Cam Heyward believes in the players the Steelers’ defense has.
But he, and the rest of the defense, have to play with greater detail and technique.
“Just focus on the details,” he told reporters today. “Get back to our technique. Get back to our skill development and what we got to improve on. It’s not a lack of effort. I’m never going to question the guys we got.”
Heyward echoed again his thoughts on the lack of a pass rush, one that failed to sack Kirk Cousins in 44 dropbacks. They officially registered just two quarterback hits, one of those coming in the 4th quarter. And again, he said it all fell back on technique.
“Just some technique issues. Obviously, we can’t give a quarterback time to look downfield and dissect our secondary. I do think we have the guys. I have high goals for us. When we don’t hit them, I’m not going to be happy about it.”
To be fair, Keith Butler was at his least aggressive Monday night, likely largely due to Washington’s desire to go empty and spread the field, making it harder to blitz and even tougher to disguise.
Not that Heyward was searching for that as an excuse.
“No because at the end of the day, everyone is going to have a gameplan. We’ve stopped those gameplans before. And we’re going to play those gameplans throughout the year.”
But it was just one week, one game, and one that came in a victory. The Steelers will have a chance to ease concerns this Sunday against the Bengals, a team who was roasted by the New York Jets’ defensive line to the tune of seven sacks. That’s the most they’ve allowed since 2008, when Andy Dalton was a sophomore at TCU.
If Pittsburgh goes two weeks without a hint of pressure? Win or loss, it’s going to be difficult to ignore that issue.
