How LaMarr Woodley Screwed Up The Steelers

The title might be a bit misleading, as LaMarr Woodley did a lot of good for the Steelers too. However, this article is mainly focused on how the 2015 Steelers are still recovering from the downfall of one player.

LaMarr Woodley came into the league as a 2nd round draft pick in 2007 and almost instantly caught fire with the Steelers defense. Sliding over from his DE position at the University of Michigan to OLB, Woodley combined with James Harrison as a formidable pass rushing duo coming off the edge.

Woodley would appear in 13 games his rookie year, but with no starts. That would change in 2008, his 2nd season in the league, where Woodley would then start in all 15 games he dressed for. In 2009 and 2010, he would start in all 16 games, with 2010 being the year the Steelers last appeared in the Super Bowl.

Looking back at that Super Bowl roster, it was evident the team would have to make plans for the future. For years the defensive line was anchored by perennial Pro Bowlers such as Aaron Smith and Casey Hampton. 2010 became the middle year of Smith’s decline, in particular, as he only only appeared in 6 games — the most of his 3 year injury stretch (Smith would appear in 5 games in 2009 and then 4 games in 2011 before retiring from football.)

The team invested a first round draft pick in 2009 on Evander Hood, to add depth and get a potential replacement in the rotation for Smith, who had been playing in the league for 10 years. Similar moves were made earlier this decade with drafting Jason Worilds, Alameda Ta’amu, Keenan Lewis, Cortez Allen and others.

The youth movement was planned for, but there must always be room for error when dealing with the uncertainty of how drafted players will pan out. This is where I feel Woodley was the component the Steelers couldn’t get wrong. With their focus on other positions, Woodley was meant to be the standard bearer for years to come.

And that’s certainly how the Steelers treated him before the start of the 2011 season...


Read More: http://www.steelcityunderground.com/2015/08/21/how-lamarr-woodley-screwed-up-the-steelers/

It was not as clear cut as a running back blowing out his knee on a play, but IMO Woodley's career turned when he injured his hamstring in the 2011 game against New England at Heinz (which the Steelers won with one of the last shutdown performances by the LeBeau defense).

Woodley had been terrorizing Brady and there was talk of Woodley as defensive player of the year. After that injury he was ineffective for the rest of 2011, got fat, and soon was gone.

Atlanta Dan wrote:

It was not as clear cut as a running back blowing out his knee on a play, but IMO Woodley's career turned when he injured his hamstring in the 2011 game against New England at Heinz (which the Steelers won with one of the last shutdown performances by the LeBeau defense).

Woodley had been terrorizing Brady and there was talk of Woodley as defensive player of the year.  After that injury he was ineffective for the rest of 2011, got fat, and soon was gone.

Yeah, it wasn't his fault, and it was truly unexpected and unplanned for by the Steelers front office.

Willie colon has been perfectly healthy since signing with the Jets. Both were some bad dead money to deal with and had us spending high picks on players we never expected to need when they signed their big deals.

SteelCityUnderground wrote:

Atlanta Dan wrote:

It was not as clear cut as a running back blowing out his knee on a play, but IMO Woodley's career turned when he injured his hamstring in the 2011 game against New England at Heinz (which the Steelers won with one of the last shutdown performances by the LeBeau defense).

Woodley had been terrorizing Brady and there was talk of Woodley as defensive player of the year.  After that injury he was ineffective for the rest of 2011, got fat, and soon was gone.

Yeah, it wasn't his fault, and it was truly unexpected and unplanned for by the Steelers front office.

But he did put on a lot of weight and seemed to get softer. Became a fat cat mentally too.