Just a few weeks in the past, I famous the Pittsburgh Steelers’ lack of dime protection. A six-defensive-back bundle utilized in apparent go conditions that had been making up 10-20 p.c of the Steelers’ snaps. On the time, and nonetheless true now, it hadn’t been used as soon as this season. With a protection scuffling off Thursday evening’s loss that notably struggled on third downs, perhaps it’s time to attempt.
Pittsburgh has remained a nickel group, largely attributable to its confidence in Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson. These two athletic linebackers have vary and, on paper, the power to cowl.
However the Steelers haven’t coated effectively on these cash downs. Via six video games and 7 weeks, Pittsburgh’s protection ranks twenty fifth on third down. A yr in the past, that unit ranked second. If that rating holds, it’ll be the Steelers’ worst end since 2009, Tomlin’s third season and one yr after the group’s final Tremendous Bowl, when the protection completed twenty eighth.
Extra particularly, Pittsburgh ranks tied for twenty first on third-and-long, seven or extra yards. In these conditions, the Steelers have allowed a primary down 27.3 p.c of the time. These back-breaking conversions led to the Steelers’ excessive defensive snap depend and troubling group imbalance.
Understanding that, why not use each defensive again on the group’s disposal? Using dime protection would enable the Steelers to play CB Brandin Echols extra persistently, a robust offseason signing who has impressed relationship again to coaching camp. It may enable for extra man protection as an alternative of the gentle zones Pittsburgh has tended to play in these conditions, together with twice early within the loss to the Bengals.
If not Echols, Cory Trice Jr. may very well be an alternate. Although nonetheless on injured reserve, he’s presumably wholesome or near it after struggling a hamstring harm greater than two months in the past. Throughout yesterday’s press convention, Tomlin confirmed Trice was nearing a return. To start 2024, he served because the Steelers’ dime defender earlier than struggling a hamstring harm. He has the cornerback and security skillset that’s enticing as a dime defender enjoying in the midst of the sector, tasked with quite a lot of assignments and physique varieties to cowl. Massive slot receivers, small slot wideouts, tight ends, and even the occasional operating again or blitz project.
Why hasn’t Pittsburgh used it? There may very well be a few explanations. One, the cornerbacks seemingly hardly ever make it via a recreation wholesome. Darius Slay has been dinged up in nearly each recreation this season. In opposition to the Minnesota Vikings, the group ran out of cornerbacks, at one level having simply two wholesome and accessible. Schematically, the Steelers have blitzed their inside linebackers extra this yr than in earlier years, and like the flexibleness of stress seems having Wilson and Queen afford.
Nevertheless, this could not essentially restrict Nick Herbig’s utilization on passing downs. As an alternative of the 1-5-5 the group has been utilizing, a 1-4-6 can nonetheless get T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Herbig on the sector, together with Queen because the lone inside linebacker.
Dime isn’t the cure-all. But it surely’s an choice that’s been on Pittsburgh’s desk all season and has been ignored. That ought to start to alter in an effort to make the most of its finest folks for these important conditions.
