The star-studded defense in Pittsburgh has fallen flat over the first two weeks, and it seems like even the team is puzzled by it. They are a far cry from the “historic” unit that Mike Tomlin claims they are capable of being.
Some players and coaches have pointed to players trying to do too much, or simple miscommunications on the back end. And they have a very real challenge in dealing with injuries to four intended starters. But now a new theory enters the mix from NFL Network’s Sara Walsh via a conversation she had with Patrick Queen.
“He told me that he doesn’t believe that they have been as physical as they should be. He told me it starts with me,” Walsh said in a clip on X. “He said maybe it’s the fact that they have so many playmakers on defense that maybe they’ve gotten comfortable. He said they believe a certain guy’s gonna make a tackle, and not every guy is gonna make every play they’re supposed to make. He said, because of that, they need to have a different mentality. And he said, it’s gotta be everyone swarming to the ball, not assuming that the playmaker next to you is going to necessarily make the play.”
This doesn’t feel like something a player would say out of the blue. It’s possible this was discussed in the meeting room. Look no further than the fact that the Steelers are leading the league in missed tackles. For all of the issues they had on run defense last year, they had the fewest missed tackles in the league. Players assuming someone else will make the play could be one possible explanation.
It also must be pointed out that this theory is directly in conflict with the original talking point after Week 1 that players were trying to do too much and getting out of position. Which is it, because it’s hard for the answer to be both.
At least this is different from the standard boiler-plate explanations the defense has given dating back to November of last season. But will it get them any closer to their goals? If they identify players taking plays off, they need to be removed from the starting lineup. At some point, something’s gotta give.
