The Steelers’ run defense in 2021 was, well, awful.
The 2,483 yards allowed on the ground were the most by the Steelers since the NFL merger. So was the 5.0 yards per carry. And it wasn’t just bad in terms of the franchise, it was the worst in the NFL, allowing 146.1 yards per game.
For a team that has prided itself in being a stout defensive unit first and foremost, it was a sobering season.
The Steelers know that teams will try to establish that against them again early this season. But they want to show that 2021 was an anomaly.
There had been hope the return of nose tackle Tyson Alualu and defensive end Stephon Tuitt would be major factor fixing the run defense.
But with Tuitt announcing his retirement Wednesday, at least half of that potential solution went by the wayside.
That doesn’t mean the Steelers are just going to throw their hands in the air and assume they won’t be able to stop the run again in 2022.
“It takes a multitude of things to operate on run defense,” defensive captain Cam Heyward told me. “If you can’t stop it, they’re going to keep doing it. We’ve got to address that early and make sure everybody knows going into the season that you’re not going to be able to run the ball on us.”
Getting Alualu back on the field should help that.
He and Tuitt two combined to play just five quarters in 2021, all by Alualu, who suffered a broken ankle in Week 2. Tuitt didn’t play a snap because of a knee injury and the death of his brother in a hit-and-run incident.
Alualu has been a consistent presence at the team’s OTA sessions, which wrapped up Thursday.
Without Alualu and Tuitt, the Steelers went with a myriad of different players in as replacements. Thing was, while they could replace Alualu and Tuitt in the lineup, they couldn’t replace them in terms of where they were supposed to be.
“I think it comes down to everyone knowing your job and doing your job,” Alualu told me. “When you understand the defense, you know where you’re supposed to be. I think that was a big piece of having so many people playing the position. There were a lot of bodies coming in and trying to fill in. I think it was good for a lot of those guys to gain that experience. I think that for what we need to do as a team, that will help us.”
That might be the case.
Rookie Isaiahh Loudermilk, a fifth-round draft pick, was supposed to be a project last season. He wound up playing nearly 25 percent of the snaps. Montravius Adams, signed off the practice squad of the Saints, in late November, wound up starting four of the team’s final five games. Henry Mondeaux, who began the season on the practice squad, played nearly 21 percent of the team’s defensive snaps.
Those numbers don't even take into account players such as Isaiah Buggs, who wound up getting released after starting six games and appearing in 10 total last season.
The Steelers were trying anything and everything last season, and opponents smelled blood in the water.
It's the same group back this season -- with the notable addition of Alualu and now third-round draft pick DeMarvin Leal -- so the improvement has to come from within.
“I got a lot of experience last season that will help me,” Loudermilk said. “But so much more is expected this season.”
To be sure. Inexperience won’t be an excuse.
“I’m not blaming it on coordinating or schematics. Guys are a year older and maybe have a better understanding of our defense,” Heyward said. “Obviously, we’re going to get some guys back, and we brought in some other guys, but it’s not easy to be a cohesive unit in the run game. Usually if you give up a run, it’s not just one person. If it is, hopefully, that guy’s not playing.
“Eleven guys have to execute together. In pass rush, one guy can have a great rush and get home. Against the run, it takes everybody, the corners filling, the linebackers filling their gaps, the d-line being stout up front, the outside linebackers pinching down against the tight end and fullbacks.”
Another problem was the Steelers’ offense spent too much time stuck in neutral. The Steelers scored more than 23 points in a game just five times last season. Opponents knew they could continue to run the ball because they were never out of the game. The Steelers offense didn’t scare anyone from running the ball, either.
The Steelers saw the ball run against them 498 times in 2021, the most since 1989 – a different era of NFL football. The last time opponents came close to running the ball that much against the Steelers was in 2019, when they ran it 462 times despite averaging 3.8 yards per attempt.
That season, Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges started 14 games at quarterback. Like that season, opponents didn’t fear the Steelers putting up big point totals last season.
"That's no excuse," linebacker Alex Highsmith told me. "It doesn't matter what the circumstances are, guys still have to do their job and stop the run. If you do your job, they won't run it."
That comes down to a matter of capability.
Veteran Chris Wormley picked up a large portion of the snaps last season with both Alualu and Tuitt out. Now, with Tuitt done, he remains in a more prominent role.
He's been sitting out OTA sessions himself this offseason after having a minor knee procedure. But he'll be ready for the start of training camp and what awaits.
“I think the guys we have here are the guys that are going to be with us throughout the season,” Wormley said. “I am excited for some of the younger guys to step up like they did last year. But I am excited for myself and the opportunity that presented itself last year and is this year as well.”