Pittsburgh's Defense Was A Mess Against Baltimore

[@Justin_Watson23]

Patrick Queen just standing there when Peyton Wilson didn't know where to line up is wild from a green dot guy.

[@VonPitt84]

The ghost of Devin Bush...

[@Crk2784]

Wilson was supposed to spy on Mr. Jackson ("hat on hat"). That's why Minkah was pointing at Jackson after the play. Queen didn't say anything because Wilson was lined up right. Watch it again and you'll see the run fits and coverage.

[@JW0143]

Defensive communication has been an issue for years now. They've made reference to communication issues after countless losses. Fix it or clean house

[@niyidelano]

On the Minka interception, No. 42 was also open and could have scored as well. Unfortunately, these issues have plagued us all season. Earlier in the year, we were able to compensate by forcing turnovers, but now the competition has improved, and those mistakes are costing us. Ultimately, the responsibility for these miscommunications falls on the coaches. If problems like this are still happening this late in the season, it’s a clear sign that there are coaching issues that need to be addressed.

[@21Kolb]

How are we that unprepared……..again?

[@Alex_Kozora]

Yeah not a good look. Really struggling on the road to communicate.

[@21Kolb]

@ got to clean this up especially on tomorrow. We can’t afford to go into playoffs not being prepared.

[@WilliamSmith-if3nb]

Agreed

[@JW0143]

@@Alex_Kozora Alex why would being on the road have anything to do with communication issues? The crowd certainly shouldn't be loud when the home teams offense is on the field. I've seen the defensive breakdowns in all stadiums including our own

[@misterwirez7731]

Are we that shocked? IT WAS WEEK 16! If Wilson doesn't know where to line up, why was he in the game? This is Austin's defense. I don't like his "coordination". Especially against Baltimore, a team they should know better than any other in the NFL. That was embarrassing.

[@EdmacZ]

Its 2017 all over again. The Defense has a fast start, but cracks begin to show and they can't stop a nosebleed near the end.

[@RCruz68714]

I’ve been really disappointed with Queen this year. There’s a reason Baltimore fans didn’t bat an eye seeing him leave.

[@melaninknowledge3658]

Roquan made queen look like a baller. Queen was lookin so confused out there! I hope he's not the captain of the defense. Queen lacks the IQ that makes Roquan so good

[@ericsinclair1826]

Baltimore fans didn't bat an eye? Yeah idk about all that. Baltimore fans went nuts on social media. Hell they are still chirping about it. And Queen is a lot better than your giving him credit for. Queen and Elliott are very important pieces of this defense. Without one of them we are in trouble. We don't have replacements for those guys. Thus= Baltimore gets the win.

[@mackenzieblair8135]

@@ericsinclair1826we didn’t really care…. We all know that Roquan is the heart of the defense and Queen underperformed until we traded for Ro. What’s been bizarre is the attitude Queen has had like Baltimore disrespected him. He has a one way feud with his old team and it’s weird. Any chirping probably had to do with him going to a division rival.

[@davidmc8475]

@@ericsinclair1826 We didn’t want to lose Queen, it’s just that we couldn’t afford him. The Ravens were up against the cap. As an outsider looking in, Pittsburgh needs a QB. Wilson is a stop-gap not a solution. The last few years Pittsburgh has had a competitive team, but not a Super Bowl competitive team. Mostly due to the lack of a good QB. Baltimore’s problem is they fail in the playoffs due to poor coaching where the Steelers fail due to the lack of a QB that’s a threat to the opposing team’s defense. Just an opinion.

[@samazon52]

@@mackenzieblair8135 Queen didn't underperform. He is arguably a top 10 player from the 2020 NFL draft.

[@TheCHOSENOneJones]

Let the plays run during the intro, please. I like your work man. Keep it up!!

[@Alex_Kozora]

Appreciate the thought but I try to keep the intros short. You wouldn't really even see much of the play or the context anyway. I usually don't even have pulled up the first play I'm talking about for the intro anyway.

