Steelers defensive coordinator's goal: Make Brady cuss out his offensive line

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When Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler last saw Tom Brady, he was carving up the Pittsburgh secondary for 381 yards and three touchdowns in the AFC Championship Game on his way to a fifth Super Bowl title.

It wasn't much better for Butler's D in Week 7 in Pittsburgh (Brady was 19-for-26 with two TDs).

But the key number was zero. That's the number of sacks the Steelers had on Brady in both games. That's got to change, Butler told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

"If we would have gotten some pressure on him and sacked him a couple of times and get him to cuss his dadgum offensive linemen out, hey man, it's a beautiful world for us," Butler said.

Butler reiterated what Steelers corner Artie Burns and others had said earlier this month at OTAs - that Pittsburgh needs to move away from zone coverage against Brady and other elite QBs. 

"We have to be able to develop a four-man rush and not just blitz all the time," Butler said. "This year we have to be able to play conventional coverages with conventional people playing those coverages and conventional people rushing the passer. We’ve got to be able to do that in order to advance defensively, in my opinion."

Butler will get his chance to test the strategy this season in Week 15 when Brady and the Pats visit Pittsburgh. 

 

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