How many “complete games” have the Pittsburgh Steelers played over the last three years? I’m not going to waste my time counting, but I would doubt I would need my other hand. Or my other finger. Anyway, you get the idea. It doesn’t happen often. One way or another, some unit doesn’t finish the job and it inevitably ends up a close game.
OLB T.J. Watt understands the defense is a part of that, and we’ve seen it to full effect this year. Even in the second game, in which they scored two touchdowns, they still surrendered enough points to make it close—indeed, they were trailing. But work has been done, and things have gotten better, especially in the ground game defense.
“We just want to continue to build on it. It’s early in the season. You’re gonna have ups and downs, it’s just about where you find your baseline”, Watt told reporters yesterday, via the team’s website. “We need to settle in on stopping the run and allowing us to pin our ears back and create the splash like you guys have seen in previous weeks”.
Of course, nobody wants to stay at their baseline. Nobody aspires to that level. That’s supposed to be the minimum standard, and the Steelers want to be able to play well above that on a regular basis. Which means that the work continues. And never ends.
“I’m never gonna like the baseline. We’re always gonna try to be improving. But it’s where do we settle?”, he said. “Obviously the first two weeks weren’t great. Last week was better, but we’re always gonna be striving to improve it”.
I just want to make it clear that Watt isn’t talking about settling here in the sense of resigning yourself to a lower quality of play. He’s using the word in this context of coming to rest. You want to settle, to establish your baseline, as high as you possibly can. And if your baseline isn’t high enough, then you have to get back to work.
Right now, the Steelers’ baseline isn’t high enough. They are too dependent upon the splash plays, and even when it’s not the run defense, it’s the pass defense failing them. The Las Vegas Raiders were able to hang around because of their ability to exploit Pittsburgh’s schemes and talent in the secondary, primarily, particularly CB Levi Wallace, who responded with two interceptions and four total passes defensed.
The question is, where will the baseline be this year? It was too low in 2022, in no small part due to the absence of Watt for much of the season and then his being at less than full capacity when he did return. The Steelers are already without Cameron Heyward, but where can they improve?
