Defense determined to finish strong against run, even without Wormley

The Steelers came into the 2022 season determined to improve at stopping other teams from running the football. Not just improve, but vastly improve.

Now with one of their best run stoppers placed on injured reserve and out for the season, the Steelers don't have much time to lick their wounds. They got back to work Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex with determination to figure out a way to get back to the success they were having before the second half in Atlanta.

The loss of Chris Wormley will be overlooked by far too many people. Twenty-nine tackles, one forced fumble and a half of a sack on nine hurries aren't eye-popping stats. But after a 2021 season in which Wormley recorded seven sacks, his evolution toward becoming a better run defender has paid dividends while only playing 40 percent of the snaps on defense.

"Me coming in from last year, watching Chris, I think he took a great jump, especially in run (defense)," Montravius Adams said Wednesday. "Honestly, a lot of them on pass double-teams. That's something I've been trying to learn. I think he's one of the best in the room when it comes to splitting double-teams."

The folks at Pro Football Focus rank Wormley 18th out of 125 interior defensive linemen. His ability to eat up space in pass defense continues to be recognized, but his run defense is a big reason why he's ranked so high. 

Here's one example of Wormley doing all the right things to defend the run while others might not be doing such a great job:

Wormley (No. 95) immediately beats the tackle, takes away the fullback, and clogs up the middle. He almost gets over in enough time to even tackle Gus Edwards, but Wormley's work should have freed up DeMarvin Leal or Terrell Edmunds to set the edge and contain him. That obviously didn't happen as Edmunds and Leal wound up on top of each other and Edwards bust it outside for a big gain.

This is the kind of stuff Wormley has done all year, all while playing far fewer snaps than a season ago.

I had a nice chat with Tyson Alualu Wednesday morning about losing Wormley, and he echoed a similar sentiment that his fellow teammates shared. But, he articulated it in a way that really shows how much this hurts.

"I don't know if I can say the right things with how well he's been playing this year and last year. Just the growth that we see from him as a player, whether it's how he plays the game physically or his mentality of how he attacks the game. He's been playing really well," Alualu told me. "We were all looking forward to him having another great year this year, finishing and then securing a bag (contract) for him. I know that's still in his future. He's still a young dude. But it's a tough loss when you see the work, the development that he put in, to put himself in that position, and then to lose him while he's playing some good ball. It definitely hurts the team. But more than that, we're hurting for him."

Wormley will be a free agent in March. His cap hit this season is $2.9 million, which is less than Alualu's $3.46-million cap hit and Larry Ogunjobi's whopping $8-million hit. Ogunjobi also has one-half of a sack with only four more tackles than Wormley while playing 60 percent of the snaps. Ogunjobi also ranks 54th of the 125 interior defensive linemen, according to PFF.

Nevertheless, the Steelers' run defenders know they have to finish the season strong. Heading into the win over the Falcons, they ranked sixth in the NFL with 4.0 yards per carry against and ranked seventh with 104.0 rushing yards allowed per game. 

But, after the past six quarters, including the permitting of 215 yards on the ground in the loss to Baltimore, the Steelers have fallen to 15th in the NFL with 115.8 rushing yards allowed per game.

As defeated as the locker room was after Sunday's loss to Baltimore, the mentality of the group is staying high. That's set from the top by Mike Tomlin, and his players adhere to it with the utmost respect.

"Wanting to stop the run is an attitude mentality. It's just something that we've got to find a way to get that done," Alualu told me. "Where we are, as a team and as a unit, is not where we want to be. but this, who knows, you just fight and just come out trying to get better, and hope the results follow."

The Panthers are next on the schedule. They may be 5-8, but they are no slouch in the run game. While they aren't as formidable or run centric as the Falcons or Ravens, they still rank 13th in the NFL with 124.9 yards per game on the ground. And you can bet they'll want to challenge a Steelers' run defense that is reeling.

In order to have a strong finish over the final four games of the season, the Steelers are focused on getting back to what was helping them be successful over the first 11 games.

"Physicality. Staying in our gaps. Making the pile fall back," Alex Highsmith said Wednesday. "Attacking guys. We didn't do that enough last game, so we know it's going to be a point of emphasis this game because they have a really good running game, division of backs."

The Steelers are still tied for sixth in the NFL with 4.2 yards per carry against, so the run defense hasn't completely collapsed over six quarters. However, in talking with several members of the defensive front on Wednesday, it is clear they are very displeased with their performance as of late.

In chatting with Wormley just a couple weeks ago, he told me this defense wants to finish in the top five in run defense. Not only for pride, but they know when they stop the run, they are much more likely to win games.

Top five against the run might be out of reach now. But, the final four games of the season are a great opportunity to turn the past six quarters into a blip on the radar rather than a bad moment that defines their season.

"It's a mindset," Highsmith said. "This point of the year it's gotta be a mindset. It's not something that is schematics. You can't install physicality. It's gotta be a mindset. We come in, and it starts play one. We have to set the tone."

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• Stopping the run isn't the only thing important to Adams. In his meeting with the media Wednesday, he gave some heartfelt words regarding how much this team wants to win their final four games to preserve Tomlin's streak of seasons at .500 or better.

"At the end of the day something that means a lot to me is Coach T," Adams said. "Never had a losing season. I just don't want that to be under my belt. He is a guy that when I came in gave me a lot of morale to play better. I am sure a lot of guys in the locker room feel this way. We've got to get it right. When I sit back and think it's something that's on my mind. Just for the time I have (been here), the coaching staff and him have been great. What people say about him being a player's coach is all the way true. If we can't gel together for each other, at least we can do it for him."

Tomlin's first sub-.500 season would also be the franchise's first since 2003. One more loss guarantees that.

• Regarding the need to up the physicality, the Steelers practiced in full pads today. This was no accident. This is a clear emphasis from the top down. The Steelers hadn't practiced in full pads since the Wednesday before the Colts game.

"It's one of those days," Adams said with a smile.

• To help make up for the loss of Wormley, the Steelers signed Jonathan Marshall from the Jets' practice squad to the 53-man roster. He said the past 24 hours have been pretty crazy for him, but he's excited to possibly get an opportunity to play for Pittsburgh. 

It's unclear if he'll get a helmet this Sunday at Carolina.

"I have to get in, get to work, study the playbook and do everything I can," Marshall said Wednesday. "The first step is to get to work and show everybody here what I can do."

• There is a locker at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for Ola Adeniyi, though the Steelers have not officially announced any signing. It was first reported Tuesday night.

• I've got to be honest. I was a little surprised to see Kenny Pickett on the practice field, especially for a fully padded practice. He was limited, and that was clear even during individual drills:

Corey Crisan has more on the quarterback situation, including the split reps between Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph.

• The quote of the day, perhaps the quote of the season, came from Rudolph regarding the whole "2 and 2A" quote from Tomlin on where he might actually rank in the depth chart.

"I feel like I've been inactive," Rudolph said.

Ouch.

• In addition to Pickett's limited participation Wednesday, Cam Sutton (neck/stinger) was also limited. Meanwhile Najee Harris (hip), Pat Freiermuth (foot), Myles Jack (groin) and Larry Ogunjobi (toe) did not practice.

• This is the third week in a row Harris has missed practice on Wednesday, though this time he's listed with a hip injury while an oblique is what put him on the injury report the past two weeks. This might be another way to manage Harris' workload outside of just limiting his touches on game days.