A big part of the formula for the Steelers defense to take a dramatic step forward, especially against the run, is Devin Bush having a bounce back year.
And by all indications, he was having a great offseason to work his way back to form and prove last season was more about him not being fully recovered from knee surgery than anything else. There were videos of him working out, teammates talking about how he looks like he is back and coaches praising his work ethic and focus.
It all added up to the best sports cliches available: “He is in the best shape of his career” followed by “He is ready to take that next step as a player!”
I’ve been covering sports for almost 30 years now, and if I had a dollar for every player who was billed to be in “the best shape of his career” in the preseason and it didn’t translate to some magical season on the field, I would be retired and living in some tropical paradise.
Forgive me, then, if I was very skeptical about it all. I was at least willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was indeed coming off major surgery last year, so he was never fully healthy.
This year, though, there are no more excuses.
This year has to be put up or shut up for Bush, and there is no more room for him to not get it done on game day. Bush is an extremely athletic player and when he actually gets to the place he is supposed to be to make a tackle he, at times, can really bring the heat.
But he has a consistency problem. He takes too many plays off and he misses too many tackles for a guy who was billed as an elite linebacker coming out of college. Bush has been serviceable and at times even more than serviceable, but that isn’t good enough. The Steelers moved up 10 spots in the draft and needed to trade a second- and third-round pick in order to pick Bush.
So with all due respect to Bush, serviceable is not nearly good enough for what he is expected to be. The Steelers traded those picks and moved up because they thought they were getting a difference maker and a guy capable of being an anchor on the defense.
That brings me back to this being the season that he rises from the ashes and proves everyone wrong ... you know, the “best shape of his life” stuff. The first indication that not everyone in the Steelers front office and coaching staff was buying the story line was when they didn’t pick up his fifth-year option. It was essentially their message to him that he needs to prove it before they give him the big dollars he will want in free agency after this season.
Then training camp began and it hasn’t started off very well for Bush, regardless of how many times coaches and teammates try and convince us that he is really playing well. He isn’t, or at least he isn’t playing to their standard — and this isn’t my opinion, it is clearly theirs.
The first indication of this came a few weeks ago, when the first official depth chart was released and at Bush’s inside linebacker spot the starter was listed as “Devin Bush OR Robert Spillane.”
That was a very loud and clear message from the coaches to Bush that he needed to get his act in gear and start playing better. And really, it is a very bad sign that this deep into training camp he is still battling with Spillane for his starting job.
This is in no way critical of Spillane because he has been a very solid player for the Steelers since he was promoted to the active roster.
The fact remains, though, that Spillane was an undrafted free agent, signed off the waiver wire and has some clear limitations to his game. Spillane is a hard worker and he is really good against the run, but he isn’t great in coverage and got exposed a few times Saturday night in the Steelers’ preseason game against Seattle. There were at least three plays where the Seahawks completed passes that Spillane was not in position to defend.
Spillane is a one-dimensional, situational linebacker and more than serviceable, and that’s what you want out of players you find on the waiver wire. He shouldn’t, however, be neck and neck with Bush — a guy who is entering his fourth year and was drafted in the first 10 picks of his draft — for a starting job.
Saturday against the Seahawks was Bush’s first opportunity to show everyone that he was indeed coming back with a vengeance.
In fact, the lasting impression of Bush from Saturday will be this terrible missed tackle of Seahawks running back Travis Homer. It should have been a 3-yard run; instead, because of Bush’s tackling efforts — or lack thereof — it turned into a 16-yard gain. And that was the kind of play we have seen way too many times from Bush in his time here and the kind of play that will put him on the sidelines during games and then out the door at the end of the season.
The real games haven’t started yet, so I am willing to keep an open mind. But, boy, games like Saturday — in which Bush recorded zero tackles — don’t exactly instill confidence. This has to be put up or shut up for Bush, and the Steelers need him to be a star. Time is running out.
