The vibes were certainly high on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense this summer. From Mike Tomlin to Juan Thornhill, there was plenty of chatter about the defense having the potential to be historically good.
Fast-forward to now, and the unit has given up 56 points and 299 rushing yards through two games. That’s certainly not historic, and without a few breaks going their way against the Jets, this team would be 0-2. Despite that, according to Patrick Queen, nobody is panicking on that unit.
“It’s no panic,” Queen said after Wednesday’s practice via Steelers.com. “The vibes are high. It’s just a point of us going out there and emphasizing it in practice, every single play, not taking no shortcuts.”
Although the secondary has been opened up at times, the Steelers’ main issue lies in the front seven. Opponents are rushing away from T.J. Watt, which is smart for obvious reasons. However, nobody else on the Steelers’ front is doing their job.
Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton aren’t winning their one-on-one looks, with Watt taking up attention. Heyward looked a little better last Sunday. Yahya Black is a rookie fifth-round pick and shouldn’t really be expected to be a significant contributor just yet. The Steelers just aren’t getting what they need from their depth on the inside.
Things only get more difficult with the number of injuries the Steelers’ defense is dealing with. Alex Highsmith is out for Week 3, Derrick Harmon is likely to miss his third-straight game, and Queen himself was battling injuries during the game on Sunday. As a result, Steelers fans might get a good look from some of their depth players, including Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer and DeMarvin Leal. Queen is confident in those three.
“Hell yeah, those guys are more than capable,” Queen said. “If you’re on this level, you’re capable of it. If you weren’t capable of it, you wouldn’t be here, especially in the AFC North… I know they just brought Marv [Leal] up, I mean, he could do it. We all seen it… I don’t doubt any of those guys that’s in that position.”
Of the three, Herbig is easily the most qualified. He’s been behind the Highsmith-Watt duo, but has looked great in his limited opportunities. He made one of the biggest plays Sunday, returning an interception on a tipped pass all the way down into the red zone.
Jack Sawyer and DeMarvin Leal are more of a wild card. Sawyer did have his first career sack last week, and quietly had a nice game that was overshadowed by the rest of the defense’s problems. In Leal, Pittsburgh has a player who is still looking to prove himself in the league. This is probably one of his last chances to do so.
For what it’s worth, the Steelers’ defense was similarly optimistic last week. They thought they had their problems figured out, and they clearly didn’t. At some point, that optimism is going to have to turn into results on the field.
