Tyler Matakevich is shining at Pittsburgh Steelers camp

[Shoes]

He was drafted in the seventh round. He played at Temple. He joined a team with Ryan Shazier (http://247sports.com/Player/Ryan-Shazier-606) and Lawrence Timmons (http://247sports.com/Player/Lawrence-Timmons-25956) entrenched at his position and Vince Williams (http://247sports.com/Player/Vince-Williams-6099) looming as the heir should a starting spot open up.
But that didn't deter him. Matakevich became a fan favorite last season as a special teamer. Steelers fans admire the sort of grit and toughness it takes to stick around as a seventh rounder, but Matakevich has higher ambitions than just special teams. He wants to play on defense. And according to Bob Labriola of Steelers.com (http://www.steelers.com/news/asked-and-answered/article-1/Asked-and-Answered-Aug-8/f972b3b6-b553-46ce-bfe1-92e844cd4a5e), he's prepared to do that if necessary this season.
"Tyler Matakevich (http://247sports.com/Player/Tyler-Matakevich-17496) looks like a completely different player this summer. Often during the live tackling portion of an afternoon practice, his ability to find the ball and get the guy on the ground has been showcased, and I think he wouldn’t be a liability this season if he had to play."
The history of the Steelers is littered with star defensive players who came out of nowhere. Donnie Shell and James Harrison were undrafted. L.C. Greenwood was taken in the 10th round. It would obviously be senseless to compare Matakevich to those players, but the Steelers have always developed their unheralded players extremely well. Dirty Red could be the next in that lineage of homegrown defenders.

http://pit.247sports.com/Bolt/Tyler-Matakevich-is-shining-at-Pittsburgh-Steelers-camp-105907068

[DesertSteel]

Not bad for a guy who just got listed as 3rd string at one position and 4th string at another. :-/

[Shoes]

Not bad for a guy who just got listed as 3rd string at one position and 4th string at another. :-/


I think Red will end up at #2. Most folks didn't give him a chance of making the roster, saying he's too small/slow and can't cover. Vince Williams sure as hell isn't great in coverage and while he has hitting power, he misses a fair amount of tackles. From the notes I've read at camp Red has been good in coverage and in on just about every tackle. This kid isn't going to go away.

[DesertSteel]

I agree with you. I was shocked to see hat first depth chart. He's definitely #2 based on performance.

[Mojouw]

I want this kid to work out. I just need to see it against the first string when the lights go on.

Played extensively in the phins game last season. Made multiple stops. Almost all were 3 plus yards down field.

I would like to see a few plays in the hole if not behind the line.


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[teegre]

Made multiple stops. Almost all were 3 plus yards down field.

I would like to see a few plays in the hole if not behind the line.

Donnie Edwards was a tackling machine. Alas, those tackles went from "behind the LOS" to "at the LOS" to "3 yards downfield."

I hope that Big Red has the inverse happen (i.e. his tackles start moving towards/behind the LOS).

[Born2Steel]

He seems to always be near the ball at the end of the play. That's a good thing. Have to look at his college film to see if he had many behind the line stops. That should be the measuring stick at this point to determine potential. If those stops were indeed for loss, that's a very good thing. If he's just a good tackler, more of a Stephen Johnson 2.0, good just not going to be great.

[Rotorhead]

Well he has JH to learn how to make himself relevant. I hope he works out, it is good to have guys like this around, they are hungry and work their asses off to get to where they want to me.

[GBMelBlount]

It would be nice if he could improve his speed by a 10th or two, as I believe Brown has done through working insanely hard.

[BlackAndGold]

He'll be the top backup.

[tube517]

Is he Jerry Osalvsky 2.0 ??

[43Hitman]

Is he Jerry Osalvsky 2.0 ??
That's what they're saying, and I'd be completely happy with that.

[Dwinsgames]

guys I know who have been at camp say he is playing as good ( maybe better ) than Vince Williams ...

I will take that as a positive

[Steeldude]

That's what they're saying, and I'd be completely happy with that.

And Olsavsky was very underrated, IMO. It hurt the defense when he went down, but they plugged in another ILB. I wish they could do that today with the OLB position.

[tube517]

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[Shoes]

He sure as hell tackles better than nearly everyone on the team. Shazier gets a lot of hype for his speed, but he comes up with a lot of missed air tackles.