Halloween is approaching and according to head coach Mike Tomlin the Pittsburgh Steelers will be getting an early scare from Will Anderson Jr. also known as Freddy Krueger to Mike Tomlin tomorrow. On The Mike Tomlin Show streamed on the Steelers YouTube page, Tomlin sung the praises of Anderson and labeled him one of the Texans’ top defensive players only a few games into his career.
“He’s Freddy Krueger man, he’s scary,” said Tomlin to Bob Pompeani. “He is as good as anybody in their defensive group right now, and I’m talking about he’s three games into his professional career. He is very disruptive, both versus the run and the pass. He is a handful for tight ends. He is really good in the run versus tackles. He is a problem for tackles in the passing game. He is just a really good player.”
Anderson has gotten off to a hot start in his first three career games, tallying 13 tackles, five quarterback hits, one sack, and a tackle for a loss so far. Tomorrow he will be looking to cause nightmares for tackles Chukwuma Okorafor and Dan Moore Jr.
As Tomlin mentioned, Anderson is an incredible all-around player and there is a reason he was drafted third overall in this year’s draft. PFF has him at an overall grade of 75.0 which is very impressive for a 22-year-old rookie. Pittsburgh certainly can be successful against a Texans defense which allows 340.7 yards per game, but they are going to have to minimize Anderson, and when they run the football, run away from him.
The Steelers tackles have experience now going up against elite pass rushers as Moore and Okorafor faced a gauntlet of Nick Bosa, Myles Garrett, and Maxx Crosby to start the season, so that should give them a bit of experience going up against high-level pass rushers.
It will be vital for the Steelers’ offensive line to keep a lid on Anderson as he has to potential to change games. In college for Alabama, Anderson recorded 34.5 sacks and forced one fumble in three years for the Crimson Tide. He is a high-level player who can consistently put teams behind schedule.
If Pittsburgh is going to win tomorrow they are going to have to avoid Halloween coming early and Anderson causing nightmares for the Steelers offense.
