With veteran inside linebacker and high-priced free agent acquisition Patrick Queen under fire after the season’s first month, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin came to his defense a bit Thursday.
Austin, who spoke with reporters Thursday ahead of the Steelers’ Week 5 Sunday Night Football matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, stated that Queen has been “outstanding” from a communication aspect and that he’s been everything the Steelers thought he was when they signed him as a free agent to a three-year, $41 million deal.
“He’s been outstanding. He has been outstanding. He is everything we thought he was,” Austin said of Queen and his communication, according to the transcript provided by the team. “That’s really kind of what leaders do when things don’t go right. He put that on his shoulders.
“We know it’s not just him, but he put it on his shoulders, but it’s all of us, and we have to do a better job at that.
Queen is coming off a rough performance against the Indianapolis Colts in the Steelers’ 27-24 loss. He missed two tackles, wasn’t very aggressive attacking downhill against the run, and struggled to communicate calls clearly defensively, leading to some key breakdowns in coverage, two of which led to touchdowns.
After the game, Queen — to his credit — took the blame for the communication issues, He called the communication issues unacceptable on his part, and he’s right.
At this point in his career, and the position he plays, he has to be able to communicate quickly and clearly. In Week 4, he didn’t do that.
Queen didn’t seem to do much of anything well against the Colts, which raised some eyebrows on film, and makes Austin’s comments on Thursday all the more curious. “Outstanding” is not a word that many would use to describe Queen’s play so far, but it’s not a surprise his defensive coordinator would stick up for him through the media.
Sunday’s performance against the Colts wasn’t the only concerning showing from the standout linebacker early in his Steelers tenure, either. Former Steelers defensive lineman and Super Bowl champion Chris Hoke had some criticism for Queen after Week 2 against the Broncos, and in Week 4 against the Colts the film was concerning from a lack of physicality perspective.
Even the Pro Football Focus grades for Queen are a mess. Against the Colts, Queen played 66 snaps and graded out at a 40.4 overall, including a 30.0 run defense and a 29.8 as a tackler. On the season, Queen sits at a grade of 41.1 overall.
That’s ugly.
Things don’t look good right now, but it’s no time to panic. Queen’s just seemingly going through some growing pains adjusting to a new team and a new defense. Inside the Steelers’ building there is still a great deal of belief in Queen, and based on Austin’s comments, coaches are pleased with his play, leadership and communication.
Hopefully that starts showing up on the field consistently moving forward, and soon.
