Tim Benz: 5 ways the Steelers must improve coming out of the bye
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It would be foolish to suggest that we could sum up everything that the Pittsburgh Steelers need to do to improve themselves coming out of the bye weekend in one column.
As far as division-leading teams at the quarter pole go, this one is about as flawed as I’ve ever seen. And their first-place standing is as much a commentary on the state of the AFC North and the cannibalism going on within the division as it is a compliment to their own performance.
In their three wins so far, the Steelers have needed numerous touchdowns and splash plays from their defense, a blocked punt, perfect placekicking, plus frequent drops and botched coaching decisions by their opponents.
In their two losses, they got boat raced by a combined score of 60-13.
So clearly there is a lot to work on despite their current “if the playoffs started today” status.
Let’s just hit on a few highlights that were illuminated after speaking with coaches and players this week. Shockingly, none of the things we are about to bring up are directly tied to Matt Canada or Kenny Pickett.
We’ve pretty much discussed all of those to death already, haven’t we?
• Now that Diontae Johnson is coming off injured reserve, he needs to come back at 100%, right away. The injured wide receiver hasn’t played since hurting a hamstring in the opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
“(Heck) yeah I’m coming back,” Johnson said of the team’s game against the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday. “I have been working my behind off these last three, four weeks. (Tuesday) was one of those days to see how far I have come along, and everything looks great out there. I felt completely great and healthy. I am ready for Monday when we come back to start getting back to work.”
That’s good, because Johnson’s absence has been impossible to overstate. That may sound odd given how much his numbers dropped last year. But the Steelers need at least another threat to take some of the coverage away from George Pickens. Johnson’s renowned route-running should draw the attention of opposing defensive coordinators.
With him out, the lack of depth at the receiver position has been exposed. Allen Robinson II and Calvin Austin III are fine as third and fourth receivers. Miles Boykin is good on special teams. But they’ve all been over-slotted while Johnson has been on the shelf. And Gunner Olszewski has proven he just shouldn’t be on the field at all.
Johnson needs to return to top form the moment he gets back in the fray. And by top form, I mean replicating the player who caught 107 passes for 1,161 yards in 2021.
• The offensive line needs to start clicking like it did coming out of the bye last year. It was lousy early in the season but an above-average unit by year’s end.
Honestly, though, the O-line began to show signs of coalescing right around the one-month mark a year ago. It may not have been the steady point of consistency that it became by Week 9 or 10. But we started to see signs of improvement by this time last season.
That hasn’t happened so far in 2023. Plus, they are dealing with injuries up front this year (Dan Moore Jr., James Daniels), something that wasn’t an issue in 2022.
The line’s deficiencies have been particularly apparent in the run game.
“You could have nine guys doing the right thing, and you have one guy doing something that’s schematically or technically an error. If it’s at the point of attack, you’re talking about a difference (between) six- or seven-yard gains and a one-yard gain,” offensive line coach Pat Meyer said Wednesday. “So we’ve got to put them in good positions. We’re just going to continue to grind it out and continue to work at it.”
“Grinding it out” has been the perfect way to describe the run game. It’s averaging just 84 yards per contest. Only the Cincinnati Bengals (74.6) and Las Vegas Raiders (71.4) are worse so far in the NFL this season.
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• For however long Pat Freiermuth is out (hamstring), the Steelers can’t forget about using the tight ends. They need to continue to be a part of the passing game at least in some capacity. They at least have to be a threat.
But Darnell Washington had no catches on two targets against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, and Connor Heyward had only three catches for 23 yards.
For that matter, I’d like to see Freiermuth himself more involved whenever he returns. After all, he’s only had 13 targets in four games.
“You can call things for guys, and the ball still might not find you,” tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts said this week. “You can call plays, and you get a different look, and the quarterback sees something different, and he wants to take a shot.”
True. But if the tight ends prove useful and get a higher volume underneath and over the middle, that may open up things for Johnson and Pickens outside and down the field.
• Start Joey Porter Jr. at cornerback. The Steelers coaches aren’t going to do it. But they should.
I know they are worried about his tackling. But all we’ve heard from the defensive coaches is concerns about tackling from the corners as it is. Could Porter really be all that much worse?
“We’ll see if he starts,” defensive backs coach Grady Brown said Tuesday. “I think at the end of the day, it’s about are you making the plays that need to be made? I’m not sure that it really matters who starts. It’s about when they’re throwing the ball out there, who’s out there. How is that guy playing?”
Well, I think Porter has been playing better in the chances he has had than Levi Wallace or Patrick Peterson. And “at the end of the day” on Sunday, it was Porter making a game-saving interception against the Ravens.
If it’s not about starting and it’s just about raw playing time as Brown intimated, OK. But Wallace played 94% of the snaps against Baltimore. Peterson played 90%. Porter only played 40%. That gap needs to close dramatically.
• The inside linebackers need to continue with their recent upward trajectory. Kwon Alexander, Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts all showed improvement in wins against Cleveland and Las Vegas. After a step back against Houston, they each flashed for a play or two and rotated nicely against the Ravens.
“I thought my whole room, everybody played awesome,” Holcomb said. “I was telling the guys in the locker room, that was fun. That was like back to being a little kid.”
I don’t know if it was “awesome.” But it was good. A lot better than has been the case at that position in recent years. And that’s at least a good place to start.
Now they must continue to get better against the Rams, who have an offense that averages 270 yards per game, fifth best in the NFL.