[@TheCHOSENOneJones]

@Alex_Kozora right, that's the point. There's "dead air"(call center terms) 20 seconds of intro is at least 2 plays for us to only look at whole we listen to you. Gives us a visual and more engagement for the future... Just a suggestion

[@jbatina]

Love your stuff. I know offense and Smith have their issues, all too often D and Austin get a pass though

[@RunBayou]

Like Trice getting physical on that second play at least

[@BrandRedacted]

I understand that the numbers may seem good, but this defense has been pretty bad all year. Our secondary is complete trash. Tomlin and his yes men have never been able to develop a DB. Burns, Davis, Layne, Brooks, Golson, and I'm skeptical of Trice and JPJ tbh. Tomlin is not the "defensive guru" everyone thinks he is. His defensive resume is mediocre if you really look at it. He was DB coach in Tampa when that defense was already all world and had 2 HOFers in the secondary and was D coordinator in Minnesota for 1 season and was middle of the pack. No big deal tho as long as he gets his non losing record. That's all that really matters

[@BG33917]

Golson barely played because of injury and the other guys were bums. U would have a point if they looked good with other teams

[@donovan4222]

lol the defense has not been bad all year

[@user-f5xt2op9t]

How much is everyone loving the HUGE addition of PQ this offseason?

[@BnYPod6]

We didn’t have our whole secondary

[@nathanreiter6908]

Where the heck are the coaches that should be fixing this crap? If a player cannot get the schemes down why are they on the field?

[@jakemercer1337]

Just can’t happen. A lot of these mistakes are preventable and not so much to do with personnel. We shouldn’t have these communication issues this late in the season. That’s a reflection of poor preparation during the week.

[@valiford2441]

Being able to tackle and staying in your gap is high school football not NFL game prep.

[@jakemercer1337]

@ I remember when I played football in 8th grade and I got yelled at by my teammates for not setting the edge like Trice did. Sometimes even the pros forget about the basics!!

[@willr4880]

​@valiford2441 where did the guy say anything in his comment about tackling? He said communication. Or did i read that wrong

[@jaybo420]

At least in man coverage nobody “should “ be running wide open

[@hammer86_]

5:39 Minka clearly tells Sutton to cover Andrews.

[@Alex_Kozora]

Yes, Sutton didn't receive the message.

[@natetewkesbury]

​@@Alex_Kozora*The Steelers communicate in the Secondary as much as any team in the NFL. That's the key to the Tomlin Defense, along with the vaunted pass rush. The QBs have always struggled with the pre-snap looks, and the post-snap rotations. Always been hard for QBs to consistently win vs Tomlin with all the coverage variations or the threat of variations. In reality it's really only showing 1 things and doing another. But that takes a ton of talking and communicating between the "HUB Players" Minka, Queen, and Elliott are the main HUB's. But without 3 starters in the Secondary, Tomlin was forced to dummie down the Defensive calls and use less exotic coverages and instead use the basic Cover2 or Cover3 stuff. Also played less Man Coverage with both Corners out. Add to the fact that it's already hard to communicate in Baltimore, Pickens hurt, and the 2 huge Russ turnovers and it's a given. But Alex I think this is more of a Blip or Glitch. I am optimistic yes but that Steelers Dnis just too good and yes Pickens really does open the whole damn machine up on the Offense. I expect the HomeRuns to continue and the D to get back to playing the way they played thru week 10. What about you Alex ??*

[@tony.bickert]

I wonder if having 39 up so close and tight had something to do with the problems last week. He’s been in deep center for almost two years.

[@donaldclark7705]

The Ravens did different formations on offense and I think it through the Steelers off.

