Steelers DC Teryl Austin fell on the grenade for the call that allowed a big play in Dublin, but Chris Hoke doesn’t blame him. In fact, he’s not even buying the excuse Austin offered in explanation—even though he doesn’t begrudge him saying it. The defense certainly had some personnel issues at the time, but at the end of the day, they’re all professionals.
“He’s trying to take the pressure off his players”, Hoke said on 93.7 The Fan about Teryl Austin’s comments, putting the blame on himself for not calling a simpler play with so many backups in the game. “Those are professionals. They’re being paid a lot of money. Too much on their plate? They have no other jobs, they have nothing else to do”.
Up 24-14 with 3:25 to play, the Vikings found a wide open Jordan Addison. Were it not for a Payton Wilson chasedown tackle 81 yards later, Teryl Austin’s defense would have scored right there. Instead, they made Minnesota fight for every inch on a clock-draining goal-line stand.
On the play, there appears to be confusion between Darius Slay and DeShon Elliott about who assumes the flat route. Both passed Addison to Chuck Clark, who didn’t seem to recognize the miscommunication. By the time Carson Wentz put the ball in the air, he was already beyond the defense. Except for Juan Thornhill, who was on the opposite side of the field.
“They’ve got plenty of time. To say that they’re putting too much on them”, Hoke added, reacting to Austin pointing the finger at himself, “I just don’t buy that excuse. I know he’s trying to take the pressure off his players, and that’s a great coach to do that. But the reality is that that’s not a good excuse”.
As Hoke pointed out, though, Teryl Austin said it to take the heat off of his players. Yes, there is a case to make about calling a simpler coverage there, even if it’s also true that those one the field should be able to execute it. And the players involved are all seasoned veterans in the NFL, even if they haven’t played much together.
Ultimately, everything falls back on the coaches, however, and they take the fall. It just comes with the territory. Without knowing exactly what defense Teryl Austin called, it’s hard to say, really. I assume they did call something more complex than necessary, though, just based on what he said.
By that point in the game, Austin’s unit had already been through some serious attrition. They were down Jalen Ramsey and Brandin Echols, and Slay had also missed time. Playing a nickel with three safeties and James Pierre as one of the cornerbacks, I’m sure this isn’t a look they repped much. But at the end of the day, all of them should know what their assignments are. At least one person didn’t do what they were supposed to do, and that shouldn’t happen.
