The absence of second-year inside linebacker Ryan Shazier has been felt over the course of the last two games as he sits out with a shoulder injury, for which he was reportedly back in a sling yesterday after returning to practice.
It’s a topic that we have touched on a couple of times over the past two weeks, which admittedly is probably influenced by the strong last impression that he gave against the 49ers, during which he registered 15 tackles, three for a loss, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
Evidently one of the things that enabled Shazier to become such an impact player for the Pittsburgh Steelers defense was, according to defensive coordinator Keith Butler, his penchant for, a time or two, improvising rather than running the play as called when he saw an opportunity to make a play.