Behind the Steel Curtain
It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for a weekly Steelers links roundup at BTSC. But first, let’s take a look around the AFC North:
What’s the latest on the Steelers’ upcoming opponent?
Now, onto some Steelers news and discussion:
(From The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen): When you’ve invested this much into your pass rush, you don’t need to take as many chances as the Steelers did. They also played more two-deep coverages than they have at any point this season, which helped their corners. As much flak as Tomlin has been getting, he’s made some effective in-season changes before that have helped propel the Steelers on a run. The question is, can he do it late in the year and maybe the playoffs?
A nice mini film room from The Athletic with some insights on other teams as well.
(From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Christopher Carter): Elite performance:
LBs Alex Highsmith, Payton Wilson
But Wilson was also everywhere for the Steelers’ defense, as he led the team with 13 combined tackles, nine solo tackles, an interception and a tipped pass that was intercepted. The All-22 tape showed how he flew all over the field to stop the run and limit the Colts’ yards after the catch.
After a rough start to the season, it’s great to see how far Payton Wilson has come in recent weeks. Besides being a tackling machine, he looked solid in coverage as well in Week 9.
(From SI’s Noah Strackbein): According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, free agent cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. has been cleared to play this season following a neck injury. He’s in contact with several teams and could make a decision on where he’s playing soon.
Samuel underwent spinal fusion surgery in April and has been waiting to be cleared all offseason. Pittsburgh Steelers neurosurgeon, Dr. David Okonkwo, performed the surgery. Samuel is just 26 years old and has recorded 176 tackles and six interceptions in 50 NFL games.
The trade deadline might be behind us, but Samuel remains a name to watch on the free agent market now that he’s healthy. With NFL bloodlines — and Strackbein’s note that Samuel’s surgeon is connected to the Steelers staff — it’s reasonable that Pittsburgh might be interested.
[Steelers’ quiet trade deadline speaks volumes...
