A little over a week into training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, the star-studded defense of the black and gold has made life rather difficult each day for a new-look offense.
Through the first week of training camp the Steelers’ defense has gotten after the offense in team sessions, forcing a number of turnovers, breaking up a handful of passes each day, and really making it difficult for the Steelers’ offense to move the football consistently. Good news is, that’s what the standout defense should be doing. Chances are, the Pittsburgh offense won’t face a better defense this season.
Iron sharpens iron, as head coach Mike Tomlin likes to say, and that’s exactly what’s happening in training camp, even if its the defense leading the way seemingly every day, controlling practice from start to finish.
For new Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky, gaining that experience daily against a top-flight defense has been rather difficult overall, but it’s preparing him for the 2022 season, giving him live looks overall and truly challenging him snap to snap. Speaking with “Movin The Chains” hosts Pat Kirwan, Jim Miller and Paul Alexander Friday on SiriusXM, Trubisky stated that he’s enjoying the challenge and believes there’s no better defense to go up against than the black and gold’s.
“They definitely have the nickname Blitzburgh for a reason. It’s a challenge every day, but it’s a good challenge for us,” Trubisky said to Kirwan, Miller and Alexander, according to audio via SiriusXM. “…It’s great for me and the o-line and the guys to be on the same page, whether it’s going through hots, changing protection, knowing where it’s coming from and just getting the ball out on time. So, it’s definitely a great challenge every day. There’s no better defense to go against than ours; it’s iron on iron. And we’re just trying to sharpen it and continue to get better.”
Safe to say Trubisky has been fully indoctrinated into Tomlinisms, which is nice.
As the new Steelers quarterback states though, there’s no better group to go against than the Steelers on the defensive side of the football, not only for himself, but for the offense as a whole. Dealing with a fearsome front seven like the Steelers possess is a great challenge and learning experience for a rebuilt offensive line.
Having to deal with the likes of T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Alex Highsmith and Myles Jack each and every day in pads will certainly help speed up the development process for the new-look Steelers’ offensive line. Aside from the play in the trenches, having to perform against the Steelers defense as a whole is challenging Trubisky. He’s made his fair share of mistakes in camp to date, but you’d rather have those mistakes happen in training camp than in games that actually count.
Who knows, maybe it turns out that the toughest defense the Steelers face all season is their own in training camp and practices throughout the season. Being able to deal with their own defense will have them fully prepared for anything thrown their way in 2022.
