The Pittsburgh Steelers defense put together a dominating performance in Monday Night Football's victory over the Indianapolis Colts. The group is mostly healthy now, as TJ Watt is back in the lineup. His impact can't be overstated, as shown in the Week 12 win. The team improved to 4-7, as they will likely have to win out in order to have a shot at the postseason.
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In the middle of the defense, the inside linebacker room has been a revolving door this season. Devin Bush seemed to be having a breakout season for the first few weeks, but that talk has slowed down. Robert Spillane was immense in Week 10, but he followed that up with a poor performance in Week 11. Myles Jack has been a solid signing, but he's been banged up a ton this season.
In his weekly press conference on Tuesday, a reporter pointed out that Bush has been seeing more snaps as of late. When head coach Mike Tomlin was asked if Bush has earned more playing time, this is what he had to say:
"Spillane was hurt," Tomlin said in his press conference. "Jack was hurt last week."
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Not exactly encouraging comments from the head coach. He wasn't exactly praising Bush, but we will see just who gets more snaps when Spillane becomes fully healthy again. Bush played just 35 (53%) snaps in Week 11, but he played all 64 of the defense's snaps in Monday's victory. Spillane didn't play against the Colts, thus why Bush played every snap. Jack continues to be banged up as well, as he was limited in practice last week. Also in his press conference, Tomlin said Jack would be limited early this week in practice.
It's surprising the coaching staff still hasn't given a guy like Mark Robinson any looks on defense. Selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the rookie was a standout at training camp in Latrobe. His physicality was reminiscent of Vince Williams in some ways, but he's barely even gotten a helmet this year. In fact, the only time in which he hasn't been a gameday inactive was Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as he saw five special teams snaps that day.
Bush deserves some praise, as he has been able to eliminate some of those mental errors in his fourth year in the league. Still, he hasn't played up to par to that of the 10th overall pick. The Steelers gave up a lot of draft capital in order to trade up and pick him, but it hasn't exactly paid off. Based off Tomlin's comments and the tone in which he said them, it seems the coaches still aren't exactly pleased with Bush.
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What are your thoughts on Bush's performance this season? Do you think the Steelers should/will keep him around after 2022? Who do you think is better: Spillane or Bush? Should the defense look at giving a guy like Robinson a chance? Share your opinions in the comment section below! Also, be sure to interact with all of our social media sites!
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