Pittsburgh Steelers rookie inside linebacker Ryan Shazier reportedly made an “unreal interception” during Wednesday’s OTA practice and afterwards he was asked if we can expect more plays like that in the future.
“Yeah, you should be expecting some of that,” said Shazier of his leaping interception. “People try to throw across the middle, me and L.T. (Lawrence Timmons) not going to let things like that happen. We’re going to go get the ball.”
Shazier, who has been running with the first-team defense alongside Lawrence Timmons since day-one of the OTA sessions, also feels himself gelling more with his veteran inside counterpart the more that he works with him.
“We’re gelling pretty good and I’m getting to know him more and more every day,” Shazier said of Timmons. “I talk to him sometimes, we watch some film sometimes. Everyday I’m just trying to gain more information from him.”
As far as picking up all of the information associated with the complicated defense run by Dick LeBeau, Shazier feels he is making strides in that area thanks to his supporting cast.
“Yeah, I’m definitely feeling better,” he said. “The older guys are definitely helping me out a lot. (I’m) just starting to understand things a whole lot better, so I’m definitely feeling a lot more comfortable out there.”
LeBeau is apparently comfortable with Shazier and his speed as well, as the Ohio State product was reportedly asked to cover wide receiver Antonio Brown at one point on Wednesday.
More than anything else, as the team winds down their third week of OTA practices, Shazier hopes to show between now and the start of the 2014 season that he can be trusted to carry out his assignments.
“Defenses play great when they don’t have to worry about everybody else and they know that everybody’s taking care of their responsibility.”
