Steelers Film Room: Why Cameron Sutton deserves to start opposite Joe Haden

It is no secret the Steelers have not found a suitable second cornerback to play opposite of Joe Haden. It does not help Haden is continually helped over the top by Sean Davis. Davis has easily been the best safety on the team Authentic JuJu Smith-Schuster Jersey , and is blossoming in front of our eyes. This is not to say Terrell Edmunds has been bad, because he has not, but Artie Burns has been left on an island while Edmunds is used as a chess piece around the field. Burns struggled against the Chiefs, and this fact was no secret to the Buccaneers or Mike Tomlin. Tomlin benched Burns and Tampa Bay immediately targeted him as soon as he entered the game. Burns only played a third of the game, while Sensabaugh played two-thirds of the game and Burns’ statistics were arguably worse Sensabaugh’s.Want even deeper context to that? Haden played every snap and two of the three receptions he gave up were to OJ Howard or Cameron Brate, including the touchdown attributed against him. Needless to say, that is going to be a mismatch every single time that Haden is on one of those two. His frame is simply not made to cover large bodied tight ends, but he was lockdown on the right side of the defense all game. As for Burns, he was advertised as a strong man coverage based cornerback coming out of Miami. For the first two years of his career, the Steelers used largely zone bases schemes and he blew about as many assignments as anyone else on the team. So, Keith Butler gives more man based concepts to the cornerbacks and what does Artie Burns do?He does that. Burns is a long and athletic cornerback who should be using his length to be physical and disrupt the speed aspect of receivers like Tyreek Hill. I do not know where physical Artie Burns went, but I would like for him to return. Burns was not only torched on his pathetic attempt at being physical, in which not only does he not use his hands properly, but his leg steps inside and give Hill the outside leverage. This is a textbook example on how to get burnt by Tyreek Hill. Burns had a good first game aside from his meltdown, but Monday was by far his worst game of the season. Burns was burnt time and time again by DeSean Jackson, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin. On Evans’ late fourth quarter touchdown, Burns put on a clinic off how not to play off ball man coverage. I explain some of what he did in the tweet itself, but what in the world are you doing with your mirroring Artie? Evans has about two steps on Burns before the cut just based off of bad mirroring by Burns alone. Once he leans inside, this is a sure touchdown as long as its on the money. Burns needs to use length and physicality to at least bump Evans off his route. You saw Joe Haden do it when he broke up a pass near the end game that was deep for Evans. Burns could easily play this a bit harder by coming down on Evans as he makes the cut, and while Evans would have a step, Burns could use his length to come back and break it up. So, Burns is playing bad, and what is the solution to the Steelers’ problems? Coty Sensabaugh! The only way this could get worse is if Sensabaugh was thrust into the starting role opposite of Haden. Boy did it ever show against the Buccaneers. There were a myriad of plays where he simply gets beat off the line from a release standpoint, but what I really want to focus on is the touchdown he allowed.There have been bad plays this season, but none have been worse than this. Sensabaugh shows the complete lack of awareness that should be possible for an NFL level cornerback. Sensabaugh is really a guy who shouldn’t be on this team. I have said it before, but give me Burns a hundred times over Coty Sensabaugh. This play should never happen. I have no clue how he managed to lose sight of this ball and any competent cornerback makes this play.That brings me to the best option for the Steelers, in my opinion, and that is starting Cameron Sutton. There is no better alternative right now. Is Sutton great? No, he is not. He is a maturing 2nd year player who is now just playing his first season after missing half of his rookie year. He has his bad moments www.pittsburghsteelersteamstore.com , but he knows how to mirror, how to track, how to be physical, and most importantly, he has ball skills.Sutton played at RCB for one drive and was in the slot after Hilton left with an elbow injury. Once they moved Sutton outside, the Buccaneers went three and out, and Sutton was targeted once because he blanketed players like this. What a fantastic display of how to stop DeSean Jackson. Fitzpatrick gets rid of it quick, but you can already see the square hips and the mirroring ability by Sutton. His hands are active and he is ready to break with any cut Jackson makes. It is simple, start Cam Sutton outside and slide Sensabaugh inside until Hilton is ready to come back. If Hilton has a significant injury and has to miss the rest of the season, please go and sign a free agent who can play outside or slot. Delvin Breaux is still available. So is David Amerson and Quenton Rollins. Are these guys any good? No, but they are all better than Coty Sensabaugh. Brian Allen is better than Coty Sensabaugh, so if you want to bring him off the practice squad, do that too. But for now, start Sutton outside. The film does not lie.Win or lose, the Steelers are better off without Le’Veon Bell and his antics In the unlikely event you ever get the urge to look up Le’Veon Bell’s whereabouts sometime in the distant future, it's a pretty safe bet you’ll be able to find him walking down Lover’s Lane holding his own hand. Despite being an uber-talented, multi-faceted NFL running back, Bell’s petrified narcissism makes him a nightmare for any organization that depends on patience and cooperation to succeed. Quite simply, Bell doesn’t play well