The Steelers’ vaunted defense continues to look anything but, while the defenders continue to express confidence they can fix it. Juan Thornhill has been among the most enthusiastic about their potential, and he remains convinced of it. Despite their rough outing against the Packers last night, he is not doubting what they have. Nor their ability to right the ship, and quickly.
“I don’t think it’s confidence at all, if I’m being honest. I don’t”, Thornhill said, via the Steelers’ website, about the defense. He added, “I don’t think anybody’s going out there just expecting to be beat or nervous or something like that. Literally, I just feel like we’ve got to work on the things like finding the ball when they throw it, making the tackles that we’re supposed to make. Things as simple as that”.
Asked if the Steelers’ issues on defense were simple to correct, he said, “Definitely. Just make the tackle, literally. We can do certain drills in practice that will allow us to make those tackles, stay in our gaps, when the ball’s in the air, track it, things like that. It’s easy to fix”.
It’s easy, at least, to say that the Steelers’ issues on defense are easy to fix. I know because Juan Thornhill basically said that last week, and then—well, you saw last night. Heading into the Packers game, he said the defense was “literally a couple plays away”. Well, they seemed even further than that last night.
The Steelers allowed 35 points to the Packers, the defense allowing another 450-plus yards for the second week in a row. While they did okay on third down, they otherwise struggled situationally. And by the end of the game, they hardly looked like they could manage a stop.
The Steelers defense was on the field for six drives in the second half. They allowed touchdowns on the first three, field goals on the next two, and allowed the Packers to run out the clock on the final drive. Even going back to the first half, they benefited from two missed field goals, even if they forced three three-and-outs.
For the third straight game, the Steelers defense produced zero takeaways. This time around, they didn’t even manage to record a single sack, mustering one pass defensed. By the time players retreated to the locker room, they admitted they saw a lack of fight from the defense.
Cam Heyward, for example, suggested that they let their problems snowball, which seems true enough. But can the Steelers really just solve issues on defense by practicing better? After all, they’re already practicing, and presumably practicing well, yet are playing like this. If they have drills that will easily fix these problems, why aren’t they already doing them? Truly a mystery wrapped in a riddle, stuffed inside a pierogi.
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