Ask any NFL Coach if they had things to work on during a BYE week or mini-bye week and they’ll likely give you a dumbfounded stare. “Are there things to work on? Of course there are! There’s always things to work on!” Yes, they can really say all of that with just an expression and I’m sure Mike Tomlin likely had a list far longer than three. That said, these are three of things I’m hoping they addressed.
Getting Off the Field
Any defense that is on the field longer than its offense will typically find itself in trouble. Any defense as old as the Steelers’ is, that goes double. That’s been the case in recent weeks as the opposition has run more plays and had more Time or Possession as well. The question that Tomlin and Teryl Austin have to address is “why is this happening?”
Currently, the Steelers rank 25th in the NFL at getting off the field on third down. They rank 23rd in the same category on fourth down. Typically in these situations it comes down to play calls so whatever Tomlin and Austin have been doing, there need to be changes. Are the defensive backs playing off too far? Are they not bringing enough pressure? Are guys just not executing? Chances are, the answer to those questions is probably yes, yes and yes.
Get Back to Running It
You’ll get no argument from me that the passing game has excelled behind Aaron Rodgers. He’s one of the league leaders in passing touchdowns and is completing just under 70% of his passes. There are moments however when the running game seems to be picking up some steam only for Arthur Smith to go back to the pass. I’m not saying you don’t do that from time to time, but there are moments when it becomes predictable.
Granted, the Bengals’ defense is pretty bad, but the confidence had to grow with Jaylen Warren going over 100 yards. Consider the success they also had against really good defenses in the Vikings and Browns and the arrow is pointing up on the running game. Much of running the ball successfully will come with the flow of the game. Getting behind the Packers or Colts in the coming weeks would not be good. Keep doing what is working… Keep using Darnell Washington and Spencer Anderson but build off of it.
Get the Secondary Squared Away
I still can’t get over the nightmare that occurred in Cincinnati on Thursday night. Ja’Marr Chase is already good enough, the Steelers didn’t need to do him the favor of playing ‘off’ so often. Whether it was the slant or the out, Chase had success no matter who was guarding him. Once Tomlin and Austin realized that Joe Flacco was getting rid of the ball as quickly as he was, there should have been some massive changes.
While Austin literally tried every coverage in the book, I honestly don’t believe they ever went away from what wasn’t working. You can change your look and change the back end but it’s also like putting lipstick on a pig. You think it makes the pig more attractive but it’s still a pig. Austin and Tomlin have been around too long to allow what happened in Cincy to ever happen again. I’d rather see some pressure and tight man and get badly beaten then the death by a thousand cuts.
The mini-bye is not quite like the official BYE week because you just don’t have the same amount of time, but the extra days should have allowed the coaching staff to learn and hopefully adjust. If they didn’t? It’s going to be a long second half of the season.
