Pittsburgh Steelers star edge rusher TJ Watt likes what he has seen thus far from defensive side of the ball during the recent OTA’s and minicamp and he was excited to talk about it with an old friend. On the Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger Podcast, Watt discussed the retooled defense with the former quarterback and expressed his approval over the new faces that GM Omar Khan and company added to the roster.
“I think we’ve added a lot of key parts and we’re always getting new faces, but this year it seems like it’s even more,” Watt told the show. “And there’s just so many talented players around the league and I feel like [the front office] has done a great job of going out and acquiring some good talents”.
Of course, the talent he is referring to that will be new on the defense are free agent signings like big NT Breiden Fehoko, linebackers Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts, DBs Keanu Neal, Chandon Sullivan and future Hall of Famer Patrick Peterson, and depth EDGE rusher Markus Golden. The Steelers also added to the defense in the NFL draft by adding CBs Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr., DL Keeanu Benton and LB Nick Herbig. Watt thinks this unit can be special and said the new and old faces seem to be fitting together quite nicely to this point.
“Just in the short amount of time in OTAs and stuff, it seems like everybody just loves ball and we’re all gelling together pretty well”.
Of course, football is a game that requires all eleven men on the field to work in unison to be effective. You can have great pieces on the field together but if they aren’t in sync, it’s a futile endeavor. Watt expressed the importance of this group with a lot of new and young faces to be able to communicate with each other on the field. He noted that working on communication this offseason was and will be a priority.
“All you can really ask for this time of year is just continue to get better and build off the communication. Because once you’re in the stadium at a home game, you can’t really talk to each other. You just have to use signals and stuff. So it’s important to get the eye contact down and just the communication side of things down this time of year”.
It’s clear that Watt has high expectations for this defense and he is putting the onus he and his defensive teammates to put the offense and their young QB, Kenny Pickett in a position to win games. He wants the new version of the “Steel Curtain” to put the clamps on opposing offenses.
“We’re so prideful as defensive guys.”
Watt believes this unit can be difference makers. With an AFC packed with explosive offenses and top-tier QBs, this defense will need to be all that Watt believes they can be and more for the Steelers to be in the mix come playoff time. The arrow is definitely pointing up for this defense and if they can stay healthy, it could be another great defense that this city and its fans can rally around.
