Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: S Damontae Kazee
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: The veteran safety did not have himself a good week, struggling two games in a row and being responsible for allowing a touchdown in multiple contests. Taking on a full-time role with recent injuries at the position, his execution has at times left something to be desired.
CB Joey Porter Jr. had an interesting comment after Thursday night’s loss to the New England Patriots. The defense had pitched a shutout in the final 30 minutes, but by then it was too late, having given up three touchdowns in the first half. He said the only difference was they stopped “BSing”. Asked to elaborate, he pointed to guys trying to make plays instead of doing their jobs.
Kazee has a streak about him in which he tries to make the play instead of doing his job. I hope that’s what he was trying to do on one touchdown he allowed last week, on which he just took an absolutely horrible angle on a deep corner route. He had more than enough depth to defend the play yet ended up somehow behind it, making a leaping attempt at the ball. Was he trying to jump it and badly mistimed it?
Either way, it’s symptomatic of the way he’s played recently and, truthfully, much of the season. You might recall some of the awful angles he took earlier in the season contributing to large runs. His actual tackling ability has waxed and waned, as has his angle of pursuit.
And his work in coverage has scarcely risen above the level of average in the best of times. Beyond that, he is into the double digits in missed tackles by now, a little bit more concerning given that he spends a fair amount more time in coverage than in run support.
The truth is that the Steelers have not gotten what they needed out of the safety position this year. Even Minkah Fitzpatrick has not been a source of splash plays, as he had customarily been, putting aside the fact that he missed four games. If there is one group you can point to as clearly worse than last year, it would have to be safety, and Kazee is one of the reasons why.
