Steelers Now
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman recently put Mike Tomlin and the Steelers on blast for never changing or adapting, despite their lack of playoff success over the past eight years.
The Patriots were the team that began the Steelers’ six-game playoff slide, defeating them 36-17 in the 2016 season’s AFC Championship game. Edelman caught eight passes for 118 yards in the win.
“You knew exactly what they were doing,” Edelman said when speaking about his days of playing against the Steelers defense. “And they still do what they did. They still do the same God d*** s*** [as] when I was playing Tomlin’s defense. I’m like, ‘We still have linebackers covering the three slot?’ Every time we play Steelers, I have at least nine catches. You would think that they would change it but no, they do what they do.”
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger agreed with Edelman’s comments. He thinks the defense is way too predictable.
“There’s definitely truth to it,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. “If you don’t – you’ve got to change with the times. We’re not trying to confuse people like other teams do. Other teams are confusing people. Look at the end of that Chiefs-Bills game. (Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnoulo) sent a corner blitz. They sent it for the first time all game, in a situation where you would never expect it and you need it, and they come home.”
As Edelman mentioned, Steelers linebackers being stuck on slot receivers has been an issue for the past decade. Edelman ripped the Steelers apart in the 2016 AFC Championship Game, and similar issues were still happening in 2024.
“It’s like we just go through this, ‘Eh, we’re just better than you. We’re gonna line up, and we’re gonna beat you.’ That works to a certain extent,” Roethlisberger said. “At some point, you have to decide that you’re gonna throw some different wrinkles at teams. That’s something that the Steelers, they got to get away from.”
President Art Rooney II said both offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin will return for the 2025 season. So it appears the Steelers are fine with their defensive approach. Tomlin certainly has a big role in the defensive game plan, as well, however.
“The coaching staff, I think most of it will stay in place,” Rooney said. “Our coordinators, I think, will stay in place. … For the most part, I think we have the right people and the right jobs to do it.”
