At this point, saying that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense has been disappointing might be an understatement. For the last two weeks, it’s been awful. That group has been carved up by the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers. The Steelers’ secondary has shown serious flaws, with Darius Slay in particular struggling. He’s had issues tackling and in coverage. Against the Packers, Slay saw his role shrink, and Mike Tomlin explained why.
“We were just playing, we were rolling guys,” Tomlin said Tuesday via the team’s Twitter. “[Brandin] Echols has been good for us and is deserving to play. And we played him some.”
In Week 8, Slay only played 32 of a possible 64 snaps. Compare that to Week 7, when he played 53 of a possible 76 snaps. Slay’s role decreased, if only slightly. The Steelers rearranged their personnel grouping, with Jalen Ramsey seeing more time at outside corner.
Meanwhile, Echols played nine snaps against the Packers, which is in line with his role as a backup. He’s been solid at times, particularly against the Bengals. All of the Steelers’ defensive backs struggled in that matchup, but Echols didn’t look totally overmatched. With the Steelers’ secondary dealing with several injuries throughout this season, Echols has proven to be trustworthy when called upon.
Despite Slay’s struggles, Tomlin isn’t placing all of the blame for the Steelers’ defensive failures on him.
“He’s been solid at times. Certainly, he’s left a few plays out there, but I think that’s not only reflective of him, but reflective of the collective. You could say the same thing about us as coaches, starting first and foremost with myself.”
The Steelers signed Slay to a one-year deal this offseason. For years, he was among the top corners in the league. In his career, Slay has been named a First-team All-Pro once and a Pro Bowler six times.
However, he’s also 34 years old. Not many corners continue to be productive at that age. There was risk in the Steelers signing him, and so far, that gamble has not paid off.
Slay has been a weak link in the Steelers’ secondary. His tackling has been brutal, and he hasn’t been able to keep up in coverage. With the Steelers’ pass defense ranked at 31st in the league, they need to do something different. That could mean Slay’s role continuing to get reduced.
What that means for the Steelers’ defense as a whole remains to be seen. Ramsey and Joey Porter Jr. would likely continue to be their starting boundary corners, with the Steelers giving Echols more chances to prove himself. Will this fix all of their problems? Probably not, but hopefully, it can help the Steelers’ defense finally find its footing.
