Coming off a 24-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football in Week 12 in which Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett had a profound impact while Pittsburgh Steelers star pass rusher T.J. Watt did very little, questioning the usage of Watt and the lack of creativity from the Steelers’ coaching staff has been a hot topic in recent days.
On Tuesday, while speaking to the media ahead of the Week 13 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on the road, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin downplayed the lack of movement for Watt, stating that it’s often a week-to-week thing based on matchups, and that the team wants guys in their natural positions more often than not.
“It’s probably a little bit of both. I think we were working at a bit of a deficit at the Giants game, in terms of our EDGE people. As we get everybody back, we’re more inclined to play from their home spots,” Tomlin said regarding the lack of movement for Watt, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube channel.
In that Week 8 game against the New York Giants, the Steelers had Watt and fellow OLB Alex Highsmith switch sides on four snaps. It threw the Giants off, and one of those reps led directly to a Highsmith sack.
That strategy showed it could work, but since then the Steelers haven’t done it once. In fact, Watt has lined up outside of his normal position just three separate times since Week 8.
That’s allowed the LOLB to become a stagnant target, which is something Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin stated he didn’t want him to become, especially with offenses sending chips from tight ends and running backs, doubles, and slides from the offensive line at Watt.
It’s negated his impact in a major way in recent weeks.
But based on Tomlin’s comments, it’s not something they’re going to drastically shift to as far as moving Watt around.
“It’s week to week, to be quite honest with you. Some of those discussions are matchup based, about the people that we face, so they’re relative to particular weeks,” Tomlin said.
It is certainly a week-to-week discussion, but the fact that the Steelers aren’t utilizing it much — if at all — outside of one game is rather concerning.
Nobody is asking for the Steelers to put Watt on the other side of the formation 10-15 times a game. But 4-5 looks a game can do wonders, freeing him up for opportunities to win one-on-one matchups rather than having to run through a chip or deal with a slide his way.
Maybe it changes once Alex Highsmith returns to the lineup after suffering an ankle injury in Week 10. Maybe it doesn’t. There is the belief from one reporter that Watt is partially to blame for the lack of switching sides due to him being uncomfortable with it. But if Watt wants to get back to his dominant ways, he needs to get a bit uncomfortable and move around, making him a hard player to get a read on.
