Breakdowns on Robert Spillane

[Mojouw]

First I watched some college highlights (why not?): https://youtu.be/6bcYWTAERnM

Then I watched/read this breakdown from the Browns game: https://steelersdepot.com/2020/10/film-room-robert-spillane-impresses-versus-browns/

And my dumb football brain is starting to feel better about Spillane's chances. Perhaps I am easily influenced by highlights and what-not. BUT...Spillane seems to be a more well rounded LB than I thought. I honestly wrote him off as a "ST GUY" that you do NOT want playing on defense. A category for me that is highlighted by guys like Dangerfield and Matakevich. Just every time they are forced on the field on actual defense, teams isolate and exploit them. I am by no means arguing that Spillane is amazing or anything or not a downgrade compared to Devin Bush - but maybe he is a more positive starting point than Sean Spence and company....?

Thought I would post and try and start a discussion on the Steelers new linebacker.

[polamalubeast]

It's obvious the steelers have more options and also more confidence than they did in 2017 when they lost Shazier.

They signed no one after Bush's injury so far ... After Shazier's injury in 2017 they signed Spence immediately after and we saw why Spence was still on the streets

And even though the Browns had no tapes on him, Spillane showed some good thing in the second half against Cleveland ... We'll see how he's gonna be in the next few weeks and my two concerns are communication and coverage but I have hope he is an NFL caliber player in defense

[Shoes]

I liked Spillane from day one, but I liked Spence and Red from day one alsö. Hoping this guy will find his way with the Bush injury.

[Rotorhead]

Hoping Dupree can set the edge, that is honestly his worst issue sometimes. If he can get that done, push Henry inside, then Spillane will be fine. I am pretty sure we are going to dare Tannehill to beat us and stop the run.

[Craic]

I liked Spillane from day one, but I liked Spence and Red from day one alsö. Hoping this guy will find his way with the Bush injury.

Okay, what's with the umlauts? :chuckle:

And, there's no harm done liking Spence from day one. That knee injury most likely flattened his trajectory and thus, shortened his career.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Spillane is an all effort guy that appears to play the game well from a technique standpoint, which puts him in the right places. The reality is that he is limited as an athlete in coverage. His 4.77 and 32.5" vertical at his pro day show what kind of athlete he is, but tape shows that he appears to do the right things in zone coverage to tighten down the throwing windows. I still think the Steelers will look at somebody else in dime to be on the field.

[Shoes]

Okay, what's with the umlauts? :chuckle:

And, there's no harm done liking Spence from day one. That knee injury most likely flattened his trajectory and thus, shortened his career.

:chuckle: sorry Preach I now have a Swedish keyboard.

[Mojouw]

:chuckle: sorry Preach I now have a Swedish keyboard.

https://pics.me.me/thumb_vert-de-ferka-memegenerator-net-vert-de-ferk-the-48993647.png

[Edman]

Shazier's injury was devastating on the field as well as off it. When Shazier got injured, it was unknown if he will ever be able to walk or talk ever again. He could not be around his teammates for months.

Devin Bush is dealing with an ACL. His on-field presence will be missed, but he can still interact with his teammates and be around the coaches on the sidelines as another coach.

[EzraTank]

I still think we should be exploring an Avery Williamson trade with the Jets. He's 28 and his cap hit come off the books next year so he could be a rental for one year which would allow Bush to come back and he would be free to sign anywhere he wanted. Win win. The Jets season is over anyhow, I'm sure they would take a late round pick for him.

Yeah I know it's hard to bring a guy in mid season but if we lose another LB to injury we are toast.

[EzraTank]

First I watched some college highlights (why not?): https://youtu.be/6bcYWTAERnM



Who picks the music for these videos? Horrible.

[Mojouw]

Who picks the music for these videos? Horrible.

I know, right? I immediately mute all highlight videos.

In all seriousness, I wonder if it relates to how much it costs to license music? I fully expect some videos just use stuff without paying, but maybe some do and the music budget is not large?

[Hawkman]

I liked Spillane from day one, but I liked Spence and Red from day one alsö. Hoping this guy will find his way with the Bush injury.

I really liked Spence too. He was dealt a bad hand. That injury was pretty much a career ender for an ILB.

[polamalubeast]

1319676183257206784

[RunNGun]

The Steelers have had terrible luck in keeping their small/speedy linebackers(Shazier, Spence, Bush) healthy. I guess that's the price you pay for drafting undersized backers who can run sideline to sideline. I'm not arguing the picks, because Shazier and Bush were/are great talents, but the outcome is almost inevitable it seems.

[Iron Steeler]

looks like an arm tackler. good run defender. but man to man coverage that Bush was able to do will be lost

[Fire Goodell]

I know, right? I immediately mute all highlight videos.

In all seriousness, I wonder if it relates to how much it costs to license music? I fully expect some videos just use stuff without paying, but maybe some do and the music budget is not large?

i'm sounding like my parents more and more these days. music nowadays is trash :chuckle:

[Craic]

The Steelers have had terrible luck in keeping their small/speedy linebackers(Shazier, Spence, Bush) healthy. I guess that's the price you pay for drafting undersized backers who can run sideline to sideline. I'm not arguing the picks, because Shazier and Bush were/are great talents, but the outcome is almost inevitable it seems.

