Not much has gone right for the Pittsburgh Steelers so far this year. But it hasn’t been all bad, and at least the players see signs that point to positivity in the future. They do have more talent than has been exhibited through the first four weeks of the season, I will grant them that. Has that shaken their resolve, their confidence?
“Not at all”, cornerback Joe Haden said on Monday. “On the defensive side of the ball, I could speak for is that we know how much talent we have. We feel like we can just always play better. No matter what situation you get put in on the field, we’ve got to make sure that we give up field goals instead of touchdowns. We can’t be letting things like that happen”.
That is where they failed on Monday against the Green Bay Packers. The defense was given two short fields to defend during the game, but they allowed Aaron Rodgers and company to get into the end zone with relative ease for two of their three touchdowns on the day. You can’t make it that easy for a team that good.
“We’ve got to always look in the mirror and grade ourselves”, Haden added. “I feel like we can be the best defense in the league. The offense might not be clicking right now, special teams and blocking field goals and scoring like that, we’ll be able to intercept the ball and create more turnovers”.
“We’ve just got to be able to weather the storm, and I’m not the least bit wavered at all”, he continued. “I’ve been in this league for a long time. There’s so much parity in the NFL, that it’s just one or two plays. It’s not like we’re getting blown out. We’re always in the games. Just two plays here or there and we can have a completely different record”.
Right now, their record is 1-3, and they’ve lost each of the past three games by two scores, marking the first time that they have put together such a streak since 1988, a year in which they went 5-11. That’s certainly not a season that you want to be compared to. But this team feels like every game is their next win.
“Just keeping that mindset and being able to know that we’re coming in there studying the tape”, Haden said, “we feel like we can win any game that we play. I’m locked in”.
