The Steelers are expecting a lot out of this year's defense. With all the moves Omar Khan made, they should be one of the best units in the NFL. However, it take more than a collection of great talent. They all have to be in sync.
Given the way the 2024 season ended for this team, streamlining communication will be at the forefront for this defense.
"That's the biggest thing, is communication," Darius Slay said. "Just making sure everyone's on the same page."
The Steelers went to great lengths to shore up the communication issues. Not only did the roster see a good amount of turnover, but Mike Tomlin hired two new coaches on the defensive side: Scott McCurley coaching the inside linebackers and Gerald Alexander coaching the defensive backs.
There was a concerted effort across the board to streamline communication. The defensive backs have worked on this throughout training camp and the preseason. Slay went so far as to say they can be wrong occasionally, but as long as they are all wrong together. That way, they're all still on the same page.
A key component comes down to Patrick Queen, the hub of communication. He played 100% of the snaps last season, and he'll likely do so again in 2025. He'll have the green dot, which means Teryl Austin's call will go to Queen's helmet, who then relays that to the defense.
Last year was a big adjustment for Queen. He's admitted that on multiple occasions. It's one thing to worry about your own job, but also carry the responsibility of communicating as clearly as possible so the other 10 guys know what they're doing, too. Not to mention, Queen was learning a whole new system.
This year, Queen's told me he feels way more comfortable. His coordinator agrees:
"I think he's a lot more comfortable," Austin said of Queen. "I know it seems easy, you're just hearing a guy talk to you, but sometimes you don't want to hear my voice. And I'm talking to him and sometimes you're giving guys, 'Hey, here's the call, but hey, alert for this, make sure you relay this, do this.' There's a lot of things that are really going on on that mic. At first it can be unsettling. You're talking about a guy in a new city, learning new stuff, learning his teammates. Now, there's a comfort level there. I think he could take that information a lot more smoothly than he did last year and get it out a lot more smoothly. I think he's been really, really good in terms of that this year. I think how we communicate is a lot easier and better this year."
In this Week 1 game against the Jets, scheme will only matter so much. Neither team has 2025 tape on the other. That's the nature of an opener. That's why Tomlin this week stressed the importance of playing clean football.
"The component of Week 1 football is not necessarily about who you play but how you play, the quality of our play, the cleanliness, technical expertise, the minimizing of penalties and things of that nature oftentimes determine quality performance in Week 1," Tomlin said on Tuesday. "Make no mistake: We've got a lot of respect for the challenges of preparing for, and ultimately playing the Jets, but, like most people in Week 1, our focus is on the quality of our work, the quality of our play, our division of labor, our ability to display situational knowledge, execute and make quality plays within the circumstances, et cetera."
If the Steelers can communicate, along with limiting other self-inflicting wounds, they'll stand a great chance to win.
THE ASYLUM
Communication issues seem to be in the past
The Steelers are expecting a lot out of this year's defense. With all the moves Omar Khan made, they should be one of the best units in the NFL. However, it take more than a collection of great talent. They all have to be in sync.
Given the way the 2024 season ended for this team, streamlining communication will be at the forefront for this defense.
"That's the biggest thing, is communication," Darius Slay said. "Just making sure everyone's on the same page."
The Steelers went to great lengths to shore up the communication issues. Not only did the roster see a good amount of turnover, but Mike Tomlin hired two new coaches on the defensive side: Scott McCurley coaching the inside linebackers and Gerald Alexander coaching the defensive backs.
There was a concerted effort across the board to streamline communication. The defensive backs have worked on this throughout training camp and the preseason. Slay went so far as to say they can be wrong occasionally, but as long as they are all wrong together. That way, they're all still on the same page.
A key component comes down to Patrick Queen, the hub of communication. He played 100% of the snaps last season, and he'll likely do so again in 2025. He'll have the green dot, which means Teryl Austin's call will go to Queen's helmet, who then relays that to the defense.
Last year was a big adjustment for Queen. He's admitted that on multiple occasions. It's one thing to worry about your own job, but also carry the responsibility of communicating as clearly as possible so the other 10 guys know what they're doing, too. Not to mention, Queen was learning a whole new system.
This year, Queen's told me he feels way more comfortable. His coordinator agrees:
"I think he's a lot more comfortable," Austin said of Queen. "I know it seems easy, you're just hearing a guy talk to you, but sometimes you don't want to hear my voice. And I'm talking to him and sometimes you're giving guys, 'Hey, here's the call, but hey, alert for this, make sure you relay this, do this.' There's a lot of things that are really going on on that mic. At first it can be unsettling. You're talking about a guy in a new city, learning new stuff, learning his teammates. Now, there's a comfort level there. I think he could take that information a lot more smoothly than he did last year and get it out a lot more smoothly. I think he's been really, really good in terms of that this year. I think how we communicate is a lot easier and better this year."
In this Week 1 game against the Jets, scheme will only matter so much. Neither team has 2025 tape on the other. That's the nature of an opener. That's why Tomlin this week stressed the importance of playing clean football.
"The component of Week 1 football is not necessarily about who you play but how you play, the quality of our play, the cleanliness, technical expertise, the minimizing of penalties and things of that nature oftentimes determine quality performance in Week 1," Tomlin said on Tuesday. "Make no mistake: We've got a lot of respect for the challenges of preparing for, and ultimately playing the Jets, but, like most people in Week 1, our focus is on the quality of our work, the quality of our play, our division of labor, our ability to display situational knowledge, execute and make quality plays within the circumstances, et cetera."
If the Steelers can communicate, along with limiting other self-inflicting wounds, they'll stand a great chance to win.
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