Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense had some issues when it came to communication. Injuries played a major factor, as the team lost two players for the season who wore the green dot in Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander, while veterans like Minkah Fitzpatrick and Cameron Heyward missed multiple weeks with injuries. The team added pieces to their defense this offseason, none more important than LB Patrick Queen, and so far, Queen thinks whatever communication issues the Steelers had have been cleaned up a little bit. Speaking to reporters after OTAs today, he said that the defense has been “doing a hell of a job” in their communication.
“It’s great,” Queen said via Steelers Live on Twitter when asked how the communication on defense has been. “Especially for the first two days, I think we’re way ahead of what some people might be. When it comes to the communication part, that’s probably the hardest thing around the whole league is getting everybody on the same page and getting the thing flowing. Even when you do communicate, are you doing the things right? So I think with us doing that right now, I think we’re doing a hell of a job.”
Patrick Queen, Troy Fautanu, Cory Trice Jr., Pat Freiermuth, and Christian Kuntz talk to the media after Wednesday’s practice: pic.twitter.com/TdvLfEj1R4
— Steelers Live (@SteelersLive) May 22, 2024
Obviously, it’s still incredibly early and the depth of what the Steelers are getting into communication-wise likely isn’t super complicated. But no matter the level of complexity, communication is always tough to nail down, with 11 guys needing to be on the same page lined up all over the field. As Queen said, it’s the hardest thing in the league, and adding new pieces to the mix, like Queen and DeShon Elliott, who are both going to start for Pittsburgh, adds another layer of complication when you consider they might not be as familiar with the terminology that the Steelers use or their methods of communication.
It’s a good sign that the Steelers are communicating well early, and hopefully, that continues to be the case as the defense evolves and grows together throughout the rest of the offseason. Naturally, that should be the case, but as we saw last year, it’s going to take a top-to-bottom effort to make sure communication is sound, given that injuries can happen at any time. This year, Elandon Roberts will likely wear the green dot for the Steelers, as Queen never wore it in Baltimore. It was Roberts’ responsibility last season after the injuries to Holcomb and Alexander.
Roberts preached that communication is a group effort in talking about wearing the green dot. After how things went down last season, that’s something that the Steelers will focus on, but it sounds like things are going swimmingly so far.