[@ronkali5365]

Bingo, when you see something new from them you have to think fast try make adjustments for the play.Remember that superbowl TD Rocky caught from Bradshaw.They always use to run from that formation but Bradshaw rolled right from under center wide open Rocky

[@e.n.yjay1925]

Flores should be our D coordinator but Tomlin likes puppets to run his defense, he couldn't wait to get rid of Lebeau and implement his style which still hasn't won a playoff game

[@VonPitt84]

Darn Skippy...You are the ONLY other person, other than myself, to connect the Tomlin-puppet syndrome and running LeBeau out of town narrative. You are spot-on correct sir !!

[@I_Skeeve_Liberals]

Rally. Tomlin is a below average football mind. How many coaches have coached under Tomlin have gone on to be promoted in this league?

[@colestony]

You will get that when 3 starters are out of the secondary. We beat them short handed they beat us short handed. Welcome to afc north🤷🏼‍♂️

[@LeMan8o4]

It looked like the defense was obsessively concentrating on making Lamar give the ball. And Patrick Queen looked out of place in run fits a dozen times!

[@usecom1]

#50 needs to key off of Heywards head direction

[@avery465]

Is it the unusual gameplan? The injuries? Lack of discipline? Bad coaching? What's the root cause of all these miscommunications?

[@misterwirez7731]

Bad defense on a short week with inexperienced players. Excellence in football? I don't think so. It was week 16, and professional football players should know where to line up and what their jobs are. Even a rookie has played football for half his life.

[@dougking7331]

Why does this year look like last year? Poor coaching. Time to clean house. Especially after this KC game. What an embarrassment. They don't deserve the loyal fan base they have.

[@CosmosHOSS]

It’s hard man. Guys are playing out of position. Defensive leaders are missing all over the field. You see it as an excuse I see it as reality. It is what it is. Ravens are a pretty darn good offense to boot.

[@AIRFORCENONE]

wasn’t on Wilson, jpj and queen didn’t know what they were looking at, minkah tells wilson to pick up the slot too late..

[@brianwhite3428]

I want to see some fight in the Pitts. Defense Or have the Pitts. player's fight each other That'd be cool

[@austinsauble]

Has this only been happening since Austin got full control of defense or is this above him

[@bigvinstyle]

They can't shed blocks or tackle worth a fuck most of the time

[@erice9506]

Is late season fatigue a real thing? Steelers have the same personnel albeit some injuries. My guess is that they had information overload and some kind of performance paralysis because of it.

[@danielhathaway43]

Bad coaching. Simple as that. How about we cut half of the defense, pick up some rookies, and use that money on the offense? Can't be any worse.

[@mattburton3233]

how about if we have three Dl for a strong running team like Baltimore?

[@Justin_Watson23]

When you have 22 years experience in one gap, your defense doesn't have a chance. Same stuff every year.

[@brianjonker510]

Art S needs to watch Alex C and figure out some play calls that will confuse the opposing defense

[@tylermoore6675]

Either Tomlin and T. Austin is coaching it or allowing it to happen...this was the 15th game, we still have defensive players not knowing what to do and where to be...and Mahomes and Reid coming to town on Christmas Day?

[@willr4880]

Ill be really suprised if the chiefs don't shred us and out scheme steelers defense. Tomlin apologist will say it was because it was a short week.

[@mikeyd33]

this is and has been embarrasing beyond belief for years. Art Rooney please clean house after this season.this is unacceptable year after year.

[@steel-storm1]

I'm sure the Chiefs took note of the INT play that left Zay Flowers wiiide open.😮

[@DJJohnsonShoppingSherlock]

We seems so confused majority of the time

[@thatdude3130]

The game was SATURDAY! Pittsburgh has Kansas City tomorrow

[@chriskend5315]

The Coaching is allowing the D Fence to be exposed.

[@thegreatzman]

This team desperately needs D line studs and more depth.

[@EmeryUnderwood-DPSCS]

Players need to play however coaches also need to coach. if this is always happening on the road thats coaching not getting them ready.. whether thats austin or tomlin.. quite frankly tomlin is a defensive coach we shouldnt have these issues. patrick queen talking bout ppl gotta do their job when he is one of the main problems.

