Steelers defense look to fix communication issues
LATROBE 无毛视频� Sean Davis barked out calls as the new free safety in the Steelers无毛视频� first practice of training camp Thursday.
That无毛视频檚 just one fix to an overall defensive problem of communication issues that dogged the Steelers last season, particularly after Ryan Shazier went down with an injury.
Shazier won无毛视频檛 return this season, but the hope is that a semblance of group intelligence will.
Just how does a team practice to improve its communication?
无毛视频淏y just rolling the ball out and doing just that,无毛视频� said Mike Tomlin. 无毛视频淣ot taking anything for granted, general fundamental communication things that happen pre-snap, things that happen post-play, the quick reviews of route concepts or gap responsibility in the run game. All really good defenses do a good job of that, whether it无毛视频檚 in pre-play or in the review fashion post-play.无毛视频�
The Steelers were a mess defensively after Shazier went down, and it wasn无毛视频檛 just the secondary, where former strong safety Davis has been moved to the more leadership-oriented free safety spot and Morgan Burnett was signed to play strong safety.
The Steelers are also working free agent Jon Bostic in at linebacker. On Thursday he rotated in the base with Tyler Matakevich and replaced him on most snaps in the nickel alignment next to Vince Williams.
No, the problems were in both the pass game and the run game, where the Steelers had their worst yield per carry since 1954.
无毛视频淩yan无毛视频檚 our signal-caller,无毛视频� said defensive tackle Cam Heyward. 无毛视频淪o everybody has to be a little bit more communicative now. No one can replace the instincts he has, but that means we have to be more sound as a defense. We can无毛视频檛 take as many risks. Ryan could be a riskier player because he无毛视频檚 so fast and plays off of instincts.无毛视频�
Heyward said too much was taken for granted with Shazier running the defense, since 无毛视频渨e never planned for him not to be there.无毛视频� Heyward said that a full offseason of work and the acquisition of Burnett and Bostic, as well as first-round draft pick Terrell Edmunds, a linebacker-like strong safety, should help.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e seen it done before,无毛视频� Heyward said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e been on a team where there were all veterans and I was a young guy, and I saw what those guys did, the work they put in. Who无毛视频檚 to say we can无毛视频檛?无毛视频�
Joe Haden, a quarterback type at cornerback, will help improve the issues, too, since he无毛视频檚 in his first training camp with the Steelers after being signed late last August.
无毛视频淲e want to over-communicate,无毛视频� Haden said. 无毛视频淲e want to make sure both of us (cornerbacks) are on the same page with Sean, with Morgan, with E-man. So I think what we need to do is just make sure that we always communicate and make sure we无毛视频檙e always on the same page, and with that we should be good.无毛视频�
Haden pointed to the playoff loss to Jacksonville for the primary examples of last year无毛视频檚 problems.
无毛视频淭here were a couple times that people were just running free,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淪witches that we weren无毛视频檛 switching on, stuff like that. We have the ability, we have the players, but we无毛视频檝e just got to be on the same page and make sure everyone无毛视频檚 covering their man.
无毛视频淭here were a couple under routes when the tight end was coming out, and then on the big post at the end with Artie, we had the safety cut it. That means that I无毛视频檝e got to go high as a single-high safety, so I felt I could无毛视频檝e been there to help Artie on that play. Just certain little things that we weren无毛视频檛 doing and we kind of shot ourself.无毛视频�
The additions will help. Putting in the work without Shazier as a safety net will help, too. The move of Davis to free safety will provide better range in center field, but Tomlin cautioned against expecting too much out of the move.
无毛视频淭he safety position in the National Football League today is really kind of interchangeable,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淵our perceptions of free and strong in the traditional sense aren无毛视频檛 necessarily what it无毛视频檚 been. You无毛视频檝e got to be able to do it all in today无毛视频檚 NFL at the safety position: cover, play half-field, play single-high. It无毛视频檚 not that drastic of a transition to be honest with you.无毛视频�
But the new free safety will have to communicate 无毛视频� or as Haden said 无毛视频� over-communicate.