Big week for Steelers linebacker

The Steelers have been rotating their outside linebackers all season with an almost 50-50 split. Jarvis Jones and James Harrison split time on the right side and rookie Bud Dupree and Arthur Moats split time on the left side.

Look for Dupree and Jones to play a little bit more than usual against the Seahawks. The Steelers are going to want to use their best athletes to keep contain and chase down mobile quarterback Russell Wilson. And Dupree and Jones are best-equipped to carry out that assignment.

I asked defensive coordinator Keith Butler if he wanted his best athletes on the field because of Wilson’s running and scrambling prowess.

“Sure you do,” Butler said. “A lot of that has to do with keeping him corralled. Some of it has to do with how many people you rush. He is dangerous out of the pocket. He’s also dangerous running the football. He was probably more dangerous when he was making $660,000 as opposed to $60 million. The owner doesn’t want to pay someone if he can’t play when he’s hurt. If you look at the guys who are mobile that works against them as the years go on. He looks like when he gets in a crowd he gets on the ground, which is a smart thing to do, but he’s still very dangerous in the open field.”

Butler went off on a tangent there about Wilson, but he did answer the question initially. All four will play, but this might not be an ideal game for Harrison to play a lot.

As for the aside on Wilson and his running, don’t be fooled. Wilson still can and does run. He’s rushing for 38.5 yards per game, which is on pace for his second-most rushing yards in a season. He ran for a career-best 53.1 yards per game last season.

Wilson gets his yards and then gets down before absorbing a big blow. He’s being more careful about getting extra yards, but he still has no qualms about escaping the pocket and getting rushing yards. The Steelers must keep him hemmed in the pocket and be aware of their rush lanes at all four rush positions on the defensive line.

It’s also a big week for the inside linebackers. Ryan Shazier had one of his best games against Colin Kaepernick in Week 2. Shazier has the speed to spy Wilson if the Steelers choose to implement that tactic. However, Shazier missed practice with a knee injury on Thursday. We’ll know more later today about his status for Sunday. If he can’t play that will be a big blow for the defense because Sean Spence and Vince Williams, while solid players, don’t possess Shazier’s speed or athleticism.

*When Butler watches Wilson and rookie running back Thomas Rawls he can see the influence of a couple of his former teammates. Butler played linebacker for the Seahawks for 10 years and played alongside Seahawks running backs coach Sherman Smith. Kippy Brown was Wilson’s quarterbacks coach in Seattle before retiring after last season.

“[Sherman] was a hard, tough runner and was very physical,” Butler said. “They kind of mimic their coaches. Russell’s coach, Kippy Brown, was the quarterback at Memphis when I played at Memphis. How about that? [Wilson] mimics Kippy when he was a player. When I watch those guys I see the influence of those guys. Both of them are good football players.”

*Pete Carroll has one of the biggest coaching staffs in the NFL. He has 25 assistants working under him. By contrast, Mike Tomlin has 17 assistant coaches.

What do they all do?

Carroll has two assistant offensive line coaches in addition to a tight ends coach. He also has two assistant secondary coaches, one to coach the cornerbacks and another to coach the safeties.

Many universities have nepotism rules, but the NFL does not seem to have the same standards for hiring family members. Perhaps that is one of the reasons the Seahawks have a bloated coaching staff. Two of Carroll’s sons are assistants.

Nate Carroll is an assistant receivers coach. He has no college football playing or coaching experience. Following graduation from USC, he was immediately hired to Seattle’s scouting department. He has been an assistant coach since 2011.

Brennan Carroll is an assistant offensive line coach. At least he has college playing and coaching experience. He was a tight end at Delaware and Pitt. Out of Pitt, he worked under his dad for eight years at USC before Pete became Seattle’s head coach. He worked at the University of Miami from 2011-13 before joining Seattle’s staff this season.