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When the Steelers lost defensive end Aaron Smith for the season, it wasn't too much of a shock that the Steelers turned to veteran Travis Kirschke instead of first-round pick Ziggy Hood.But now that Kirschke is also likely to be sidelined for next Sunday's Broncos game, it looks like the Steelers would turn to Nick Eason next week as the starter instead of Hood. Essentially the Steelers are saying that Eason, who battled Sunny Harris for a spot on the roster during training camp, is a better bet as a starter than the Steelers first-round pick this year.
That would normally be a sign that the first-round pick is on the path to being a big-time bust--first-round picks should be contributors, not the No. 5 defensive end on a team that normally carries five defensive ends.
But with Dick LeBeau's defense, it's just part of the tradition. Whether it's the complexity of the blitz schemes or the extreme emphasis on every player carrying out their assignment, rookies very rarely find they can contribute on the Steelers defense.
The best example of this steep learning curve is safety Troy Polamalu. As a rookie, Polamalu looked like a bust. He didn't play all that much, and when he did, he seemed to always be the guy being picked on. A year later, he was a key reason the Steelers went 15-1 during the regular season.
It was a similar story with 2007 first-round pick Lawrence Timmons and second-round pick LaMarr Woodley. Both spent most of their rookie seasons on the bench, then both turned into solid contributors in their second year. Chris Hope is now a Pro Bowler with the Titans, but it took him a couple of years to earn a starting job in Pittsburgh. In fact, you'd have to go back to 2001 first-round pick Casey Hampton to find the last time a Steelers defensive rookie has made a significant impact as a starter.
So Steelers fans shouldn't worry too much about Hood's inability to get into the starting lineup. Hood may not be ready to make a big impact this year, but we won't really know what the Steelers got in him until next training camp.
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