The Pittsburgh Steelers secondary has struggled to start the 2023 season. The team currently sits 25th in the league in passing yards against and has allowed 120-plus yards to an opposing receiver in three of five games. While Pittsburgh's staff continues to search for answers to fix the team offensively, former Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats outlined to Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin and Defensive Back Coach Grady Brown how to help solve some of the issues on the back end.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers cornerback Levi Wallace demonstrates his soft hands in front of Head Coach Mike Tomlin.
Moats and his co-host Deke discussed what they want to see from the team coming out of the bye week on their podcast The Arthur Moats Experience With Deke on Monday. The four-year Steelers linebacker quickly pointed to the secondary as an area he needs to improve. While some of the things he would like to see fixed will be on the coaching staff to address, others rely on what players can do to help themselves.
Steelers' Moats Lists His Key Areas He Wants To See Team Improve In
The Steelers' run defense has been a concern this season, and giving up big runs has been a problem for the unit to start the season. While run defense starts with defensive linemen and linebackers doing their jobs, the secondary needs to do it and so far Moats said they're leaving a lot to be desired.
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Steelers cornerback Levi Wallace runs toward San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.
Moats said that the defense giving up some of those big runs to backs like Christian McCaffrey and Jerome Ford has led directly to points on the board and potentially game-changing plays. He said that the issue here has been tackling. He didn't single out any specific player or play, but certainly identified it as something they need to improve on as a group.
The second thing that Moats pointed to was communication, specifically with passing routes off. The secondary had a fair bit of turnover in the 2023 offseason with starters Cam Sutton and Terrell Edmunds leaving and plenty of fresh faces coming in. Patrick Peterson, Keanu Neal, Chandon Sullivan, and Desmond King II were added along with rookie Joey Porter Jr. The Steelers are also using plenty of different personnel groupings on the field which he said can be confusing.
“You have got to be on the same page communication wise to make sure that we’re tighter in some of these coverages we’re running," he said. "That way we’re not having multiple receivers with 100-plus yards and dudes we feel like shouldn’t be having success against us.“
Moats' last key was tied to his point about improving communication and the team's swapping of players in and out. He said that he feels the constant changing of personnel is leading to miscommunication issues and it's having a negative impact.
"We use a lot of different groupings and we need to either get on the same page or minimize said groupings... There are times where there’s a lot of miscommunication. "
The team for the most part has been together since they started OTAs in June and has now had five weeks of games and a bye week to try and sort out the communication issues on the back end. Veterans like Peterson, Levi Wallace, and Minkah Fitzpatrick will be counted on to help solve this as the team moves forward into the season.
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Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is known for making big plays.
Austin has been cagey about naming Porter a starter, but Head Coach Mike Tomlin hinted he's in line for more time. He will need to prove he can communicate with all the other defenders, but so far has played well in the reps he has been given in stadiums.
The defense's saving grace this season has been turnovers, creating 11 which is good for second in the league. The secondary has been playing a crucial role in that with 4 interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Fitzpatrick has yet to get a pick yet after he led the league in 2022, but if he can get going, this will continue to be a strength moving forward.
Pittsburgh's secondary faces a tough test after the bye week with the Los Angeles Rams' formidable offense and will need to show that the tackling and communication are at a better level.
Do you agree with Moats' areas for improvement? How would you fix the secondary? Comment below!
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