Farrior likes what Butler brings to 'D'

Farrior likes what Butler brings to 'D'

Teresa Varley
Steelers.com



Former LB James Farrior thinks the Steelers defensive will be aggressive under Keith Butler.

Former Steelers linebacker James Farrior was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and All-Pro (2004, 2008) under Keith Butler when he was the team’s linebackers coach. Now that Butler is the team's defensive coordinator, Farrior is among those excited about what he is going to bring to the defense.

“He is an aggressive coach,” said Farrior. “Some coaches lay back and let athletes make plays. He is an aggressive coach and they will have some exciting things going on this year.”

Farrior doesn’t anticipate any type of major overhaul on the defense, but definitely thinks that Butler will put his own twist on things.

“I think it’s going to be similar,” said Farrior. “He coached under Dick LeBeau and being around him and the system. It will be similar, but he will add a little spice to it.

to read rest of article:

http://www.steelers.com/assets/images/imported/PIT/photos/2015-Photos/2015_Centerpiece_Misc/03_March/Farrior_Butler_CPa.jpg

Can't hate on farrior, speaking of which I wonder if he's going to become a coach eventually, he always seemed like the type of player that would be good at that role

Steelers DC Keith Butler Still Silent Since Promotion

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/05/steelers-dc-keith-butler-still-silent-since-promotion/ …

Just keep drafting speed, fast and aggressive defense play is what I like. Big enough in the front to stop the run and everyone else fast as all get out.

Steelers Average Age Of Projected Starting Defense Is 26

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/05/steelers-average-age-of-projected-starting-defense-is-26/

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

Steelers Average Age Of Projected Starting Defense Is 26

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/05/steelers-average-age-of-projected-starting-defense-is-26/

Yeah, but Warren Sapp will still call them "old, slow, and it's over" while eating himself into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's fattest blowhard.

Buddha Bus wrote:

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

Steelers Average Age Of Projected Starting Defense Is 26

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/05/steelers-average-age-of-projected-starting-defense-is-26/

Yeah, but Warren Sapp will still call them "old, slow, and it's over" while eating himself into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's fattest blowhard.

Warren Sapp can speak and eat all he wants, but it won't be on network television.

Alex Kozora @Alex_Kozora -

The Steelers finished 25th in TFL through 2014. That must change in 2015. My brief study. #Steelers

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/05/steelers-rush-defense-must-improve-tfls-in-2015-2/ …

Quote :

“He is an aggressive coach,” said Farrior. “Some coaches lay back and let athletes make plays. He is an aggressive coach and they will have some exciting things going on this year.”

Ike Taylor: “Keith Butler Has A Good Gameplan”-

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/06/ike-taylor-keith-butler-has-a-good-gameplan/ …

Ike Taylor:Steelers defense could be top five

http://www.nfl.com/videos/pittsburgh...ld-be-top-five

Alex Kozora retweeted
Chris Adamski ‏@C_AdamskiTrib -

Steelers d-coordinator Keith Butler will call games from the sidelines.
"I am not about to go upstairs. I did that one time, and I hated it"

https://twitter.com/Alex_Kozora

This defense hasn't done shite all year. Fire Butler!

stlrtruck wrote:

This defense hasn't done shite all year.  Fire Butler!

The stats back you up Truck: 0 sacks, 0 turnovers, 0 tackles in over 5 months.

FROM THE COACH'S MOUTH: STEELERS DEFENSE

Jun 12, 2015
Jim Wexell
Publisher SteelCityInsider.net



PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coaches were in the interview spotlight following the final OTA of the spring. Finding the coaches with small groups of reporters, and with as few web cams as possible, was my goal and eventually I did garner a one-on-one with ILB coach Jerry Olsavsky. That interview will run tomorrow, but in the meantime here are some of the top comments made by the other defensive coaches:

Keith Butler, coordinator -

(On being promoted to coordinator:) "I’ve known Coach Tomlin for a long time. We coached together for a while. We coached together when he was a G.A. at Memphis, and he was my secondary coach at Arkansas State. I’ve been wanting to coach for him for a while, and I appreciate the opportunity."

(On waiting patiently behind Dick LeBeau:) "I've always thought this place gave me the best chance to win a Super Bowl as a coordinator. That’s one of the reasons I always stayed. The other reason is that Coach Tomlin is a great guy to work for."

(On potential changes:) "There will be some things that are different, yes. There are some things we did well last year. We have to try to marry two things, the things that we did well last year and maybe some things we haven’t done before here. We are going to try to do those."

(What are those things?) "I'll let the Patriots* figure that out."

(On measuring progress:) "The best thing for us right now is we are practicing against one of the premiere offenses in the league, so going against them every day is only going to make us better. If I can see us getting better against those guys, then I feel pretty good about where we could be as a defense."

(On his location during games:) "I’ve seen the game from the field all my life. I am not about to go upstairs. I did that one time, and I hated it. I really did as a coach. We were playing Cincinnati one time when I coached for Cleveland and Dwayne Rudd was my linebacker, and he took off his helmet after he made a big play on fourth down. It was a fourth-down stop. He took off his helmet. They called a penalty, and they went down and kicked a field goal to beat us. And I couldn’t dive after him [laughs]. That’s why I was saying I don’t want to sit upstairs."

Joey Porter, outside linebackers

(On any changes with Butler:) "You’re going to add wrinkles here and there, which is going to make our defense that much better, but it’s the same defense we’ve been running. If it ain't broke, why fix it? It's been a good defense for a long time and it will continue to be a good defense. We've got a good coordinator who understands the game. He’s been in this defense a long time, too, so he knows how to run it."

