Dec 29, 2015 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – The Steelers expected first-year defensive coordinator Keith Butler to figure out ways to increase pressure on opposing passers and produce more sacks.

After back-to-back years in which the Steelers barely topped 30 sacks with Dick LeBeau’s 3-4 zone blitz scheme, Butler was tasked with finding ways to better take advantage of a front seven that includes six players who were selected in the first or second round of the draft.

Butler has found ways to increase the sack totals, but it hasn’t come from the usual sources. Defensive end Cameron Heyward leads the Steelers (9-6) with seven of their 41 sacks – Pittsburgh’s most since having 48 in 2010 – the outside linebackers, who have often been the cogs in the pass rush, have been largely ineffective at pressuring quarterbacks.

Jarvis Jones, James Harrison, Bud Dupree and Arthur Moats have combined for 14 sacks heading into Pittsburgh’s final regular-season game Sunday at Cleveland (3-12).

Barring a big day by one of those four, this season will mark the first time since 2004 that an outside linebacker has not led or tied for the team lead in sacks. And that season, current outside linebackers coach Joey Porter finished one behind defensive end Aaron Smith’s team-best eight sacks.

The lack of a pass rush by the Steelers was apparent Sunday in a 20-17 upset loss at Baltimore. The Steelers had just one sack, that on a blitz by slot cornerback Brandon Boykin.

In the Steelers’ nickel defense, Heyward and defensive end Stephon Tuitt often line up inside with outside linebackers on the outside as de facto defensive ends, giving Pittsburgh a four-man rush.

“I thought our four-man rush was not up to snuff,” head coach Mike Tomlin said.

The Steelers rarely rushed more than four players against Baltimore quarterback Ryan Mallet, who was making his first start after signing with the Ravens two weeks earlier, choosing instead to attempt to play zone coverage.

And because the Steelers four pass rushers rarely pressured Mallet, he picked the Steelers apart underneath the zone defense as 37 of his 41 pass attempts traveled less than 15 yards in the air. Mallet threw for a career-high 274 yards and was not intercepted. Baltimore was 9 of 18 on third-down conversions, helping the Ravens to a nearly 10-minute advantage in time of possession.

“It wasn’t good enough and it needs to be good enough,” Tomlin said of the pass rush. “Yes, we could have potentially blitzed more, but blitzing isn’t always the answer. We have to be the group that’s capable of blitzing effectively. We also have to be a group that’s capable of rushing the passer with four men effectively.”

That didn’t happen and it left the Steelers’ secondary, which is ranked 3oth in the NFL against the pass, exposed.

“I think that pressure creates an environment that produces splash (plays) for us, whether it’s negative plays for the offense or turnovers,” Tomlin said.

With so many high draft picks in the front seven, that should be a strength. Jones and Dupree, the Steelers’ top picks in two of the past three seasons, have been disappointments.

Working in a rotation with Harrison and Moats, Jones has two sacks and Dupree four, though none since a Nov. 1 loss to Cincinnati. Two of Dupree’s sacks came after the quarterback had fallen down.

Outside of a three-sack game against Indianapolis Dec. 6 by Harrison, the Steelers have had precious little pass rush from their outside linebackers.

The lack of a pass rush against the Ravens irked Heyward, in particular, though he chose to look in the mirror rather than point the blame elsewhere.

“The coaches prepared us. That was not the problem,” said Heyward. “We didn’t do our jobs. We didn’t execute well enough. I can’t look at anyone else except myself.”

He might want to look around at some other players.

“We have to be able to rush and rush with four,” said Tomlin.

The Steelers’ scenario to reach the playoffs is simple: They must beat Cleveland Sunday and the New York Jets must lose at Buffalo. … Cornerback Antwon Blake (back) and safety Mike Mitchell (shoulder) will be limited in practice. … The Steelers signed safety Ross Ventrone, a Chartiers Valley graduate, back to their practice squad to replace linebacker L.J. Fort, who was signed to replace fullback Roosevelt Nix. Nix was placed on injured reserve Monday and will have surgery to repair a fracture in his right foot.