The evolution of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ pass rush over the course of Keith Butler’s tenure as defensive coordinator has been pretty remarkable. After Dick LeBeau’s unit was sapped of its most talented players, either through age or salary cap casualty, his older defensive schemes were not getting the job done.
While Butler has been relentlessly criticized for the job he has done in his stead, one thing that he has done well has been finding ways to manufacture pressure via blitzes. That saw its highwater mark in 2017, when his group led the league and set a new franchise record with 56 sacks.