(On whether this scheme still produces pressure after all these years:) "It's not the defense. The defense has been proven over years that it works. We've just got to get the guys to go out there and execute the defense and play at a high level."

Carnell Lake, defensive backs

(On Cortez Allen's progress:) "He’s diligent at it. He's very conscious and is really trying hard out here to take another step forward in his career. I think for Tez, the proof will be in the pudding when the live bullets start to get fired in preseason games. I'm looking for him to step up. We need Tez to not only improve upon last year, but -- this is a fifth-year corner and we've got some younger corners behind him -- to take a leadership role as well."

to read rest of article:

http://www.scout.com/nfl/steelers/story/1554549-from-the-coach-s-mouth-defense

How the Steelers plan to become a feared defense once again

Jeremy Fowler, ESPN Senior NFL Writer

PITTSBURGH -- For a moment, let's forget about the ability of the Pittsburgh Steelers secondary or whether young draft picks will pan out.

None of that matters if the Steelers' retooled defense can do two things.

Stop the run, get the fear factor back.

The great Steelers defenses could shake the mental toughness of a quarterback by placing him in third-and-longs, then driving shoulders into the chest of that quarterback.

Steelers defense usually at its best when it stops the run.

YEAR YPC ALLOWED RANK RECORD
2014 4.4 T-25 11-5
2013 4.3 21st 8-8
2012 3.7 4th 8-8
2011 4.0 9th 12-4
2010 3.0 1st 12-4

Four NFL seasons is enough for defensive end Cam Heyward to know run-stopping is the best way for the Steelers to get back to that.

"When you look back at the top defenses, here at least, it's all made on stopping the run," Heyward said. "I remember 2010, I had read something about the Steelers and they were talking about they had the best defense ever, and they stopped the run. They got after the quarterback and got interceptions. That didn't really didn't start until you had the front line creating havoc."

That 2010 team made the Super Bowl behind the league's best rushing defense that gave up an insane 3.0 yards per game. The year before, the Steelers finished ninth in the league in rushing yards allowed per attempt, and went 12-4.

Somehow, the 2012 team lost eight games despite allowing 3.7 yards per attempt. Last year's Steelers were tied for 25th in rushing defense and still won 11 games because the offense was so good. The Steelers ranked in the league's bottom third in interceptions and sacks, which is very un-Steelers like.

The way to fix that is clear-cut, safety Shamarko Thomas said.

"Like coach (Mike Tomlin) told us this morning, run stop and just hit," Thomas said. "The big dudes run around fast and the little dudes lay the lick. That's the big thing."

Heyward isn't expecting a defensive overhaul under new coordinator Keith Butler, a long-time member of Tomlin's staff, but he believes Butler will promote more one-on-one matchups for all 11 players. Also, Thomas said he expects more run-hitting opportunities for defensive backs.

to read rest of article:

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/84886/how-the-steelers-plan-to-become-a-feared-defense-once-again

Heyward Talks Changes Under Keith Butler

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/06/he ... th-butler/ …

Keith Butler’s Defensive Changes Will Hopefully Include Wade Phillips-Like Aggressiveness

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/06/keith-butlers-defensive-changes-will-hopefully-include-wade-phillips-like-aggressiveness/

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

Keith Butler’s Defensive Changes Will Hopefully Include Wade Phillips-Like Aggressiveness

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/06/keith-butlers-defensive-changes-will-hopefully-include-wade-phillips-like-aggressiveness/

The real story isn't if Butler can become more like Wade Phillips just because someone watched Phillips' instructional video and was impressed. And it's not a case that LeBeau "lacked overall aggressiveness" as Bryan suggests ... that's so far from the truth it's really a joke.  LeBeau was retooling a defense that was incapable of stopping the pass, sacking the QB, failed to produce turnovers, and often unable to stop the run. LeBeau called a defense that minimized the opportunities of the offense in hopes the Steelers offense would outscore them. Acting aggressive would have made this defense during those few years look even worse. LeBeau was trying to win with the crappy hand he was dealt. So the idea the Steelers defense was lousy because of the lack of aggressiveness is flat out wrong.

And screw Wade Phillips. He had DeMarcus Ware in Dallas and their defense still sucked. He had JJ Watt in Houston and outside of Watt, they didn't look all that great when the Steelers rolled them in the second half of their meeting last year.

I don't want Butler to try to mimic Phillips. The story here is that Butler is going to run his own defense based on the talent he has to work with (just like LeBeau). I think the talent on the Steelers defense will be better than it has the last 3 seasons, not because of the rookies they brought in but because of the rookies over the past 3 years that are starting to get it. Heyward will be better than he was last year. McLendon is healthy and if he has issues, McCullers will be a better backup. Tuitt will be better than he was last year and certainly is better than Cam Thomas. Jarvis Jones, barring injury, should produce more than he has the past 2 years. Shazier, Williams, Spense will play that ILB spot better than the past 2 years. Cortez Allen and Shamarko Thomas are big question marks, but it's not like Allen is going to get worse and Thomas doesn't have to do a ton to be better than Troy in his last year.

I totally expect Butler to be able to call more aggressive plays than LeBeau was afforded the past few seasons. It won't be cause he listened to Phillips instructional video or because LeBeau turned chick shit at the end of his tenure. This defense is ready to turn a corner and Butler, a very good coach, will profit from it.

All ranting aside, I do respect Philips. But hoping Butler becomes more like Phillips is like me watching video of the 1994 Rangers win the Stanley Cup and thinking that Sidney Crosby should play more like Mark Messier.