The Pittsburgh Steelers have historically had huge success when they're able to field a dominant defense. This 2022 Steelers team should have high expectations as they will field a championship-caliber defense with the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, TJ Watt, along with a couple more superstars in DL Cam Heyward and FS Minkah Fitzpatrick leading what should be a strong defensive showing. Head Coach Mike Tomlin hasn't minced words when talking about his expectations for his defense in the upcoming season.
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“I think it’s a reasonable expectation for us to play great defense,” Tomlin stated at the beginning of August on the WDVE morning show via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Those are our intentions. We’re not going to be bashful about stating that as an expectation, and we’re not going to run away from it; we’re going to run to it.”“We have the men, not only in personnel but in schematics and coaching. I expect them to be dominant.”
Not only does the defense have the superstar-caliber players, there's more than that. One of the biggest discussions in regards to the team's defense coming out of preseason action was about depth pieces. The Steelers shored up the 3rd OLB spot by trading for savvy-veteran sack master Malik Reed. The team has the pieces, on paper, to display a dominant defensive effort in the upcoming season.
However, the year is 2022 and NFL offenses are flying and scoring a lot of points in today's league. So, what about the Steelers' offense? Despite the popular opinion of the team depending solely on their defense to win games, Tomlin expects a similar showing from his offense this season. Without future first-ballot Hall of Fame QB1 Ben Roethlisberger leading the way, the Steelers' offense is now led by a couple of young playmakers.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, Diontae Johnson (#18) sprints up field during training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA on July 28, 2022. | Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO
Entering his 16th season as the Steelers head coach, Tomlin knows getting to the Super Bowl isn't an easy task.
“I’m fighting to get there every year, and every year it’s an absolute fight,” said Tomlin via a recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article. “There’s 32 that embark on it every year and two get there. It’s a tough fight. This is a competitive business. This is a competitor’s business. I absolutely love it.”
We know Tomlin expects dominance and greatness out of his 2022 defense. However, what does he expect out of this intriguing offense, when the Steelers begin their journey to reach Super Bowl LVII this Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals?
Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Najee Harris participates in 2022 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. | Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO
“I think similar things,” Tomlin continued via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I think there’s more continuity on the defensive side of the ball, so it’s reasonable to expect that process to be more fluid and maybe quicker. But just the trajectory from an expectation standpoint, we’re trying to be a world championship-caliber team. It’s going to require us to be special in all three phases, and those are our intentions.”
Steelers fans and the team, year after year, have Super Bowl expectations and anything less than that will be a disappointment. "The Standard is the Standard" couldn't be truer this season. It doesn't matter if the Steelers are playing their first meaningful game without a Hall of Famer at the quarterback position, Tomlin still expects greatness out of this team as a whole and so does the city of Pittsburgh. We'll definitely get some answers when the Steelers open up their 2022 season tomorrow afternoon.
“You know how it is,” Tomlin said. “September 11th, we'll know.”
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