[@jwilliwonka]

Constant poor communication for what? The last 10 years? It's getting ridiculously old. You're supposed to have these things sorted out in September/early October, yet here we are. I will not be surprised to see another first round exit in the playoffs come January.

[@BummerMan83]

Missing Larry, Jackson and Elliot and then losing Porter was obviously too much and led to errors and miscommunication. Watt isnt 100% either. I wasnt surprised nor angry. Just disappointed.

[@marcderogatis8513]

Too late in the season to have communication issues , i think this is a defensive coordinator or lack of one issue .

[@elguapodelorosa9574]

I wish i could throw a pick 6 and quit like Russ when it matters. Who else loved the Lamar lovefest. Most disgusting loss as a Steeler fan since

[@Steelers-rk3ig]

Queen to me seems like a terrible signing. His play is soft, doesn’t attack the line of scrimmage, no splash plays, he seems frustrated with his body language and not much of a leader. The Ravens were right on not offering him a contract. Queen reminds me of Najee at RB. Overrated, lacks big plays, lacks speed, living on reputation and name recognition.

[@austindufour]

Kudos to the Ravens offense, they played well physically and schematically (yes we are allowed to say other team can play well as they’re paid to do so). Felt like too much communication error and hero ball going on and abandoning assignments. Felt as though the overcommitment to Lamar on handoffs lead to big paths for Henry, which in turn lead to smaller dudes making business decisions on a physical 10 day stretch. I’m sure some of it was what Baltimore saw on tape from the first matchup and also defensive error. I’m gonna say this as someone just as unqualified as everyone else in the comments but I’ve always thought TA was ok, but not the most creative DC. I’ve like the Keith Butler defenses better than the TA defenses. It’s minimal blitz and disguise a coverage in hopes to confuse the QB or make him hold it for the 4 man rush. That’s great when your 4 men dominate all game and the QB isn’t great at deciphering coverages. It lends itself to bend don’t break defense which is generally good for points allowed totals but lacks the making of negative plays and inconsistent splash. They’ve assembled a very talented group, a good mix of young and vets too. There is no reason they can’t play to their defensive talents better. Some examples- you see the Chargers use “nascar” packages with Bosa, Mack, Dupree, and another good edge whose name I won’t try to spell and it’s very effective. Steelers have 4 great edges they could do that with, right? The Vikings, they lack great talent on that side of the ball but a hyper aggressive Flores scheme creates a ton of opportunities for sacks and turnovers. Even a simulated blitz look where you drop out can be effective but often times it’s the same 4 dudes rushing and a bunch of zone behind it. Great QBs will pick it apart everytime. And Minkah plays so far off the ball most games he’s barely on the screen, yeah teams are gonna be happy to nickel and dime it down the field until you bust a coverage. If anyone took time to read this book of a comment just notice I pointed to TA not Coach T on this complaint as we have seen multiple different styles of defense and it does actually change with a different DC. I’m just saying TA is often predictable which is bad for an NFL defense.

[@jimi6611]

Hmm? Missing 5 starters and trying to do to much with poor communication is what the problem was. Missing 5 starters, not an excuse. Just trying to hard to be perfect when they should have just been great at stopping Jackson escape from the pocket. Plus minimize Henry. This team is in rebuilding it still Missing WR, QB, MLB. ETC...

[@davidhidalgo5662]

I heard during the game at the end that was the most yards an individual runner has EVER GOTTEN against the Steelers from the ratbirds. The biggest game and our absolute worst defensive showing. That is no doubt coaching. This was embarrassing. DUck it fire everyone. LOL But seriously I have been calling out oline coach for years now and it just keeps getting worse. You could see certain players trying like hell to do more get that big play instead of doing what they say all the time. Do your job. They didnt trust the second and or third string guys when they came in and that lack of communication bullshit has to stop PQ that is your job. If that does change than we need someone else calling the defense

[@philosfudd1004]

That was missed tackle by TJ… I concept was to isolate the running back into a clogged hole. That play in particular, faulted because of the missed tackle…. Come on dude….

