The “bye-week” part of the bye week is over and the Pittsburgh Steelers are now preparing for the New Orleans Saints who visit Heinz Field this coming Sunday. The Saints are coming in with a three-game losing streak (all of which were at home) but remain tied atop the NFC South with a 4-7 record.
The week off could not have come at a better time for the Steelers who seemed to have come unglued a bit since winning three straight at home. The defense, which has been ravaged by injury of late, will be as close to full strength as it has been all season but will the return of several starters make that much of a difference?
I ask this question because I think that through 11 games we already have a pretty good idea of what this defense can and cannot do. Common sense tells us that having Troy Polamalu, Ryan Shazier and Ike Taylor back in the lineup will have to be a positive, right?
In Polamalu’s absence, the Steelers went 1-1. Since Taylor went down in week three, the team is 5-3. Shazier’s overall impact has been really difficult to truly gauge. He has been in and out of the lineup so often that getting a good read on him has been virtually impossible.
Of Taylor and Polamalu, I would argue the bigger impact might be the return of Taylor. With Cortez Allen still riding the pine, Taylor’s return would allow Gay to move back to his number two spot and Brice McCain to a nickel position. Don’t be surprised however to see McCain stay on the outside and Gay in the slot at times too.
Polamalu’s presence can never really be measured. Will Allen has played admirably in his two starts but he just doesn’t have the presence nor the impact on a game like Polamalu does even at his advancing age.
Also slated to return is Steve McLendon who has been sorely missed at the nose tackle position. Rookie Daniel McCullers played fairly well against Tennessee but McLendon’s experience cannot be replaced.
The Steelers currently rank 13th in the NFL in total defense which in retrospect doesn’t sound too bad. This unit was torched in the running game several times but also had some positive efforts as well. One thing to pay particular attention to with the run defense is yards per rush.
The Steelers are the league’s tenth best defense against the run but they rank 21st in yards per attempt given up. They allow an average of 4.3 yards per carry. That number has gotten better as the season has progressed but it needs to keep heading in the right direction.
In passing defense, the Steelers rank 16th which puts them right in the middle of the pack, but much like the rushing totals, we have to look deeper. Pittsburgh gives up 7.7 yards per pass attempt which leaves them in the 26th spot. A more consistent pass rush and better coverage will help, but is it already too late in 2014?
Rushing defense appears to be taking care of itself at the moment which leaves the pass defense as a major concern. Getting both Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu back will help but to what extent won’t be known for a few more weeks. Stay tuned Steelers’ fans.
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