A year ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense struggled through the first half of the season. The youngest offense in football with plenty of new and moving pieces, most notably at quarterback, the unit struggled with the fundamentals. Being assignment sound. Avoiding penalties. Taking care of the football. They were an incohesive mess and the results told that story. For the first eight weeks, the Steelers averaged just 15 points per game. From there, they got better, found their footing, and played like a collection instead of a bunch of individuals.
My concern is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense could find themselves in the same situation in 2023.
Now, it’s not likely to be as painful as what the offense felt last year. That was a root canal. This will be more like a toothache. Still, it’s an annoyance. While Pittsburgh’s offense remains largely intact this year, the defense underwent plenty of changes. Not just any changes either. Changes to the core communicators on a defense.
The Steelers will have new starters at both inside linebacker spots, slot cornerback, and strong safety. Those four spots are the “hubs of communication” that Mike Tomlin’s mentioned many times over the years. Most often, one of the inside linebackers wear the green dot and get the defensive play call that they relay to the other 10 on the field. This year, that should go to Cole Holcomb, signed over from Washington and expected to be the team’s three-down linebacker.
At strong safety, Terrell Edmunds left and was replaced by Keanu Neal. A similar player, a stocky box hitter, but a new face to the Steelers’ defense. Slot corner has seen plenty of change with Cam Sutton and Arthur Maulet, combining for 98% of the team’s slot snaps last season, off the roster, and replaced by Chandon Sullivan and Patrick Peterson. The division of labor there remains unclear but it’ll be a new face.
Inside linebacker, slot corner, and strong safety. All three interior, middle of the field positions. Those are the guys who are at the heart of communication between each other and the rest of the group. Their veteran experience will help the transition but it’s still a lot of “new” across the board. This doesn’t even consider rookies like CB Joey Porter Jr. and NT Keanu Benton, second-round picks who will be counted on more than any Steelers’ defensive rookie in recent years with the team’s drafts being more offensively focused in 2021 and 2022.
With that could come miscommunication and coverage busts. There will be growing pains, that’s just natural. That’s the short-term pain of roster change for hopeful long-term gain of having a better team. Pittsburgh’s defense had continuity last year. Sutton was as trusted as anyone on an NFL defense and his versatility and post-snap coverage rotations gave the Steelers lots of flexibility. For all the warts of the inside linebacker room, Pittsburgh trusted Robert Spillane – it’s why he was their dime package guy – to run the defense in the middle of the chaos. And Edmunds established himself as a consistent presence who rarely missed time.
All that makes for an adjustment in 2023. Peterson will be doing some new stuff in his career, mixing and matching in the defense more than he has before. Coming off foot surgery, Holcomb has yet to practice in 11 v 11 sessions, giving him less time to pick up and rep the defense. And Neal is the first change in starting strong safety the team has had since 2018 when Edmunds took over.
It’s a recipe for early headaches. Poor or missed communication. A coverage bust. Someone not getting their assignment and leading to a big offensive play. The 49ers’ creative playbook will be a challenge out of the gate no matter who the team’s quarterback is.
Change is inevitable. Pittsburgh wasn’t going to have the same people do the same jobs forever. But change also comes with consequence. Often, they’re unintended. To make so many changes over the course of one offseason at key communication hubs compounds the problem and heightens the risk. Pittsburgh may have a better defense in 2023 than it did in 2022. It just might not always look like that out of the gate.
