Steelers Now
So far, the Steelers defense has dominated the offensive unit at training camp. That could be a sign that this year’s defense could be elite, or maybe speaks more to the offense. Time will tell. But on paper, the Steelers are absolutely loaded on defense.
In interview on the Nightcap podcast with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson on Monday night, Steelers Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Queen detailed some of the changes made on defense.
“The whole detail of the defense is so much better than it was last year from top to bottom,” Queen said. “And I think that’s the biggest thing is, like I said, we was trying to reinvent stuff going into a few games at the end of the season last year. [Mike Tomlin’s] whole message to the team right now is just start right now.”
The Steelers collapsed down the stretch last season, losing their last five games, including the embarrassing Wild Card loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Communication was a big issue for the defense during that stretch. Players were just not on the same page with each other.
“It’s a lot of new stuff going into the defensive playbook. It’s just us being able to start right now with the basic fundamentals and building off of that right now and every single day,” Queen said. “Not taking our time and ‘Oh, we’ll get that later.’ Everything is detailed now.
“So that way we get to the season, we can just game plan. We don’t have to switch up what we do. We don’t have to go, try to create something new.”
Queen likes where the Steelers defense stands now. He thinks they’re clicking on all cylinders.
“I think we’re farther ahead than last year, but still not where we need to be,” Queen told reporters at St. Vincent College on Sunday. “It’s an everyday grind, everyday battle that we’ve got to come in and have the mindset to get better, just one percent better. There are days when some people aren’t going to have it, and some people are going to have it. The days that people have it we’ve got to give it to others and just bring them along. It’s a team thing. It’s a defensive thing. It’s a brotherhood.
“Every single day you’ve got to come out here and grind. It’s never going to be given to you. Especially on Sundays, when you’re playing against a different team, they don’t like you. I think the biggest thing is just being able to get one percent better every single day, know every single detail of the defense inside and out, and just come out and ready to work. Get one percent better every single day.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers LB Patrick Queen Details Big Changes on Defense
