For the first time since Jan. 8, the Pittsburgh Steelers will play a home game at Acrisure Stadium. The last time the Steelers hit the field at Acrisure, they rolled to a 28-14 win over the Cleveland Browns.
A lot of roster changes occurred in the offseason, which will cause the Steelers to look quite different Saturday night when they host the Buffalo Bills in Week Two.
While it is just a preseason game, the Steelers are aiming to utilize the dress rehearsal as a teaching tool for the new faces, especially on the defensive side of the football. Ahead of Saturday’s preseason game against the Bills, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stated that it will be prudent to work on defensive communication inside the home venue while using the game as a way to get prepared to play at home and familiarize themselves with the lead-up to home games that will occur throughout the season.
“We’re always excited about familiarizing ourselves with Acrisure and some of the good things and some of the challenges that come along with it. One of the challenges is defensive communication,” Tomlin told reporters Thursday during his weekly media availability, according to video via the Steelers YouTube page. “Our home-game venue is an asset to us in that regard, but it does present some challenges from a defensive communication perspective. And so that’s one of our little agendas, if you will, in preparation for this game, making sure that we respect that component. We get one opportunity in the preseason to play at home, and so defensive communication in the midst of that is gonna be big for us. Also, just familiarizing ourselves with the itinerary on a home game schedule; hotel, things of that nature. Dealing with traffic.”
That communication perspective at home will be key, and Saturday is a great chance to hit the ground running in that regard, especially with new faces hitting the field for the first time.
Names like Patrick Peterson, Keanu Neal, and rookie Joey Porter Jr. are set to make their Steelers debuts, which will test the secondary from a communication standpoint. Add in the expected playing time for defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, outside linebacker T.J. Watt and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, and there will be a great need for clear, concise communication on a defense that has a number of new faces.
That doesn’t even include the reshaped inside linebacker room with Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts and Kwon Alexander set to play at home as Steelers for the first time. While those three saw playing time in Week One against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Acrisure Stadium will be louder when the defense is on the field, making that communication all the more important.
It’s going to be a big challenge for the Steelers, especially squaring off against the high-powered first-team offense for Buffalo, which will start quarterback Josh Allen on Saturday night. Chances are, there will be some breakdowns and some miscommunications, but better to get those out of the way now then when the games count.
Throughout the offseason members of the defense have been harping on communication. So far, everyone believes the communication is strong in Pittsburgh. It’ll be put to the test Saturday night.
