With so many new faces on the defensive side of the football for the Pittsburgh Steelers, communication has been a key focus throughout the offseason, training camp and the preseason.
Coming out of Thursday night’s preseason finale on the road against the Atlanta Falcons, the Steelers feel rather encouraged with the communication aspect and the attention to detail from the new-look defense overall.
That includes head coach Mike Tomlin.
Speaking after halftime Thursday night to Steelers.com’s Missi Matthews for KDKA-TV, Tomlin was rather encouraged by the communication level and the speed with which the defense played on the night, at least from the starters’ perspective.
“I thought they played fast and part of playing fast is not only knowing what to do but just understanding how you fit in the big scheme of things,” Tomlin said during the game broadcast of the Steelers’ 24-0 win. “All of that requires communication. I like the bones of what we’re working with there.”
As Atlanta surprised many by “parking” its starters in the preseason finale, the Steelers had an agenda to take care of in the final tune-up before the regular season, especially on the defensive side of the football. Pittsburgh needed to see some things on the field from some of the new faces, including inside linebacker Elandon Roberts, cornerback Patrick Peterson and safety Keanu Neal.
The Steelers started fast defensively thanks to Roberts and star outside linebacker T.J. Watt, and they never let up on the night.
The Steelers played fast, free and physical, and that comes — as Tomlin stated — when communication is good.
Throughout the offseason and training camp communication has been a big talking point for the Steelers. They’ve emphasized it as much as possible in training camp and in the preseason, and the performances throughout the preseason from the communication aspect were rather encouraging overall.
Of course, the regular season will be a bigger challenge and better barometer as to where the Steelers are from a communication aspect, especially in hostile environments. But the level of communication, attention to detail and the ability to play fast, physical and free in the preseason has Tomlin pleased with what the Steelers have at their disposal in that aspect.
