You'll hear NFL teams talk a lot about winning their division as the first goal for their season.
The reason? The surest way to get into the playoffs is to win a division title, and it assures a home playoff game.
But to win that division title, teams should be as good as — if not better than — division opponents in a number of areas. That won't guarantee success, but it sure will help.
We continue our look at how the Steelers stack up against their AFC North opponents on a position-by-position basis.
Today, we look at defensive end/edge rushers:
The defensive end/edge position is one that is a hodgepodge of players. On one end of the spectrum, there are 250-pound outside linebackers. On the other are 300-pound run stuffers who can also get to the quarterback.
It's an issue we see every year when the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams are chosen. Players who line up as outside linebackers are voted in as defensive ends and sometimes vice versa.
For example, T.J. Watt, at 6-foot-4, 252 pounds, looks very little like Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell, who is 6-foot-8, 300 pounds. But in today's NFL, both are considered edge rushers.
And they play in a completely different fashion.
Much of the stylistic differences in play are dependent on what is asked of the players by their respective teams. The Bengals, for example, always have had long, tall defensive ends who can disrupt passing lanes such as Carlos Dunlap and Sam Hubbard.
The Steelers, on the other hand, didn't necessarily care as much about length quite, as shown by their longtime employment of 6-foot James Harrison at an edge spot.
That said, much like the previous positions we've covered, there's a lot of talent at the edge position in the AFC North.
Watt was a finalist for NFL Defensive Player of the Year last season, and Campbell has been a perennial Pro Bowl player. The Browns' Myles Garrett is the former No. 1-overall pick in the draft and has played to that level. And the aforementioned Lawson and Hubbard, while not possessing the accolades of some of their counterparts, are talented, as well.
And we didn't even mention the Steelers' Bud Dupree or Ravens' Matthew Judon, both of whom had the franchise tag placed on them in the offseason by their respective teams.
It's a group of pass rushers who stack up well against their counterparts in any division in the league.
DEFENSIVE END/EDGE UNIT RANKINGS
- Steelers -- Watt, Dupree, Ola Adeniyi, Alex Highsmith, Tuzar Skipper
- Ravens -- Campbell, Judon, Pernell McPhee, Jaylen Ferguson, Tyus Bowser
- Browns -- Garrett, Olivier Vernon, Chad Thomas, Adrian Clayborn
- Bengals -- Dunlap, Hubbard, Carl Lawson, Andrew Brown
When you stack the division up like this, you see the talent. Watt and Dupree give the Steelers the best starting duo, but it's closer than you'd think when you consider the level those two have played at the past two seasons. But the Steelers have led the NFL in sacks in each of the past three seasons, and Watt and Dupree are a big part of that. The addition of Campbell is a big one for the Ravens. He'll turn 34 in September, so age could be a factor, but it hasn't been yet. Judon is overrated in my opinion. He's good but not great, but he was the Ravens' top pass rusher before the arrival of Campbell. Many of his sacks the past two seasons, however, have come when he's been unblocked. You still have to get the QB on the ground, and he does that. Garrett might be the best 4-3 defensive end in the league. Vernon is making big money but didn't provide big production last season. But he's been a Pro Bowl player in the past. And while the Dunlap-Hubbard-Lawson trio might be lacking in star power, it might be the best threesome in the division in terms of steady play and not losing anything when the sub -- Lawson -- comes in the game.
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
- Garrett
- Watt
- Campbell
- Dupree
- Dunlap
ALSO SEE
Stacking quarterbacks
Stacking interior defensive line
Stacking the running backs
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