Steelers Reinforcements Defense banged up…
The Steelers defense is banged up. Reinforcements will come from in-house, not on the open market
Pittsburgh (AP) — Mike Tomlin, the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has decided not to look for help on the open market to help his injured defense.
Tomlin stated on Tuesday that he thinks the team already has the answers to Pittsburgh’s depth problems, especially at inside linebacker, where Kwon Alexander (Achilles tendon) and veteran Cole Holcomb (knee) have both been sidelined for the entire season in back-to-back weeks.
Tomlin remarked, “We’ve got guys we feel comfortable with.” “To be really honest with you, we’ve been forward-thinking in the acquisition of some of our people.”
Especially on the practice squad, where the Steelers have added both experienced and developmental players, like inside linebacker Mykal Walker, who played for Atlanta last season and then bounced from Las Vegas to Chicago, with 107 tackles Pittsburgh, which signed the 26-year-old in late October.
“He’s on our practice squad to get familiar with the position and to get ready for an occasion like the one that this weekend is likely to bring,” Tomlin stated.
With Alexander out of the game early in Sunday’s 23-19 victory over Green Bay, Pittsburgh had just two inside linebackers available for the remainder of the game: Elandon Roberts and Mark Robinson. Robinson played a career-high 41 snaps, and Roberts had eight tackles.
After intercepting two passes in the last few minutes—one in the end zone and the other at the goal line—the Steelers managed to win. However, as Tomlin pointed out, the fact that there are so many new (or at least somewhat familiar) faces in black and gold on the field is one of the reasons the Packers were able to position themselves to win it late.
Among the players on the list was safety Trenton Thompson, a member of the practice squad who was called up to the 53-man roster for the game and had to enter the field late in the fourth quarter due to a rib injury sustained by Keanu Neal.
Neal’s availability for Sunday’s game between Pittsburgh (6-3) and Cleveland (6-3) is unknown at this time. Minkah Fitzpatrick, an All-Pro safety, has also been sidelined for the last two games due to a hamstring injury.
Roberts appears to be the best option, even though Tomlin would not say who would sport the green dot on their helmet—which is worn by the player who receives the play call from the defensive coordinator and relays it to the other 10 players on the field, a job usually assigned to an inside linebacker.
“We’re going to lean a lot on Elandon (in general), but that’s why we brought him here,” Tomlin said. “He’s a defensive quarterback in mentality (and) a really good communicator.”
Whoever is on the field will have to find a way to slow down a Cleveland running game that gashed the Steelers for 198 yards in their first meeting, a n improbable 26-22 Pittsburgh win on Sept. 18 in which the Steelers used two defensive touchdowns to beat their longtime rivals.
Pittsburgh’s offense could receive a boost with the return of tight end Pat Freiermuth, who hasn’t played since injuring his hamstring against Houston on Oct. 1. The Steelers’ passing game has been a mixed bag of late, with quarterback Kenny Pickett throwing for just 126 yards against Green Bay, though part of that was the byproduct of a running game that rolled up 205 yards.
Although Tomlin acknowledged that Pickett, who has only scored six touchdowns, needs to improve, he also expressed little concern about the way Pickett’s performance appears on a stat sheet.
“As this road narrows, we’re going to need more from Pickett,” Tomlin remarked. “But, man, guys like Kenny and me, our success is determined by our victories and defeats.”