“One of the best-laid plans of mice and males usually go awry.”
Scottish poet Robert Burns’ 240-year quote largely sums up what has been the story thus far for the Steelers’ 2025 protection. Pittsburgh’s protection has confronted challenges that pressured it to go away from among the concepts that coach Mike Tomlin had for the reason that crew acquired former All-Professional cornerback Jalen Ramsey this previous summer season.
To Tomlin’s credit score, he has embraced his unit’s present state of affairs and made the mandatory adjustments to maximise the group’s potential.
It was clear to anybody who attended the Steelers’ first coaching camp practices that Tomlin’s plan was to make use of Ramsey as a hybrid defender and wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks. Ramsey shortly excelled in his new function, which absolutely contributed to Tomlin’s August proclamation that Pittsburgh’s protection was able to “historic” issues.
Whereas it seemed nice in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and at occasions through the season’s first few weeks, Tomlin’s grand plan wasn’t materializing. Issues got here to a head throughout Pittsburgh’s latest two-game skid, which noticed quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Jordan Love besiege Tomlin’s unit to the tune of 702 yards and 6 landing passes.
The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s again occurred through the second half of Pittsburgh’s loss to the Packers when beginning robust security DeShon Elliott suffered a knee harm that led to him being positioned on injured reserve. The harm, whereas unlucky for each Elliott and the Steelers, in the end pressured Tomlin to make mandatory adjustments to his embattled protection.
Whereas not a historically energetic crew when it comes to trades (particularly in-season strikes), the Steelers have leaned into that aspect of participant acquisition underneath third-year normal supervisor Omar Kahn. This paid appreciable dividends final week when Khan minimize a take care of the Patriots that led to the arrival of veteran robust security Kyle Dugger, who fell sufferer in New England to first-year coach Mike Vrabel’s new defensive scheme.
As Tomlin usually says, “One man’s trash is one other man’s treasure.” To this point, that has been the case with Dugger, who acquired a recreation ball from Tomlin after taking part in in all however certainly one of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps throughout this previous Sunday’s upset win over the Colts. With Dugger on the sphere, the Steelers’ protection pressured 5 turnovers that led to 24 of Pittsburgh’s 27 factors.
“I used to be hopeful that he might play rather a lot, however definitely we had direct eyes on him in case it wasn’t unfolding within the ways in which we wish,” Tomlin stated of his new security. “We’re simply attending to know him. We definitely respect the truth that he is a veteran participant. He definitely displayed indicators that he was succesful in our apply classes main up for Sunday. However stadiums are considerably completely different, and so we had a plan, however we have been definitely gentle on our ft if that wasn’t shifting and shifting in the precise route.”
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Duggar was simply certainly one of Pittsburgh’s massive adjustments at security, although. Tomlin moved Ramsey completely to free security earlier than this previous week’s recreation towards the Colts, and he’ll stay there for Sunday’s recreation on the Chargers.
“We worth his play, his positional flexibility,” Tomlin stated of Ramsey. “It is an asset to us. It provides lots of people issues to work on. However definitely underneath the circumstances that we’re underneath proper now, we deem that applicable, as we did final week, when it comes to nailing him down there and to offer alternatives for guys like Brandin Echols to step up, which he did, and play extra snaps as a nickel, etcetera.
“And even guys like James Pierre had a chance to get some snaps exterior. We have extra depth at nook than we do at security, and so we’re simply merely pivoting and doing what’s required to maintain the prepare rolling.”
This clearly wasn’t the plan when the Steelers acquired Ramsey (and tight finish Jonnu Smith) whereas concurrently buying and selling a number of All-Professional security Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Dolphins on June 30. However with Elliott’s harm and Pittsburgh’s different safeties not filling Fitzpatrick’s void, Pittsburgh’s brass has made the mandatory changes.
So, too, has Ramsey, who made a number of massive hits through the Steelers’ win over the Colts. He additionally supplied a spark throughout a crew assembly on the eve of the sport. Ramsey delivered a speech that Aaron Rodgers stated gave the Steelers “a different vitality.”
“He is acquired a number of expertise,” Tomlin stated of Ramsey. “NFL expertise, world-championship expertise, and I am grateful that he was prepared to share that along with his teammates.”
This is not the primary important change Tomlin and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin have made to this protection. Earlier this season, second-year inside linebacker Payton Wilson went from being a full-time starter to sharing reps with veteran Cole Holcomb.
Whereas Holcomb gave the protection a short lived increase, it has additionally introduced out the very best in Wilson, who had an enormous interception and deflected a cross that led to a different decide throughout Pittsburgh’s win over Indianapolis.
These changes are examples of how Tomlin and the Steelers have been in a position to reel off 18 consecutive non-losing seasons.
As an alternative of lamenting over a plan that did not pan out, Tomlin has made the mandatory adjustments to offer his protection — and, subsequently, his crew — the very best probability at success this week and shifting ahead.
It is a testomony to his flexibility and talent to pivot when wanted.
Pittsburgh’s defensive changes not solely calls to thoughts Burns’ quote, it is also an instance of certainly one of Tomlin’s basic isms, particularly concerning Ramsey and Dugger.
“It is not what you are able to, it is what you are successful to do.”
