LaMarr Woodley shows his worth

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

LaMarr Woodley knew the haters were going to show up. He understands they just can’t help themselves.

So the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker steeled himself for the backlash after signing a six-year, $61.5 million deal in August to will keep him with the franchise through 2016.

He didn’t have to wait long.

All Woodley had to do was hop on his Twitter feed after the defending AFC champions were rolled by Baltimore 35-7 in the season-opener to read how he was overpaid, how his numbers were great because so many teams focused on stopping teammate James Harrison, how he wasn’t fit to be the next leader of one of the league’s most dominant defenses.

His response? Eyerolls. Lots of them.

“People expect you, when you sign this big contract, to become this Super Freak all of a sudden,” Woodley said. “That’s what people expect and when you don’t give them that early and you’re losing, people are looking for reasons to talk about certain people, reasons to point fingers.”

The only pointing Woodley is doing these days is at the skies after one of his sacks while performing his signature “Super Kick” celebration.

Woodley leads the AFC with 7 sacks, 51/2 of them coming during Pittsburgh’s (5-2) three-game winning streak heading into Sunday’s litmus test against New England (5-1).

He insists it’s just a coincidence that he’s found his groove while Harrison has been sidelined with a fractured right orbital bone. Maybe, but Woodley’s play should remove all doubt that he’s ridden Harrison’s coattails to stardom.

“I’m just doing what I’m paid to do and go out there and hit quarterbacks and get turnovers,” Woodley said.

Few have done it better over the last five seasons than Woodley, who already has 46 career sacks and showcased all of his unique skills during last week’s 32-20 win over Arizona.

Woodley sacked Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb twice and tilted the game in Pittsburgh’s favor by forcing Kolb into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone. With Woodley draped over him Kolb frantically tried to ditch the ball before Woodley tossed him to the ground. The ball never made it to the line of scrimmage and the ensuing two points pushed Pittsburgh’s lead to an insurmountable 12 points.

“He’s gotten some opportunities, he’s capitalizing on them and it’s been big for us,” safety Ryan Clark said. “We’re getting turnovers and making lots of plays putting pressure on the quarterbacks and that’s what we need from him.”

Particularly with Harrison out.

The two have been the NFL’s best outside linebacker tandem since being paired together for the first time in 2008. Yet Harrison hasn’t played since his helmet slammed violently down into his eyes while absorbing a block against Houston on Oct. 2.

The Steelers were 2-2 at the time and hardly playing with the fury that’s been the team’s trademark.

Did it take losing the unit’s emotional leader for the defense to snap out of its funk? Woodley isn’t sure, though his teammates have noticed at least one significant change in the last three weeks.

“You know LaMarr, a lot of times he’ll come back to the huddle and say that he’s missed a play,” Clark said. “He hasn’t been doing that.”

Maybe because the plays aren’t getting missed.

Coach Mike Tomlin is reluctant to find a reason for Woodley’s uptick in production, saying the team’s ability to get a lead has freed the defense to go into attack mode.

True, though Woodley hasn’t let many chances go to waste. He points out the Steelers are different than other 3-4 teams because they require their outside linebackers to cover instead of just rush off the edge on every play.

“We might be 50-50 for us whether we’re passing or rushing,” Woodley said. “Other teams it’s 85 percent, 90 percent. We don’t get to just crash the pocket. So when we get back there, we’ve got to make it count.”