Stephon Tuitt has truly broken out this season. The only thing that has tripped him up this season is a pesky knee injury he is hopefully finally over, as evident by his statement he would be ditching his knee brace.
As he tells Teresa Varley of Steelers.com the product of his outstanding season comes from his work ethic and desire to make a rapid improvement.
“I worked. I paid attention to the little things I needed to get better at,” Tuitt told Varley. “Every year there is going to be something I have to understand about myself and focus on. This year I spent more time in the weight room, got stronger, and understood myself better.”
Even with a new defensive coordinator, a second year in the NFL has done wonders for him. Remember, this was a 21 year old kid drafted out of Notre Dame. There’s been plenty of room to grow mentally and physically.
Though not brought up in the article, his work with Chuck Smith in the offseason to become a more effective pass rusher has paid off.
He’s been a force, indeed. Despite missing two games, Tuitt is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ sack leader with 4.5, including one Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. He and Cam Heyward have teamed up for a total of 8.5 between them and are on track to become the first pair of Steelers’ defensive linemen since 2002 with five in a season.
Tuitt will look to add toward his total in Week 12 when the Steelers travel to square off against the Seattle Seahawks. Look for the full scouting report later next week but Russell Wilson has been sacked a league-leading 33 times in 2015.
