The Pittsburgh Steelers dropped their first game on Sunday, and S DeShon Elliott wasn’t happy about it. That’s because it was primarily his unit that spoiled the day, giving up 27 points. Now, Elliott was quite arguably their best defender on the day. But part of his frustration was because he didn’t like what he saw during the week of practice.
Elliott said after Sunday’s loss that he believes the Steelers need to work a little harder in practice. He added that they lacked detail, and that they did not look like the Pittsburgh Steelers. And ultimately, that the Colts didn’t beat them; they beat themselves.
Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was asked about Elliott’s comments on Thursday; comments that obviously don’t reflect well on him as the leader of the defensive unit that allowed 27 points. The Steelers only allowed 26 points in the first three games combined, so clearly something was different.
“No, I don’t” have any opinion about Elliott’s comments, Austin said, via transcript provided by the Steelers’ media department. “That may be his opinion. I have no problems with our practice and how we’re practicing”.
Coaches rarely say that their teams are not practicing well, although it’s not unheard of. Typically, though, that is the head coach’s job to make such proclamations, and the Steelers’ head coach said nothing like that. We also have to acknowledge that sometimes that’s a hindsight observation to explain away bad performances. Elliott and Austin may simply have seen things from different perspectives, as well. Without elaboration, it’s hard to know exactly what he was seeing that spurred those remarks.
The Steelers signed DeShon Elliott as an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He has been one of their most underrated players so far on either side of the ball, too. In four games, the strong safety has 30 tackles, one tackle for loss, an interception, and a forced fumble.
After the first game of the season, Elliott said that he belongs in the Steelers’ type of defense. “I think I’m finally in a defense that plays to my strengths”. Even in Sunday’s performance, that still proved true, leading Teryl Austin’s unit with 12 tackles.
Elliott’s greatest strength so far has been his tackling, reminding one of Ryan Clark in that regard. Along with Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Steelers currently have one of their greatest tacklers at the safety position perhaps in their entire history.
That’s a great feather to have in a defense’s cap, but what happened to the Steelers on Sunday? That’s Teryl Austin’s job to figure out. DeShon Elliott has his opinion, and to be fair, he spoke out of frustration in the immediate aftermath. But let’s just hope nobody is making a similar comment about practice habits after Sunday night’s Cowboys game.
