The Steelers spent a lot on their defense this offseason, as they have for years, but the results aren’t there. And their pricy additions—and mainstays—aren’t living up to their price tag, to Field Yates’ surprise. On paper, the Steelers should be great, but on the field, they haven’t been.
“The surprising part to me is, yes, they are integrating some new pieces into this defense. But guys like Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, who have been around forever in the NFL, those are the kind of guys that you don’t worry about what kind of role they’re going to have”, Yates on NFL Live said about the Steelers’ defense. The obvious implication is they are having to worry about it.
Yates defended Ramsey’s play, actually, saying the “was exceptional” in Sunday’s game. While he noted Ramsey interception, he failed to mention the multiple big receiving plays he allowed. Ramsey was probably the best Steelers player on the field last week, but he looked slow at times on Sunday.
“I thought coming into the year that the Steelers had a passable offense that could become above average and a championship-caliber defense, which would be good enough to get them into the playoffs”, Yates said, echoing the popular opinion, quite frankly. “Through two games, they’re 1-1 and it’s not because of the defense”.
The Steelers have allowed 63 points this season, though the defense has “only” surrendered 56. The Seahawks scored a touchdown on special teams on Sunday when Kaleb Johnson failed to field a kickoff and Seattle recovered it in the end zone.
They have also allowed 490 yards through the air and 299 on the ground. In those categories, the Steelers rank 23rd and 28th in the NFL on defense, respectively. They rank 29th in both points allowed and yards allowed, though their three takeaways is tied for seventh.
T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward have made some plays, but not the plays they’re supposed to make—mostly. Heyward did have a batted pass that turned into a Nick Herbig interception, though neither have recorded a sack or other splash play beyond a pass defensed. The Steelers just made Watt the highest-paid player on defense in the NFL, too. And he’s in his longest sack drought of his career, going back to last season.
A year ago around this time, the Steelers had an argument to be the best defense in the league. Prior to this season, Steelers defenders argued they could be one of the best defenses ever. So far, they’re not even in the top two-thirds of the league for this season. And guys like Watt, Slay, Heyward, and Ramsey are all contributing to that, to some degree.
Is it just a matter of time before they put it all together, or is this a major concern? The Steelers were down three starters on defense with Derrick Harmon, DeShon Elliott, and Joey Porter Jr. How much of a difference will that make?
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