Naa, Shazier's injury had nothing to do with his size. He lowered his head into tackles. Bush and Spence both had bad knee injuries. That comes from twisting wrong, falling wrong, bad footing, so on and so forth. In all honesty, the bigger risk is not size but leg extension strength, at least according to this study (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/tsm2.172). Note, though, that study was with non-contact sports. But it does show a connection. Another study (https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A200844763/AONE?u=canyonuniv&sid=AONE&xid=b7d92853)looking at knee injuries across sports, and found most in skiing, football, basketball, and soccer. Note that only one is a contact sport. From this study, the injuries come more from loading the knee with torque while running, turning, so on and so forth. A couple of interesting gems from this article, learning better body position and focusing on strengthening hamstrings over quads are very important in cutting down such injuries

tl;dr, the issue really isn't smaller frames. It's muscle strength and bad body positioning.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Naa, Shazier's injury had nothing to do with his size. He lowered his head into tackles. Bush and Spence both had bad knee injuries. That comes from twisting wrong, falling wrong, bad footing, so on and so forth. In all honesty, the bigger risk is not size but leg extension strength, at least according to this study (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/tsm2.172). Note, though, that study was with non-contact sports. But it does show a connection. Another study (https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A200844763/AONE?u=canyonuniv&sid=AONE&xid=b7d92853)looking at knee injuries across sports, and found most in skiing, football, basketball, and soccer. Note that only one is a contact sport. From this study, the injuries come more from loading the knee with torque while running, turning, so on and so forth. A couple of interesting gems from this article, learning better body position and focusing on strengthening hamstrings over quads are very important in cutting down such injuries

tl;dr, the issue really isn't smaller frames. It's muscle strength and bad body positioning.

Agreed. Thinking the injuries to Shazier, Spence and Bush are "inevitable" due to their size is just a silly statement. Most of the NFL has shifted to smaller and faster ILB's. Also, none of those guys got hurt because they were tackling somebody bigger than them.

[Rotorhead]

Spillane had a Huge goal line stop on Henry, didn’t even notice if he came back in after, hopefully he will be fine, but he played well.

[86WARD]

Spillane had a Huge goal line stop on Henry, didn’t even notice if he came back in after, hopefully he will be fine, but he played well.

He was back in. Made a play later on.

[Rotorhead]

He was back in. Made a play later on.

Nice, didn’t notice with the craziness at the end lol

[86WARD]

Nice, didn’t notice with the craziness at the end lol

How could you? Lol.

[SteelerCountry58]

Spillane played pretty good overall. That collision with Henry was nasty. Hope his shoulder is ok.

[86WARD]

Spillane played pretty good overall. That collision with Henry was nasty. Hope his shoulder is ok.

He came back into the game.

[EzraTank]

Yes but this scare should make us realize we need to make a move and pick up a LB.

[86WARD]

I’d like to see them sure up that position but I feel like it’s just not one of those things they do until absolutely necessary...

[Fire Goodell]

that hit on henry earned him a nickname, spearlane

[Six Rings]

Spillane more than held his own. The best thing you can say is the Steelers didn't miss Bush during the Titans game. Henry would have ran over Bush, Spillane meet Henry in the hole and stopped him cold.

Looking ahead Spillane could replace Vince Williams, who has a very high 2021 cap number While Spillane isn't big or fast, he is an alert player who tackles well with fair speed. We can win with him playing in the defense.

[Mojouw]

Might want to see the kid play more than a few dozen snaps and have one good hit before we annoint him as a starter in waiting.

I'd also be hesitant to hustle the guy leading the league in tackles for loss by 3+ while playing in one less game than most other league leaders off the roster.

Let's see how Spillane does with Lamar Jackson's' otherworldly speed and Mark Andrews playmaking between the hashes before we pencil him in as an annual starter.

Kid went undrafted and got cut a few times for a reason.

[pczach]

Spillane more than held his own. The best thing you can say is the Steelers didn't miss Bush during the Titans game. Henry would have ran over Bush, Spillane meet Henry in the hole and stopped him cold.

Looking ahead Spillane could replace Vince Williams, who has a very high 2021 cap number While Spillane isn't big or fast, he is an alert player who tackles well with fair speed. We can win with him playing in the defense.




Spillane is a good fit when playing against a power run game. Against a more sophisticated offense with more coverage responsibilities, he may not fare so well.

This weeks matchup with the Ravens will be interesting. I think it's important that the edge players set the edge to contain the running game and allow Spillane to stay between the tackles and meet runners in the hole. His game is not running sideline to sideline. He is a very sturdy player that hits with bad intentions. I want to see more of him in coverage and moving laterally and through traffic to see how he maneuvers, gets off of blocks, and how he holds up in space. I just don't think we've seen enough for a definitive read on what he's capable of, but he certainly has the toughness and attitude that you are looking for.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Spillane is a good fit when playing against a power run game. Against a more sophisticated offense with more coverage responsibilities, he may not fare so well.

This weeks matchup with the Ravens will be interesting. I think it's important that the edge players set the edge to contain the running game and allow Spillane to stay between the tackles and meet runners in the hole. His game is not running sideline to sideline. He is a very sturdy player that hits with bad intentions. I want to see more of him in coverage and moving laterally and through traffic to see how he maneuvers, gets off of blocks, and how he holds up in space. I just don't think we've seen enough for a definitive read on what he's capable of, but he certainly has the toughness and attitude that you are looking for.

This is the tough part. If neither Spillane nor Williams can get off their blocks and get to the edges to make plays in the run game, then outside zone runs with the likes of Dobbins can hurt them. Then it sets up play action or read option with Jackson. IMO, not having the athletic ILB like Bush can really put Steelers run defense at a disadvantage.