Steelers Report Card: Grading Pittsburgh’s defense for the first quarter of 2018 As I’ve stated all along Womens James Conner Jersey , I’m not a football coach or a teacher, but I play one in blogs and podcasts. Each week of the 2018 exhibition and regular season, I’ve graded the efforts of the Black-and-gold via “the eye test”. Grading games is an extremely difficult and somewhat thankless task. While the coaches’ grades, of course, are what count the most, the media and fans can’t help but evaluate as well. So you, the reader, get to vote as well. You even get to grade the grader in the comments section.So let’s take a look at BTSC’s perceptions of the season’s first quarter defense:DefenseThe Steelers’ defense is ranked 30th in the league in total yarda allowed and 26th with a 29-points per game (ppg) average through four contests. This unit is 29th against the pass and tied for 22nd against the run. It may be the worst start on defense ever.Despite the first half explosion against Tampa in Week 3, Keith Butler’s crew has imploded in a blaze of mediocrity. Mediocrity is actually too kind. n available, the organization never fully found a way to recover from the loss of Ryan Shazier to the lineup. But the scheme is terrible and outdated. It starts with starting from scratch on paper. It also starts with a new coordinator and Mike Tomlin excusing himself from coaching the defense as well.The defensive line seemed like it was going to be the strength of the unit. But the lack of pressure up front is giving quarterbacks plenty of time to pick apart the secondary. With pressure against Tampa, the defense looked a lot better. However the scheme is not allowing these guys the leeway to rush and also keeping a healthy Cam Heyward on the sidelines in favor of Tyson Alualu in a lot of situations is poor use of personnel. The Steelers have only four sacks from the defensive line, Stephon Tuitt has zero.T.J. Watt exploded out of the gate in Week One with three sacks, but has been virtually nonexistent since. Bud Dupree has three as well and a pick six T. J. Watt Jersey , but he still has a tendency to overrun the quarterback. Vince Williams, who is now injured, has been stable with 29 tackles. But the most consistent play from the linebacking unit has been from the newcomer, Jon Bostic, with 30 tackles and two sacks. Still the middle of the field has been a feeding frenzy for QBs and TEs.The secondary is still an absolute mess. I’m not even sure of the solution. The positives have been CB Joe Haden, Mike Hilton and S Sean Davis. Though not perfect so far, these guys have performed the best for Tom Bradley’s unit. Had Haden been available against KC and Hilton against Bmore, the secondary could have fared better. Morgan Burnett’s absence has led to more Terrell Edmunds, who has struggled as a rookie. Artie Burns, Coty Sensabaugh and Cam Sutton are overmatched on the corners as well. The secondary has only three interceptions all season. I don’t have any answers, but by the looks of the scheming...neither do the coaches.Defensive Valedictorian: Joe Haden and Jon Bostic Overall Offense Grade: D- PITTSBURGH (AP) — At least one portion of Ryan Shazier’s daily routine hasn’t changed much from the previous time the Pittsburgh Steelers were preparing to face Cincinnati, even if the rest of the injured linebacker’s life is hardly the same.Shazier still makes his way to the club’s practice facility around 7 a.m. most days. Any teammate willing to drop by Shazier’s usual spot can feel free to pull out a notebook and start jotting Shazier’s thoughts while he serves as both peer and professor.“He’s just trying to find little nitpick things,” Pittsburgh rookie safety Terrell Edmunds said.It is Shazier’s way of staying connected to the game even as he continues his long and inspiring recovery from that frightening moment last December when the Pro Bowler lowered his helmet to hit Bengals wide receiver Josh Malone late in the first quarter Jerome Bettis Jersey White , a play that ended with Shazier clutching his lower back in agony while players knelt around him in prayer and Paul Brown Stadium feel eerily silent.Ten months later, the sight of Shazier being taken off the field on a stretcher before being placed in an ambulance remains fresh as the Steelers (2-2-1) brace themselves for their annual visit to Cincinnati (4-1) on Sunday.“It was just a really weird feeling after that happened,” Pittsburgh linebacker L.J. Fort said. “You’d make a good play but nobody was really jumping around or was excited or anything like that, so it was really sobering moment and brought to the forefront that football is not the most important thing in life.”Playing amid a mixture of fear for their friend and uncertainty over Shazier’s status, the Steelers rallied for a 23-20 victory .Asked how they managed to recover emotionally in time to put together a stirring rally, they’re still not sure. In the immediate aftermath of Shazier’s injury there was only chaos and confusion.Outside linebacker Bud Dupree admitted he and inside linebacker Vince Williams — two of Shazier’s closest friends on the team — were under the impression Shazier had been blindsided by a member of the Bengals. The two spent the rest of the first half looking for revenge.“We were just walking around trying (to hit) the first person we see,” Dupree said. “We weren’t worried about football. We wanted to take up for our brother.”In the end, it’s Shazier who has taken up for his teammates.Though the 26-year-old remains open to the possibility of playing again — he’s able to get around the practice field without assistance these days and his practice clothes remain hanging in his locker much as they have been before he got hurt — he’s intent on helping in other ways.His mere presence provides an emotional lift, but Shazier is intent on being something far beyond an avatar for inspiration. He’s become a go-between of sorts between the coaching staff and the defense. He can cut through the clutter and deliver some “real talk” when necessary.During last Sunday’s 41-17 romp over Atlanta, Shazier sat on the bench with a tablet in hand. After every series the inside linebackers would crowd around him looking for instruction and insight. Shazier would offer words of encouragement when necessary or tips on how to avoid mistakes.“Since he’s not playing, his mental part of the game is so great,” Dupree said. “He shares a lot of stuff with us. He lets us know stuff ahead of time before the coaches even tell us. We already know it. It keeps us on our toes.”And it keeps Shazier engaged. There remains no timetable for when he will make a decision on whether returning to play is feasible. There’s so much going on in his life — from his physical recovery to his new role with the team to becoming a father for a second time — it hardly matters.Football remains an integral part of his plan no matter how his physical recovery goes. When asked if he believes Shazier could become an effective coach whenever his playing career ends, linebacker Tyler Matakevich nods enthusiastically.“You look at him James Conner Jersey White , what he’s been through, how he’s handled it combined with his love for the game and his mind for the game, it’s amazing,” Matakevich said. “It hasn’t changed him. He’s been the same guy since the day I got here.”And in a way, Pittsburgh is counting on it. Shazier will be back on the turf in Cincinnati with the rest of the team on Sunday afternoon as the Steelers look for their first winning streak of the season. When the defense runs onto the field, he’ll linger behind, a feeling that will probably never truly feel normal.Yet if this is the best way for him to contribute, he’ll take it. So will the teammates who have come to rely on him in so many ways.“The only time he really doesn’t come is when he’s tired from rehab,” Dupree said. “You see him on the sideline. He’s active at practice. In the meetings. Never sleeping. Attacking every day like he’s still here.”NOTES: S Morgan Burnett (groin), LB L.J. Fort (ankle) and WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. … LB Vince Williams (hamstring) and Edmunds (calf) were full participants.