Steelers Secondary
Steelers Secondary
Players on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense have often cited the need to improve communication over the last two years. Although the unit is talented, mistakes and miscommunications have been commonplace, especially in the secondary.
That’s something the group is looking to change this season. Asante Samuel Jr. feels his unit is strengthening its bond together, even with new position coaches and a new defensive coordinator.
“It’s been good. It’s a long season, so you know, a lot of things happen during the season. So you don’t know who you’re gonna be out there with. You have to be able to communicate effectively with anybody out there. So, it just comes with trust. You’ve gotta trust your brother out there, and I feel like we do that; we trust each other,” Samuel said Monday via Steelers.com.
Samuel is certainly right that you never know who might get playing time during the course of a long season. Last year, Pittsburgh envisioned names like Darius Slay and Juan Thornhill making a consistent impact, but neither made it through the season. Jalen Ramsey moved to safety and players like James Pierre and Samuel emerged out of nowhere down the stretch.
The Steelers have already had to shuffle their secondary. Pittsburgh started camp with both Jalen Ramsey and Joey Porter Jr. on the PUP list. The lack of clarity on their status is a little worrisome, especially with Ramsey. Samuel has taken on a large role in their place and has done well. But the Steelers have already had to move some players before their first preseason snap.
The good news is the Steelers should have more depth this year. Samuel and Jamel Dean are solid when healthy. Daylen Everette has also turned a lot of heads during camp. And safeties DeShon Elliott and Jaquan Brisker should be capable of holding things down.
But no matter how much talent the Steelers have in the secondary, we’ve seen how poorly things can run without good communication. Improving it is critical, especially with a new staff in place. Things are going well according to Samuel, though.