with others because his own ego is so large, he seems incapable of seeing anyone else or their needs. Bell’s tendency to focus intently on his own reflection, while ignoring the needs of others, has been well documented during his 5-year career with the Steelers. While I can’t speak for other U.S. cities, as a native of Pittsburgh, I can definitely say that Bell picked the wrong city for trying out his prima donna act. Pittsburghers are nothing if not hard-bitten and earthy to a fault. We’re not a community impressed by chest-beating or cheap stunts. Missouri might be the “show me” state, but Pittsburgh is the ultimate “show me” city. And what goes for the local population applies doubly to the Rooney family whose legendary patriarch forged one of the league’s most successful NFL franchises from the cold ashes of the Great Depression. Whatever tricks you think you’ve got up your sleeve, the Steelers’ front office has seen them all before. And no matter how strong you think your bargaining position might be, you’ll never see the Steelers’ organization swooning over your portfolio. At the very outset, it’s best for a player to appreciate that he’s dealing with a group of tough professionals who know how to assess value and convert it into the coin of a championship season. That’s why absolutely the last thing a 26-year-old running back ought to attempt is to pull the chain of Steelers’ management.But a narcissist such as Bell sees others strictly as the means for his own personal gratification. So unless you’re prepared to bow down and pay tribute to Bell’s exaggerated sense of importance, he’s really got no use for you whatsoever. Another key trait of the narcissist is having an extremely thin skin with regard to criticism. And it didn’t take too long for Bell to open himself up to those critical reviews when he got off to a rocky start with the Steelers’ fan base not long after he was selected in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.Along with LeGarrette Blount, Bell was arrested for DUI and marijuana possession on their infamous drive to the airport heading for a 2014 preseason game with the Eagles in Philadelphia. The result was a 2-game suspension at the beginning of the 2015 season. Then Pittsburgh Steelers T-Shirt , in 2016, Bell was suspended for three games at the start of the season for missing drug tests. So that made two consecutive years in which Bell had begun the season suspended by the league.With Bell becoming a free agent in 2017, he turned down a reported $12 million per year contract offer from the Steelers which, at the time, was $4 million more than the second-highest-paid running back in the league, LeSean McCoy. Then Bell reported to training camp last year only a few days before Opening Day and, as a result, got off to a slow start.During the most recent offseason, it became obvious that Bell’s negotiations with the Steelers weren’t making much progress, even though the team was once again prepared to offer him a contract substantially better than that of any other NFL running back. Bell didn’t help the negotiations by his public statements, Tweets and a rap-song recording that depicted himself as the victim of miserly owners and nasty fans. Viewed in the context of the way Bell has always rolled, therefore, what’s happening now was entirely predictable and shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. This is a guy who apparently cannot deal with a world which doesn’t always buy into his glowing self-reflection or fails to beat a path to his door. When criticized, Bell tends to react more like a pouting teenager than a grown man. But as Steelers Nation knows only too well, Pittsburgh is about as far removed from the Mamby-Pamby Land of multi-million-dollar contracts as it’s possible to be. Generally speaking, Pittsburghers and their working-class counterparts around the globe don’t give a rat’s patootie how great you think you are or how much money you feel you’re worth. In our eyes, the proof not only is in the playing, but also in the player’s overall demeanor and behavior. Along with Steelers’ management, the faithful of Steelers Nation have finely-tuned senses when it comes to — shall we say — BS. And despite his performance on the gridiron, many of us have been convinced for quite some time that this shoe definitely fits when it comes to Le’Veon Bell.In fact, a pretty strong case can be made that the Steelers will be a better and more cohesive team in the long run by ridding themselves of a guy who seems to derive sadistic pleasure in toying with the front office and fan base alike from year to year. While it’s always beneficial to have a top RB on the field, both the Patriots and Eagles have been quite successful without ball-carriers worthy of the franchise tag. And with a QB like Ben Roethlisberger and his receivers, it’s not like anyone is really worrying or wondering what the team ever shall do once Bell leaves for good. Whether the Steelers make it all the way this season or not, they’ll ultimately benefit by losing the nagging downer effect of having the presence of “Mr. Sunshine” in their locker room. We’ve seen this prima donna act before in Pittsburgh, and we’ve always sent it packing (bye-bye Santonio Holmes — so long Mike Wallace). Bell’s “me-first” mentality is diametrically opposed to everything the Steelers’ organization and standard represents. With that attitude, Pittsburgh would never have won even a single Lombardi trophy — let alone six. Bell’s shtick might play very well out in La-la Land or in some other far-flung province where they’ve never won a championship, but certainly never here in the City of Champions. Considering that his antics already have alienated practically the entire Pittsburgh sports community, it’s undoubtedly well past the time for Bell to start inflicting his bad vibes on some other NFL franchise and their unsuspecting fandom.