More chatter from the coaching staff:
Coach Mike Tomlin on a Ryan Shazier comparable:
"Lawrence Timmons in a lot of ways. We drafted Lawrence seven, eight years ago, Lawrence was a 220-something pound linebacker who was adept at running and hitting. I think you can say the same thing about this young man."
Tomlin on Timmons switching positions (from 'Mack' to 'Buck') to make room for Shazier:
"Lawrence showed his versatility a year ago after we lost Larry Foote. We're very comfortable with being able to move Lawrence around to accommodate whoever he's working with. I think he's earned that and proven that over the course of his career. It's about getting the very best players on the field. Make no mistake, Lawrence Timmons is going to be on the field."
Assistant head coach/defensive line coach John Mitchell on a Stephon Tuitt comparable:
"I think he's a young Aaron Smith, probably a little better speed. From the lower body down he's strong. He can run. He has long arms. He can knock down a lot of passes. This guy in shape in the right frame of mind is a heck of a football player."
Linebackers coach Keith Butler on Troy Polamalu playing linebacker in sub-packages last season:
"We were playing Troy on second down in that situation, too. I think (drafting Shazier and Tuitt) will take a little pressure off him, and maybe on third down we'll have a new package for everybody. We have some ideas."
Defensive backs coach Carnell Lake on not getting a cornerback until the fifth round of the draft:
"I wish we could address all of our holes in the first round, but we just can't. Kevin Colbert, our general manager, and Mike Tomlin have assembled a really good group of coaches and scouts to assemble a list, kind of a Christmas list of what we want in the draft. Those things come off the board how they come off. We just have to really go out and get what we can. I think we addressed a need based on what was available to us on the 15th (overall) pick with Shazier. If you look at it, Shazier might be the fastest on the field when we open up. Shamarko Thomas and Antwon Blake and Shazier, you'd have to line those three up to figure out who's going to be the fastest. Mike Mitchell can run, too."
John Mitchell on the importance of run defense:
"I learned a long time ago if you don't stop the run, hey, that quarterback can get the ball and just hand it back to the (running) back. That's the most demoralizing feeling you can have when you need to stop somebody and you can't stop them."
