With the Steelers’ secondary continually in flux, even the defensive backs don’t fully know the plan for Sunday against the Bengals, Joey Porter Jr. admits. While they moved Jalen Ramsey to safety, they also acquired him to play the Bengals at cornerback. They also just added Asante Samuel Jr., but will he play this week? And if he doesn’t, then who else plays, and how much—and where?
“We really don’t know how it’s going to end up”, Porter admitted of the Steelers’ plans for the secondary against the Bengals, via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We just know we’re going to be prepared and ready”.
The Steelers started the season with a secondary consisting of Ramsey, Porter, and Slay at cornerback. They had DeShon Elliott at safety, and Juan Thornhill was his most frequent partner. Then they added Jabrill Peppers, and he and Chuck Clark started contributing. Brandin Echols was in the mix, and now he appears to be the primary slot defender. In the meantime, James Pierre has emerged while Slay has fallen behind.
The Steelers could field a secondary against the Bengals consisting of Porter, Pierre, Echols, Ramsey, and Kyle Dugger. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that they traded for another safety along the way. And we’ll see how Asante Samuel’s status shakes out, considering he hasn’t played in over a year.
Earlier this week, HC Mike Tomlin expressed appreciation for the stability Ramsey and Dugger have provided the Steelers’ secondary since pairing up at safety. At the same time, he also acknowledged they were formulating their plan of attack for the Bengals.
After all, this might be the hardest assignment in football for a secondary, and the Steelers already failed once. The Bengals absolutely spanked them just a few weeks ago with Ja’Marr Chase setting a team record along the way. And Tee Higgins beat Jalen Ramsey for the game-sealing catch—after which Ramsey moved to safety.
The Steelers needed to do something drastic after the secondary lost DeShon Elliott, likely for the season, due to injury. Rather than promote Juan Thornhill, Jabrill Peppers, or Chuck Clark, they added Kyle Dugger. And then they moved Jalen Ramsey to safety, which was always a possibility when they first acquired him.
That felt more like a long-term plan, however, rather than an immediate move. And I’m sure even Ramsey has been surprised, but he, so he says, just wants to do whatever he can to help the team win. Of course, his motivational speech only lasted one game.
Can the Steelers match up with this Bengals offense with the secondary they currently have? They entered the season believing they had three lockdown cornerbacks, but it’s not clear they have one. In the first game in Cincinnati, they saw just how ineffective their plan was. They surely know they must pivot, but how will they execute that?
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