Steelers’ Secondary will be tested vs. Patriots

The fact that the Steelers’ secondary is awful is about as common knowledge as where babies come from. Sure, maybe the stork story confused a few kids here and there but I’m sure if those same kids were Steeler fans, they’d weep at the defensive backfield.

It also doesn’t help that Tom Brady got his suspension thrown out the window like week old barbeque. The 4 time Super Bowl champ has had some good luck against Pittsburgh, such as the dismantling that occurred on a bitterly cold day in 2013 at Foxborough.

55-31 was the score on the scoreboard.

That day was the beginning of the end for many players. Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, and Ike Taylor, all stalwarts of a reincarnation of the famed Steel Curtain, showed their age during that game.

Most people thought that once they were gone, the defense would release all of its dead weight and start to improve.

They were dead wrong.

The next generation of players in Shamarko Thomas, Mike Mitchell, and Cortez Allen showed little, if any, improvement compared to their predecessors.

Granted, Shamarko hasn’t started a regular season game, but Mitchell and Thomas’ inability to stay healthy and Allen’s lack of confidence caused the defense to stumble even further.

This Thursday, these guys have the opportunity to light it up. Will Allen is ahead of Thomas on the depth chart at strong safety, while William Gay is partnered with Cortez at cornerback.

These boys can’t afford to waste this opportunity. Not very often does one game set the tone for a season, but if the Steelers can pull off a win against the Patriots so early in the year, then maybe that will be the confidence boost that the defensive backfield and the rest of the defense needs to tackle the rest of their harsh schedule.

You can bet that Brady will take advantage of this abysmal defense. The Steelers would be wise to be aggressive on defense, since utilizing a more conservative approach will surely signal trouble for the secondary.

We have seen too many times where laying back and trying to stop big plays has not worked for this team. They get gashed and torn apart no matter who is on the field.

A more aggressive approach may leave some huge holes somewhere, but that’s the risk that has to be made in order to make plays.

Everyone will have to be on their toes. Figuratively, and maybe literally.

Stats and info courtesy of Steelers.com