Terrell Edmunds’ growth and improvement hasn’t been meteoric but it’s gradually been trending in the right direction. From taking his lumps as a rookie thrown into the fire, to some improvement as a sophomore, Edmunds is beginning to round the corner and turn himself into a solid, dependable, and occasionally flashy safety. Coming off arguably one of the best games of his career in Sunday’s win over the Tennessee Titans, Edmunds said he feels good with where his game sits.
“Man, I’m feeling pretty good out there,” Edmunds said via the team website. “I’m just with my team and I go out there just playing hard, trying to go and help the team out the best way I can. They call me old fashioned. That’s my new nickname, old fashioned. We’re just out there, we keep on playing. We’re trying to really grow out there and go get it and just help them out any way I can.”
The nickname, by the way, apparently comes from Edmunds’ focus on football. Get up, go to work, come home kind of mentality that’s fitting in well with the Steelers.
Edmunds finished yesterday with two tackles but also for the first time in his career, broke up two passes in one game. He’s still searching for his first turnover since his rookie season but there’s no question he’s moving in the right direction. Entering the Titans game, our Josh Carney had him down at just an 8% missed tackle rate. Of Steelers with at least 10 tackles this season, here are the top three in missed rate.
Stephon Tuitt – 5.9%
Devin Bush – 8%
Terrell Edmunds – 8%
Edmunds said he feels like the game is slowing down to him, allowing him to process faster and make more plays on the football. Especially when he’s closer to the line of scrimmage.
“I do enjoy doing that. Being able to play safety some going down into the box because I feel comfortable in the box. I feel like that’s where I can see things faster. I can react faster. It’s more so just playing football for me then. It’s just something that I feel comfortable with and the coaches feel comfortable with me there. So just wherever they put me, I try to go out there and make plays.”
Edmunds helped limit Titans’ tight end Jonnu Smith to just one catch for nine yards, holding him to his worst game of the season. Week 8 will be a similarly tough test against Ravens’ TE Mark Andrews and Baltimore’s potent offense, albeit one that’s scuffling a bit, but there’s growing confidence in Edmunds to get the job done.