[@coopsoundz978]

This is on COACHING. This happened against the browns in 2020. This is just unacceptable from a defensive minded coach.

[@omarrjones8105]

It's showing that the overall football IQ for the defensive side of the ball is lacking. Coaches clearly aren't getting what they want to be learned out to the players and it also shows that the players aren't absorbing it. On that Minkah interception, TWO players were WIDE OPEN and uncovered for an easy touchdown. No defender stayed on the right side of the defense. You could've walked in for the TD. They were looking like the Keystone Cops out there...Stumbling, bumbling...🤦🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️

[@slamin2095]

Cam Sutton beat twice in consecutive weeks at the same play - he needs to be cut

[@consumetheliving]

Hmm, Tomlin's a defensive coach....right...talent over scheme. Its funny when you see shots of Austin on the side line with his gift card size play sheet....not wonder teams figure us out by the end of the year :) Also, when teams say they need to execute better, is that the players fault or lack of prep/game plan from the coaches?

[@danieljohnonson9354]

Alex, we can't have rthis anymore, who's to blame? Tomlin or Austin and is there any chance Austin gets replaced next off season?

[@JW0143]

Absolutely makes no difference. We could bring in any DC you want ad it's still going to be Tomlin meddling in the defense. I'm in no way anti Tomlin but he needs to hire a DC and let him coach the defense because no matter who it's been we constantly have communication problems

[@Alex_Kozora]

I'd be surprised if Austin was swapped out. Despite these problems, I still like Austin. I think he's a good coach. Many of these problems I am more apt to put on the players than the coaches (though not all).

[@danieljohnonson9354]

@@Alex_Kozora then it's Khan/Colbert for signing the wrong guys? Cuz the input of resources doesn't match the output imho

[@e.n.yjay1925]

Maybe that's why Baltimore let Queen walk.. How dont you turn to Wolson and make sure he's straight before that play. Seemed guys worried about playing time instead of winning and will hang a teammate out to fry to do so. Smh

[@usecom1]

This crap is on the coaches

[@Tatrider]

Tomlin... what can ya say? Well, im from new england, work construction have loved this team passionately since i was 5 in 1979 to the point of made enemies with friends that are pats fans.. as of a couple years ago i now root for for the squeelers to get destroyed thanks to two huge sacks of shit ben and tomlin.

[@diegomo1413]

Just a smug Ravens fan passing through 😏

[@pathutchison7688]

Hurts to watch

[@misterwirez7731]

When the Steelers defense was lights out, they were by players Tomlin didn't draft and had Dick LeBeau still there tonrun it. Since then they have been middling with the highest price D in the league. Someone should lose their job.

[@markbrophy554]

Let's keep Teryl Austin instead of Brian Flores........let's start Trubisky and Pickett instead of Rudolph....let's keep feeding Najee the ball rather than Tyler Warren. Let's give Matt Canada a 3rd year after the first 2 were colossal failures. If only there was a common denominator to all of these decisions..."hmmmmm"????

[@alexm2889]

agree with everything except for pickett. dude could ball when Canada wasn't there ruining the offense. But yes, Tomlin has been tanking this team for more than a decade. Everything you mentioned is just in the past few years...

[@Arch_Anemone]

Is Tyler Warren Jalen’s even more talented brother we haven’t seen yet?

[@alexm2889]

@@Arch_Anemone Tyler Durden Warren lives in Jalen's head rent free... And runs like a madman.

[@markbrophy554]

@@Arch_Anemone yeah, my bad.....WE ARE!!!!

[@markbrophy554]

@@alexm2889 Pickett sucks dude!!!! He sucked at Pitt until his last magical year....he's trash!

[@QuickHittinEm]

You fair weather fans, aka arm chair idiots are entertaining

[@AIRFORCENONE]

Weren’t you on moats saying they should sign dropson? You’re a dope.