The Pittsburgh Steelers struggled to contain San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey in their Week 1 game on Sunday. One of the league's most talented runners gashed them for 152 yards and a touchdown. Two-time Super Bowl-winning defensive lineman Chris Hoke didn't see the buy-in from players, specifically the inside linebackers, to try to limit the ground game.
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Steelers inside linebacker Elandon Roberts (50) waits for the snap during the team's Week 1 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Hoke joined The Cook and Joe Show on Thursday morning and wasn't very impressed with what he saw from the team's new inside linebacker group of Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and Kwon Alexander. He said there's a lot of work to be done because the group struggled mightily in the home opener.
"The linebackers at times didn't know where they fit," he said. "They weren't able to get off blocks. They were behind blocks and couldn't get pressure. It seemed to me like there wasn't a real desire to be physical, get off, hit, and shed blocks to make plays."
Alexander prides himself on his physicality. Roberts is the same. From what Hoke said he watched on film, the whole group had sloppy technique and didn't seem committed to stopping the run. He said that while Holcomb struggled in the passing game, his play against the run was even worse.
Kym Fortino / San Francisco 49ers
Steelers cornerback Levi Wallace runs towards San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.
He highlighted the 65-yard run by McCaffrey on the second play of the third quarter as proof of what he was seeing for most of the game. He said that both linebackers on the play got pinned inside, which allowed McCaffrey to get to the second level and ease his way past a missed tackle by Levi Wallace.
Steelers' Hoke Doesn't See A Commitment To Stopping Opposing Ground Games
Hoke said that he doesn't think the defense is serious about stopping the run. Show co-host Ron Cook said if the team isn't giving a commitment to stopping the run, then what are they going to do without one of the team's best run stuffers in Cam Heyward, who is out a minimum of eight weeks as he returns from groin surgery.
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Steelers defensive lineman, Cameron Heyward (#97) stands on the field at Acrisure Stadium before a 2022 regular season game against the New York Jets.
Hoke said it's certainly going to be tough sledding without one of their biggest leaders on defense, especially when he's such a stout run defender. He continued on with his point that the team doesn't look determined to stop the run by saying that's just how some teams are.
"There's a lot of teams that play the run on the way to quarterback," he said. "As I was watching the film this morning, remember the Indianapolis Colts when Peyton Manning was in his prime, their defense wasn't very good. They could rush the quarterback, but they couldn't stop the run."
He said that the Steelers coaches might say he's wrong, but in reviewing the tape from Week 1, that was the mentality that he thought Pittsburgh was playing. He didn't see much proper run technique from the players. He said he saw a lot of the defensive line trying to win battles rather than play properly against the run. He said if you watch Heyward play the run versus some of the others, you'll notice the difference in playing against the run game and not.
Hoke saw a lot of guys trying to play with their shoulders and getting twisted up which is just not the proper approach. He said as a run stopper, you need to be using your arms to extend, get off blocks, and stay square to the running back. Guys were turned the wrong way, running horizontally at the line of scrimmage and that makes it tough to make plays.
Rookie Keeanu Benton impressed as a pass rusher and Montravius Adams can make some plays, but without Heyward, the team really doesn't have any true run-stoppers from what Hoke saw on film.
It doesn't get any easier as the Steelers will face Nick Chubb on Monday night when the Cleveland Browns come to town and then the next week, the team travels to take on the Las Vegas Raiders who have Josh Jacobs. They'll certainly need a better buy-in against those ground games if they're going to start a turnaround after a pretty awful Week 1 showing.
Do you agree with Hoke that the Steelers didn't seem committed to stopping the run? How do you think the team will fix this going forward without Heyward? Comment below!
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