It's natural to wonder how much the Pittsburgh Steelers defense will change without franchise legend Dick LeBeau calling the shots.
To hear defensive end Cameron Heyward tell it, new coordinator Keith Butler won't deviate much from the 3-4 zone-blitz scheme LeBeau ran for 13 years.
"I don't think there are going to be too many changes," Heyward said, via the team's official website. "It's going to be the same details. We will have a couple of new wrinkles, but we won't share them now."
Butler had been the Steelers' linebackers coach under LeBeau since 2003, so the transition should be seamless.
The biggest change is in personnel, with recent high draft picks Jarvis Jones, Shamarko Thomas, Ryan Shazier, Stephon Tuitt, Bud Dupree and Senquez Golson all expected to play major roles on a defense undergoing a youth movement.
Tuitt, in particular, has impressed Heyward.
"Tuitt has all of the talent in the world," Heyward raved. "Early on he was like a chicken with his head cut off, all over the place thinking what I am doing here. You want it to become second nature. You simplify it and it becomes easier to make plays. You saw it in the Kansas City game (Week 16) where it became second nature."
If the Steelers are going to repeat as AFC North champions, they will need Tuitt and the rest of the raw but talented young defenders to start playing up to their potential.
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