Will next great Steelers defense be unveiled Sunday?
The final piece of the next great Steelers defense should be healthy enough to play Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that would make it an unveiling.
Mike Mitchell would make complete a group that played without Bud Dupree in the opener, Stephon Tuitt in the second game, Tuitt and T.J. Watt in the third game, and Mitchell in the fourth.
The only below-average game by the defense was the third, but even then, the loss in Chicago, according to Ryan Shazier, 鈥渞eally made us figure out the things that we needed to work on. 鈥� Sometimes a loss can be more of a lesson than a loss.鈥�
In that loss, the Steelers allowed only 17 points in regulation, and 10 of those were set up by special-teams gaffes. But it was the long runs everyone remembers, and when Baltimore hit the Steelers with another couple of long runs the following week, it was obvious that Mitchell鈥檚 absence was felt.
Is he going to play this week?
鈥淢aybe,鈥� he said after a long moment to ponder.
Mitchell has been a full participant in back-to-back practices this week, so the Steelers are on the verge of putting their entire defense 鈥� no, make that their entire team (since Marcus Gilbert took a planned day off Thursday) 鈥� on the field for the very first time.
Are the expectations for this defense growing?
鈥淚 think we can be great, man. I鈥檝e been saying that all the time,鈥� Mitchell said. 鈥淚 want to see us all together.鈥�
But can the unit become truly great?
This defense has allowed 59 points, the fewest a Steelers defense has allowed in a first quarter of a season since 2010, their last Super Bowl season. But that defense was in its dying embers.
James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley were still posting double-digit sacks numbers; Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark and Ike Taylor were still roaming the secondary; Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel were still controlling the gaps up front; and James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons were still piling up the tackles inside.
But the average starter on that defense was 29.5 years old. It was a defense that was nearly at the finish line. The Steelers, in fact, drafted the leader of the new unit with the 31st pick a few months after that Super Bowl, and the rest of this defense was rebuilt along with Cameron Heyward.
It鈥檚 now posting outstanding statistics and girding a team trying to find its offensive rhythm through a 3-1 start.
And the average starter on this defense is 25.2 years old.
The average year of experience per starter is 4.3.
The average draft round per starter is 1.9.
This is a young and highly pedigreed group that has yet to play even one full game together and yet is ranked second in the NFL in both yardage and scoring.
Truly great defenses percolate in a similar manner. Take the historic 1985 Chicago Bears, with a defense that broke out with the following averages: 26.2 years old, 4.6 years of experience and an average draft round of 3.5 per starter.
Whether such a comparison to any great defense is valid will depend 鈥� as coordinator Keith Butler said 鈥� 鈥渋f we win the Super Bowl. All the other stuff doesn鈥檛 really matter.鈥�
But with all of this raw talent coming of age, shouldn鈥檛 there be a sense of excitement, particularly for this week when they鈥檒l all play together for the first time?
鈥淵ou know,鈥� said Mitchell, 鈥渟omething that we鈥檝e talked about, kind of in inside conversations, is that we鈥檙e very much aware of the amount of first and second-round picks that we have on our defense. It鈥檚 just a matter of us getting out there and doing it. Obviously we鈥檙e excited about it. Hopefully this week we can get everybody out there and we can really see it. Right now it鈥檚 just talk.鈥�
Mitchell went on.
鈥淚 think we鈥檝e been good,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e went on a nice, little run last year. We鈥檝e been good in spurts. I still got a super bad taste in my mouth from that Chicago game. None of us played up to our standard and it showed. I think we had a little bit of a bounce back last week, but how do you not get motivated for Baltimore? This will be a big test for us for real. They鈥檝e got a more than formidable running game and a good team coming in here looking to do the job. We鈥檝e got to turn 鈥檈m back.鈥�
The Jacksonville Jaguars come to town with an explosive running game led by a highly pedigreed young superstar of their own in Leonard Fournette. He鈥檚 the leading rusher on the NFL鈥檚 No. 2-ranked rushing offense, and this young Steelers defense has been spotty defending that part of the game.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 done a great job of that,鈥� Butler said of a unit that allowed 222 yards rushing to Chicago and bolts of 23 and 50 yards last week against Baltimore.
Of course, the Steelers did lower their missed-tackles count from 16 to 5 over the past two games, and those long runs in Baltimore were fueled by the missed tackles of Mitchell鈥檚 replacement.
Butler saw other mistakes.
鈥淭hey got cut,鈥� Butler said of five Steelers who were in a pile at the line of scrimmage for the 50-yarder. 鈥淥ne went down and it鈥檚 a domino effect and everybody went down and they popped the long one. As for the other run they had, we ran under a block and I think a lot of times when you鈥檝e got some guys who hadn鈥檛 played in a while, they kind of take chances or figure they can do something better.
鈥淗ey, I did the same thing when I played. I tried to run under blocks every now and then to make plays. But I knew this: If I ran under a block, I better make the play. And we didn鈥檛. So they got some yards and I think it was a valuable lesson learned.鈥�
In the other 13 carries in the game, the Ravens gained a total of nine yards.
Yep, it鈥檚 THAT kind of defense that I鈥檓 talking about here.
鈥淥h for sure,鈥� said cornerback Joe Haden with an admiring shake of his head. 鈥淓veryone鈥檚 talking about the offense, and we 鈥� it鈥檚 just totally different here. I鈥檓 happy as can be.鈥�
Haden was the last piece acquired by the Steelers. The cornerback was signed after Cleveland released the 28-year-old former first-rounder. He came to Pittsburgh thinking the same thing everyone else was thinking: The Steelers have the kind of firepower on offense that can carry a team to the Super Bowl. But Haden discovered a pretty talented group of young defensive players about to blossom.
Of course, Haden spent seven seasons with a team that averaged four wins per season, so he鈥檚 bound to be a bit, well 鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 just excited about the potential,鈥� Haden said. 鈥淓verybody in our room is hungry for it. They haven鈥檛 been talked about as a defensive team yet. But I feel like you do, that we鈥檝e got a good group of ballers. Same as the offensive side. So I feel we have this opportunity on both sides.
鈥淓ven if we haven鈥檛 been able to get to where we want to be on offense, if our defense could just take the approach that we鈥檙e going to be a defensive team, just in our minds, just feel like 鈥極K we鈥檙e going to take control,鈥� and as soon as these (offensive) boys get on track, or whatever you want to call that, it鈥檚 going to be serious.鈥�
It鈥檚 going to be serious. That鈥檚 the kind of talk I鈥檝e been expecting.
But along came Butler to throw a damp blanket over any kind of excitement.
鈥淲e have a lot of good offenses we haven鈥檛 played yet, a lot of them,鈥� the coordinator cautioned. 鈥淏ut if we can keep on getting better, learn to play with each other, learn to communicate with each other, we ought to be all right.鈥�
Steelers fans will have to take that.
For now.