The Pittsburgh Steelers are turning over every stone when it comes to the inside linebacker position ahead of the 2023 season, completely remodeling the room from a season ago. Gone are Devin Bush, Myles Jack, and Robert Spillane as Pittsburgh went out and signed Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Tanner Muse, Nick Kwiatkoski, and most recently Kwon Alexander via free agency.
Roberts, speaking to the media prior to training camp practice Sunday, talked about the added competition in the room and also about all the new faces at inside linebacker for Pittsburgh as well as all the new faces in general on the defense. Roberts mentioned since he is the man in the middle of the defense, he’s taking the communication aspect seriously as Pittsburgh’s revamped defense attempts to get on the same page prior to the start of the regular season.
“We have great leadership all around our entire defense, Roberts said to the media Sunday on video from 93.7 The Fan’s Jeff Hathhorn’s Twitter page. “But as a linebacker group, uh, myself, I just want to take more accountability from the communication standpoint, making sure everybody knows what we have to do. You know, we are gelling together… starting to get a better grasp because obviously the whole room new on this defense. But it’s exciting.”
HC Mike Tomlin spoke earlier in training camp on the new faces on defense, stating that he believes communication will be a “non-issue” as the group works together and develops more of a feel of playing together in training camp and in the preseason. However, Roberts is right to take accountability for communication on defense as the inside linebacker position is often the quarterback of the defense in terms of making the calls and adjustments pre-snap. We have seen Pittsburgh’s inside linebackers struggle with these duties in recent seasons, often leading to blown coverages over the middle or open running lanes that offenses exploit for explosive runs.
It’s imperative that the inside linebacker knows what going on during every play and can effectively communicate that to the rest of the defense. Being an experienced veteran, communication is nothing new for Roberts, who should be able to provide a sense of stability in that aspect by the time the regular season arrives.
