For the past several years, there have been questions as to whether Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler should change the base formation of the Steelers' defense from a 3-4 to a 4-3, considering the success of other defenses in the NFL.
Of the final four teams in the playoffs this season, three employ traditional 4-3 style defenses: the Jaguars, Vikings and Eagles. The Vikings ranked as the top defense in the NFL before being destroyed, 38-7, by the Eagles. The Jaguars were ranked second, the Eagles fourth.
Butler took over the Steelers' defense in 2015 and made no such change, which has been a point of contention for fans. Especially after the team went from having a defense ranked fifth in yards allowed and seventh in points allowed to giving up 38 points to Blake Bortles and the Jaguars.
We examine why the Steelers don't need as much of a change to a traditional 4-3 defense, but need to find personnel that can fulfill certain roles or get more consistent production out of players on their roster:
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