Defense has shot to be even better this year
Departures were filled with quality, reliable personnel
It almost doesn’t seem possible that a defense that led the NFL in sacks and interceptions, was second in points allowed and third in total yardage could lose three starters and actually be better a year later.
Especially when one of those departed players was Bud Dupree, who combined with T.J. Watt to form the best outside linebacker duo in the league in 2020.
But that seems to be the guarded opinion around the Steelers after they brought in a pair of former Pro Bowl linebackers — Melvin Ingram and Joe Schobert — and recently made moves to improve the depth in their secondary.
Among the convinced is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has to go against that defense in practice. “You look at our defense, it’s very good,” he said. “That’s a very intriguing thing for any quarterback when you have a defense like we have.”
That defense will be put to an immediate test Sunday when the Steelers open the season in Buffalo against the defending AFC East champion Bills, who led the AFC in scoring (31.1 points per game), were second in the league in total offense (396.4) and third in passing offense (288.8).
However, a lot of the optimism has been tempered recently by the loss of defensive end Stephon Tuitt and the training-camp inactivity of Watt.
Tuitt was placed on the injured reserve list with a knee injury that has bothered him since before the start of training camp. He had surgery last week and is out indefinitely. Watt, who led the NFL in sacks in 2020, has not participated in a full practice all summer while waiting to receive a new contract.
“It’s hard to tell if they’re going to be better, but if you look at the personnel, I think bringing in Melvin Ingram was huge,” Roethlisberger
‘‘ It’s hard to tell if they’re going to be better, but ... I think bringing in Melvin Ingram was huge.” — Ben Roethlisberger
said. “I think what he can do for this team, I don’t know how many snaps he’s going to get, I can imagine it’s going to be 20-25 snaps, but he’s a perennial Pro Bowler. Before he got hurt, I played against him.
“Bringing Joe in in the middle, I played against him many times, too. We added some really good football players. And we have Minkah and, I think, the best player in the NFL with T.J. Watt. We go against them every day in practice so I know what it’s like.”
Ingram, 32, was brought in to rotate behind Watt and Dupree’s replacement, Alex Highsmith, who enters his second season after being a third-round draft pick in 2020. Highsmith was a standout in training camp and is ahead in his development of where Dupree was entering his second season.
“I think he’s going to be a good player for us,” said defensive coordinator Keith Butler.
Being able to bring Ingram, a five-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker, off the bench drastically improves the depth at the most important position on the defense. Same with the addition of Schobert, a former Pro Bowl inside linebacker with the Cleveland Browns andJacksonville Jaguars who strengthens the starting unit and allows Robert Spillane to be the top backup at both inside positions.
“It’s been phenomenal since day one, just how they lead, just how they work and how they play,” Ingram said of the defense. “They come to work every day, ready to put the work in, no matter what the day is or what the occasion is.”
In addition to Dupree, the Steelers lost two starters in the secondary — nickel back Mike Hilton, who signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency; and cornerback Steve Nelson, who was released for salary-cap reasons. But they made two moves last week to improve the depth, claiming safety Karl Joseph, a former No. 1 draft choice, off waivers and giving up a 2023 fifth-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks to acquire cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon.
Witherspoon, who played four seasons with the San Francisco49ers before signing with the Seahawks in free agency in the offseason, gives the Steelers more options at cornerback if Cam Sutton moves to the slot in their subpackage defenses.
Does that make the Steelers defense better in 2021? They’re going to find out real soon.