Mike Tomlin invested heavily in his Pittsburgh Steelers defense, Patrick Queen among his chief acquisitions last offseason. While Queen had a solid season, it was hardly transformative, and the defense regressed over the course of the season.
Notably, Queen had been among the Steelers’ most outspoken defenders. Particularly in December and January, he had many things to say about their struggles, his own not excepted. As always when a player gives a strong opinion, of course, Mike Tomlin had to answer for it.
After the Steelers’ loss to the Ravens in the Wild Card Round, Patrick Queen said he felt the defense got too comfortable. “You mentioned an opinion based on circumstance and oftentimes our emotions control our opinions”, Mike Tomlin said when asked about it. “I just don’t feel the need to respond to some of those things”.
As a follow-up, a reporter asked Tomlin if he, not Queen, thought the Steelers got too comfortable. “I do not”, he said, meeting the query with impatient brevity. This isn’t the first time he has had to publicly disagree with criticism of the team from a player. After Minkah Fitzpatrick’s strong words last year, he also had to address those comments.
The Steelers started off the 2024 season as one of the best defenses in the league. While they had their high points, as well as their strengths, they declined over the course of the year. Patrick Queen had his ups and downs, and Tomlin as the ultimate arbiter of the defense certainly did as well.
The way the Ravens embarrassed the Steelers’ front seven in the Wild Card Round was particularly damning. While the defensive line was a major problem, Queen and company didn’t respond well at the second level. And Tomlin’s risky strategies were exploited by the Ravens, too.
Tomlin focused his attention last offseason on turning over the secondary. Adding to Joey Porter Jr. and Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Steelers acquired Donte Jackson, signed DeShon Elliott, and added Beanie Bishop Jr. as a rookie free agent. They also brought back Cameron Sutton—which they shouldn’t have, for multiple reasons.
But Patrick Queen was Tomlin’s intended pièce de resistance, the new quarterback of his Steelers defense. He was the guy who was finally going to replace Ryan Shazier, and, well…he didn’t quite do that. While he has some of Shazier’s abilities, there is still something left lacking in the whole proceeding.
Still, when a player on the field says they got too comfortable, you have to listen. Does it matter more that Tomlin thinks the Steelers didn’t get too comfortable or that Patrick Queen does? Tomlin, of course, would argue that Queen wouldn’t say that again in hindsight after coming down from an emotional height. But it will be interesting to hear what the guys have to say in May about how the end of the season unfolded.
