Steelers try to save season against red-hot Chiefs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was brutally honest about his decision to trade disgruntled defensive end Melvin Ingram to the Chiefs, saying “we prefer volunteers as opposed to hostages” in the Pittsburgh locker room.
“We didn’t weight their circumstances. We weighed our circumstances,” Tomlin said this week. “Not only the tangible element of our circumstances, but the intangible quality that makes us a team. When we moved him, we had an opportunity to get value for him, and so that was entertaining and interesting to us.”
Well, perhaps Tomlin should have weighed Kansas City’s circumstances at least a little bit.
Ingram’s trade last month for a sixth-round draft pick resulted in an about-face for the Chiefs defense, which had been historically DZIXO WKURXJK WKH ¿UVW VL[ ZHHNV
The Chiefs ended their failed experiment of moving Chris Jones to end, putting him back at tackle, and that changed the entire complexion of their defense.
It has been downright dominant the past six ZHHNV KHOSLQJ WKH ¿UVW SODFH &KLHIV carry a seven-game win streak into their important game against — you guessed it — the Steelers on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Steelers (7-6-1) are trying to keep pace with eight-win Baltimore and Cincinnati in the crowded AFC North.
“To be quite honest with you and blunt, Melvin no longer wanted to be here,” Tomlin said. “That’s more a function of us and the things we value and less about Kansas City, the things they needed or prospects of playing them later in the season.”
Ingram, a three-time Pro Bowl pick with the Chargers, signed with Pittsburgh in free agency. But he made just one start and had RQH VDFN RYHU WKH ¿UVW VL[ JDPHV DQG KLV SOD\ing time quickly dwindled to about a quarter of the defensive snaps.
At the same time, his discontent began to grow, leaving Tomlin open to moving him elsewhere.
Kansas City became a natural landing spot. The Chiefs had been searching for pass rush help after their dismal start on defense, part of which can be traced to injuries to Jones and defensive end Frank Clark. And the opportunity to land someone the Chiefs were familiar with from his time in the AFC West, and who no doubt was familiar with them, made it a low-risk, high-reward trade for them.
“Melvin has brought a great attitude to the room,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, “which is tricky, because if you come in and you’re a downer, that can pull everyone else down being a seasoned, veteran Pro Bowl player like he is. But he came in with a positive attitude, a great work ethic. He’s very intelligent. He knows the game. He’s studied the game.”
Ingram has started the past three games for the Chiefs, picking up a half-sack in two of them, and he played a season-high 57 snaps in their overtime win over the Chargers last week. But more important than his own numbers have been those of the rest of the defense, ZKLFK KDV KHOG ¿YH RI LWV SDVW VL[ RSSRQHQWV WR 14 points or fewer.
“I just go out and share what I’ve learned over the years through my experience and through my time,” Ingram said. “I guess that has an impact. If it does, it does. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. That’s just me trying to pass down what was passed down to me on how to study ¿OP RU KRZ WR DSSURDFK WKH JDPH DQG WKLQJV like that. Nothing crazy.”
0HDQZKLOH -RQHV KDV EHQH¿WHG IURP KLV return to the interior of the defensive line. He KDG MXVW WZR VDFNV RYHU WKH ¿UVW VL[ ZHHNV RI the season, but he had 3 1/2 against Dallas a few weeks ago and has four over the past three games.
“What’s great about Melvin is watching KLP QRW MXVW RQ WKH ¿HOG EXW LQ WKH PHHWLQJ rooms, around the building, around the guys when he’s not out there on a particular rep,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “I love the fact that he’s relational. I think that goes a long way when you come in new in the middle of the season that you’re like that instead of off on your own, but I think he’s been a great addition that way, in addition WR ZKDW KH¶V EHHQ GRLQJ RQ WKH ¿HOG ´