of me wondering why he either couldn't, or we wouldn't use him that way despite him being one of our quickest players. Not the flashiest performance, but he really has been the whole package this season.

[The bell ringer]

All I know is that on the first play of the 3rd quarter in Miami, Tuitt got hurt and did not retuen...Ajayi then had a 20Yd run, a 33Yd run, a series later he had a 62yd run for a TD..and then had a 18 & 11 Yd runs. 5 carries AFTER Tuitt was gone for 144 of his 204 total. His other carries totaled 60 yards on 20 carries. So it is not like he dominated our front line guys. He just had the fortune of playing a M.A.S.H unit. He WON'T have that advantage again in the rematch.



Tuitt is our Defensive MVP.

[Psycho Ward 86]

All I know is that on the first play of the 3rd quarter in Miami, Tuitt got hurt and did not retuen...Ajayi then had a 20Yd run, a 33Yd run, a series later he had a 62yd run for a TD..and then had a 18 & 11 Yd runs. 5 carries AFTER Tuitt was gone for 144 of his 204 total. His other carries totaled 60 yards on 20 carries. So it is not like he dominated our front line guys. He just had the fortune of playing a M.A.S.H unit. He WON'T have that advantage again in the rematch.



Tuitt is our Defensive MVP.

Burns horrible tackling played a huge role in the big runs as well and he has really improved in that department.

[DesertSteel]

Timmons

[Psycho Ward 86]

Timmons, even with his perennially slow starts probably had his slowest start ever in 2016. Yet I cant help but see that he's playing some of his best ball right now. I have no idea at this point if I want him back and for how much I want him back for. The Jekyll and Hyde act is really annoying, but its nice to have Jekyll on the stretch run

[teegre]

Great thread/great question... because there is not an obvious answer.

Harrison: Obvious as to why.

Timmons: As steelreserve stated, every big play seems to have Timmons' fingerprints all over it.

Tuitt: The dude takes on double teams... and still is able to pressure the QB. Plus, for a big man, he's al over the field. I've averred that he'd surpass Heyward by the end of this season.

Burns: If we're talking about "irreplaceable", if take him out of the equation, if forces Gay to the outside, and Davis to the slot. Ugh. Simply, Burns has essentially turned a horrible secondary into a decent group.

Shazier: Too much time missed. When he's in, I notice the biggest difference... but, he's missed too much time.

Mitchell: :rofl02: (Yes, I'm biased.)

Dupree: When he returned to the lineup, Harrison simultaneously reinserted into a starting role. Is Deebo causing him to look better?... or, are they both simply that much better than Jarthanthoy Chickijonoats???

SUMMATION:
I've narrowed it down to Harrison, Timmons, or Tuitt. Hmmm... I thought about who I'd like to have the most for the playoffs, and I gotta go with Tuitt.

[pczach]

Great thread/great question... because there is not an obvious answer.

Harrison: Obvious as to why.

Timmons: As steelreserve stated, every big play seems to have Timmons' fingerprints all over it.

Tuitt: The dude takes on double teams... and still is able to pressure the QB. Plus, for a big man, he's al over the field. I've averred that he'd surpass Heyward by the end of this season.

Burns: If we're talking about "irreplaceable", if take him out of the equation, if forces Gay to the outside, and Davis to the slot. Ugh. Simply, Burns has essentially turned a horrible secondary into a decent group.

Shazier: Too much time missed. When he's in, I notice the biggest difference... but, he's missed too much time.

Mitchell: :rofl02: (Yes, I'm biased.)

Dupree: When he returned to the lineup, Harrison simultaneously reinserted into a starting role. Is Deebo causing him to look better?... or, are they both simply that much better than Jarthanthoy Chickijonoats???

SUMMATION:
I've narrowed it down to Harrison, Timmons, or Tuitt. Hmmm... I thought about who I'd like to have the most for the playoffs, and I gotta go with Tuitt.


Nice breakdown. It's hard to argue with your points about each player.

What a strange year for making this choice.

The defense took a big step forward when Burns was inserted into the lineup, but maybe the biggest improvement came when Davis was also moved into the starting lineup. The combination of Mitchell and Davis have clearly been the answer in the secondary. With Cockrell and Burns outside, the safety tandem really solidified the defense down the stretch.

The guy that nobody is mentioning is Cockrell. He has been a rock for this team from the very first snap. He has played the entire year and has given a consistent, professional effort in every game he has played. He has controlled one side of the field, and has moved all over the field and taken on the best receiver of their opponents at times. We haven't had a guy like that since Ike, and it was a long time before that since there was a CB on the roster that took on that much pressure and responsibility. It also allowed Burns to work on his craft without having to be thrown into the fire right out of the gate.

He is so smart on the field. He doesn't do a whole lot of celebrating and doesn't call any attention to himself. He just plays his ass off every snap, and in many ways was the main cog that helped this defense turn the corner. You could see that the defense now has a bright future. When the secondary was a gigantic question mark, he stepped up and let us know that things weren't going to be the way they have been the last few years once the young guys could get up to speed. He did all of this and established himself from the first game.....when this team had zero pass rush. Without his presence on the field, it could have been a real shit show early. He is turning into a silent assassin.

For these reasons, I'm going with Ross Cockrell as the Defensive MVP of this team.

[GBMelBlount]

Great thread!

I will go with Harrison. Not only is he playing well, but I think he is a great inspiration to the rest of the team.

[Mojouw]

Timmons.