DL Chris Wormley and C Mason Cole jumped on The Cook & Joe Show on 93.7 The Fan to speak with show hosts Ron Cook and Joe Starkey about several different topics the hosts brought up, including Wormley’s previous history with the Baltimore Ravens, Mason Cole’s experience playing both guard and center, and their impression of linebackers Myles Jack and Devin Bush thus far in training camp.
When asked about the defensive side of the football and the expectation of having a top five defensive this year, Wormley shared his thoughts on the rebound the defense hopes to have this season after a horrific 2021 campaign against the run.
“Yeah, especially the run game,” Wormley responded on 93.7 The Fan. “That’s where we kind of fell short. I mean, we were lasting the league last year. So, we definitely talk about that during our meetings. Definitely emphasize that in practice. And I think with the new additions of Myles Jack, Larry Ogunjobi coming in the mix, and Tyson coming back healthy. I think is going to help us out tremendously. But yeah, anything less than a top five defense I think is going to be a failure for us. And I I’ll say that right now.”
Wormley is setting the expectations high with those comments, and rightfully so. The Pittsburgh Steelers are historically known for having a vaunted defense going back to their reign of dominance in the 70s with the Steel Curtain, Blitzburgh in the 90s, the 2000s group that made it to three Super Bowls and won two of them, and even instances in 2017 pre-Ryan Shazier injury and 2019 after the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade showcased some of the best defensive units in football.
The standard is the standard in Pittsburgh, and Wormley, as well as the rest of the defense, is looking to uphold that standard of stellar defensive football. Having it actively be a topic of discussion in meetings is a good sign that it is being addressed, after the team fielded the worst run defense in team history last season. Pittsburgh played most of the season without Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu in the lineup, as well as dealt with the losses of Bud Dupree and Vince Williams in the front seven.
Having Alualu back healthy (should he be activated from the PUP list soon) along with the additions of Ogunjobi and Jack to the defensive front will only help the team’s chances of putting a more successful run defense unit on the field compared to 2021. Throw in Levi Wallace, Damontae Kazee, and DeMarvin Leal, and Pittsburgh has the depth and talent on the defensive side of the football they lacked last season to help pursue that top five overall defensive ranking in 2022.
