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Keith Butler expects improvement from Steelers defense, Devin Bush | TribLIVE.com
Steelers/NFL

Keith Butler expects improvement from Steelers defense, Devin Bush

Joe Rutter
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Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review
The Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick and Devin Bush run into each other as the Lions’ Godwin Igwebuike runs for a third-quarter touchdown on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021 at Heinz Field.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers gave up a franchise-record 610 yards to the New England Patriots in 2013, Keith Butler observed that 55-31 beating in his role as linebackers coach.

It was just as painful to watch Sunday night when the Los Angeles Chargers put up 533 yards — the most against the Steelers since that game eight years ago — in a 41-37 shootout that sent the Steelers to their first defeat in five games.

This time, as defensive coordinator, Butler was in charge of a unit that was missing three starters from the previous week and five counting the extended absences of defensive linemen Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu.

“When you lose a game like that, the first thing I look at is what could I have done better?” Butler said Thursday. “All of our coaches are like that. We can do what we can do to help our guys.”

Like all coaches, though, Butler is at the mercy of the players he puts on the field. And he was without All-Pro pass-rusher T.J. Watt, All-Pro free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and former Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert picked apart the makeshift defense, passing for 382 yards and three touchdowns. Herbert also rushed for a team-high 90 yards, and Austin Ekeler had 115 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns.

“When you give up 41 points, you say what could I have done different? It would be stupid for me to say I wouldn’t have done anything different,” Butler said. “It’s too many points.”

The cavalry might not be coming Sunday when the Steelers play the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium, but Butler knows he will get one of his star defensive players back. Fitzpatrick was activated Thursday from the reserve-covid list.

“I’m happy about it, I’ll tell you right now,” he said. “I’m real happy about that. The possibility of getting the others guys back too always helps. … They are used to playing with each other. It would be better for us, no doubt.”

The Chargers provided a blueprint for how a quarterback with some mobility can contend with the Steelers’ four-man rush. Herbert scrambled six times for 93 yards. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow doesn’t run as frequently or successfully, but he has carried 24 times this season.

“You have to be able to communicate with what guys are going to do,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “You have to rush with your heads up. You can’t just bury your head. You have to use extension to get off blocks. We have to have some push up the middle a little more. If we get more pressure up the middle, there’s not that big of a wide lane.”

The Steelers are facing the Bengals on the heels of allowing their two highest rushing totals of the season, dropping them to No. 26 in the league rankings. A week before the Chargers got 159 yards on the ground, the winless Detroit Lions put up 229, including 130 from D’Andre Swift.

The challenge this week is stopping Joe Mixon, who is fourth in the NFL with 759 yards rushing and had 90 against the Steelers in Week 3 when the Bengals left Heinz Field with a 24-10 victory.

Perhaps no Steelers defensive player will be tested more than inside linebacker Devin Bush, who has struggled in coverage and defending the run this season. Butler indicated the former top-10 pick needs to get a better grasp of the overall defensive scheme in his third NFL season.

“Playing linebacker is knowing the front and knowing the coverage,” Butler said. “It’s a little bit more than just knowing the front, and it’s a little bit more than knowing the secondary. You’ve got to know both. For him to play as much as he has, he’s got to learn more and more as time goes along for him. The more he knows, the quicker he’s going to react, the more confident he is, the quicker he’s going to be.”

Bush is 13 months removed from undergoing ACL surgery, and that could be affecting his speed and lateral movement.

“I don’t know if it’s the knee or not,” Butler said. “Sometimes it takes a little longer for the knee to come around. Only he knows that. I don’t know how he feels making cuts like that. You’ve got to be able to cut, you’ve got to be able to run. You’ve got to be able to run backwards. You’ve got to be able to run forward, run side-to-side. He does everything a linebacker has to do in order to do those things.

“But if you’re not right or the knee is not right, you can’t do it as well as he needs to do it. Sometimes he’s lost his leverage in terms of who he is covering.”

Butler implied Bush’s approach and technique also are lacking.

“Do you want him tackling? Yes, you want him tackling,” he said. “You want him wrap tackling, you want a good wrap tackler. He’s got to run to the ball and get both hands on the ball carrier in practice all the time. He’s got to daggum run to the ball like the rest of them do.

“We demand that from the rest of them, and he’s got to do the same thing. If he does, hopefully he’ll be better.”

Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.

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Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL
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