The Steelers are in a free fall, losing the hyped up gauntlet of three games in 11 days. But, the main reason for concern isn't just the fact that they lost all three games. It's not even the fact that they were outscored, 90-40. It's how they lost.
Reviewing the film on the 29-10 loss to the Chiefs was a painful experience. I watched every single one of Patrick Mahomes' dropbacks five different times. Just for your sake, I'm making you suffer through just 10 of them.
What you'll see is a myriad of issues. It's not just one main thing or one guy. There are some schematic flaws, but those pale in comparison to the communication breakdowns prior to the snap that are leaving players wide open. As for players, yeah, there's one guy who's been worse than everyone else, but everyone else isn't exactly blameless here:
Nobody put the analysis of this play by the defense better than DeShon Elliott after the game.
“Guys can’t be f---ing wide open. That’s the first thing. Do your job,” Elliott said. “I felt like we communicated, guys just weren’t doing their freaking job. So, it’s getting back to the drawing board. It’s Week 18, we shouldn’t be having these problems in Week 18. This is a Week 1, Week 2 problem. So, I don’t know where we went down the line and started becoming a whole different defense from what we were, but we gotta get back to who we are.”
Over the past three games, Cam Sutton played 31 snaps against the Eagles, 19 against the Ravens and 43 against the Chiefs. Beanie Bishop played 24 snaps against the Eagles, 17 against the Ravens and zero against the Chiefs. Is it just a coincidence that the communication issues have spiked during a time in which Sutton has played more snaps than Bishop?
I don't believe in coincidences. I can also see that Sutton has blown multiple assignments that have given up multiple touchdowns. While Bishop hasn't been exactly great this season, the defense was at least not as susceptible to complete breakdowns in coverage.
Again, there are other issues to fix outside of Sutton. But, that might be a start. And, when this season does come to an end, slot cornerback has to be addressed in the spring.
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THE ASYLUM
Chris Halicke
11:31 pm - 12.27.2024DowntownChalk Talk: This defensive disarray
The Steelers are in a free fall, losing the hyped up gauntlet of three games in 11 days. But, the main reason for concern isn't just the fact that they lost all three games. It's not even the fact that they were outscored, 90-40. It's how they lost.
Reviewing the film on the 29-10 loss to the Chiefs was a painful experience. I watched every single one of Patrick Mahomes' dropbacks five different times. Just for your sake, I'm making you suffer through just 10 of them.
What you'll see is a myriad of issues. It's not just one main thing or one guy. There are some schematic flaws, but those pale in comparison to the communication breakdowns prior to the snap that are leaving players wide open. As for players, yeah, there's one guy who's been worse than everyone else, but everyone else isn't exactly blameless here:
Nobody put the analysis of this play by the defense better than DeShon Elliott after the game.
“Guys can’t be f---ing wide open. That’s the first thing. Do your job,” Elliott said. “I felt like we communicated, guys just weren’t doing their freaking job. So, it’s getting back to the drawing board. It’s Week 18, we shouldn’t be having these problems in Week 18. This is a Week 1, Week 2 problem. So, I don’t know where we went down the line and started becoming a whole different defense from what we were, but we gotta get back to who we are.”
Over the past three games, Cam Sutton played 31 snaps against the Eagles, 19 against the Ravens and 43 against the Chiefs. Beanie Bishop played 24 snaps against the Eagles, 17 against the Ravens and zero against the Chiefs. Is it just a coincidence that the communication issues have spiked during a time in which Sutton has played more snaps than Bishop?
I don't believe in coincidences. I can also see that Sutton has blown multiple assignments that have given up multiple touchdowns. While Bishop hasn't been exactly great this season, the defense was at least not as susceptible to complete breakdowns in coverage.
Again, there are other issues to fix outside of Sutton. But, that might be a start. And, when this season does come to an end, slot cornerback has to be addressed in the spring.
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Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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