Pittsburgh Steelers: Final Report Card for 2013 Season

Defensive Line: Cameron Heyward emerged this season and was outstanding. Every week it seemed he was getting better and making big plays along the way. At the other defensive end, Brett Keisel battled a foot injury, but turned in a decent season, which could be his last in a Steelers’ uniform.

Jun 11, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons (94) gestures during drills in minicamp at the UPMC Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

However, the Steelers ranked just 21st in the NFL against the run and a big reason for that was nose tackle Steve McLendon, who had a very disappointing season overall. The first-year starter did some nice things along the way, but routinely did not win the point of attack and was blown off the ball often. When one blocker can consistently take care of McLendon, teams will average 115.6 yards on the ground against this team.

Things did get better by the end of the year, but the Steelers will have to look to upgrade up front in the offseason. Grade: C

Linebackers: For a change the Steelers linebackers were less than spectacular this season. Injuries played a big role as Larry Foote was lost in the opener and the likes of LaMarr Woodley, Jason Worilds and Jarvis Jones all missed games along the way.

Lawrence Timmons was outstanding all year long finishing the year with 126 total stops. He ended up being joined on the inside by rookie Vince Williams, who came on by the end of the season. Williams was often on the sidelines a lot as the Steelers played a ton of nickel, but when he was on the field the rookie turned into a bit of a surprise. It will be interesting to see what becomes of him with more reps.

On the outside the team primarily used three guys in Woodley, Worilds and Jones. Woodley underwhelmed once again and had his season cut short by injury. Jones’ rookie season also has to be viewed as a disappointment, even though he looked good the final week of the season.

The surprise of the group was Worilds, who came into the season as almost an afterthought after the team selected Jones in the first round. Once Woodley went down with an injury though, Jones took off as a pass rusher from the right side. It will be interesting to see if the Steelers can retain Worilds and what they decide to do with Woodley in the offseason.

Individually though, the only linebackers to earn over a B grade would be Timmons and Worilds, so it was a disappointing year for the group as a whole. Grade: C+