Week In Review Episode 38 - Respond

The Week in Review looks back at a frustrating loss to New England, and ahead to a Saturday clash in Indy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's the Steelers we can review with Wesley Eheler on
Steelers Nation Radio and Steelers dot Com.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Hello Steelers Nation, and welcome to the Steelers we can
review your one stop shop for all the current news
and headlines for your Pittsburgh Steelers. I'm West Steeler, host
of the Steelers Blitz on SNR. Let's get you up
to speed on all the latest for the Black and Gold.
A rough run of results for the Steelers as they

(00:27):
followed up a disappointing loss Sunday against Arizona with another
defeat at the hands of New England on Thursday. Mike
Tomlin spoke about what went wrong and what they're doing
to correct it.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Most recently, if you look at kind of the outcome
of the game, certainly we've had some ills that have
been kind of consistent throughout the year, but you know,
particularly in the last couple of weeks, I thought our
situational defense with significant our inability to hold people to
field goals in the red area. We've talked a lot

(01:02):
about it about the attrition component of the interior portions
of our defense at linebacker and sub package and what
that has done to us in terms of some schematics,
and some people and some tight ends have made some
significant plays in recent weeks, and so you know, I'm
excited about getting a full week opportunity to kind of

(01:22):
clean some of that stuff up. First of all, some
of the guys that we're using, is reasonable to expect
those guys to be better with more exposure. But also
we'll get a full week to kind of craft a
plan to highlight what it is that they do well
and divide the labor up in a way that can
minimize some of those things that have transpired. You know,

(01:45):
we got to put on a short field a week
ago and we weren't able to hold them to a
field goal. And really that's the difference to the outcome
of the game under normal circumstances. As a defense man,
we get off in those tough circumstances, hold people to
field goals, We keep him out of the end zone.
We play better red zone defense than we have in

(02:06):
recent weeks. And so we got some work to do
obviously there on the offensive side of the ball. I thought,
I thought Mitch picked up his player as the game
we're on. I thought that that is a reasonable expectation
for him to be even better because of that experience,
and because of the experience of having a full week's

(02:27):
prep this week in preparation for the performance Inhalbet reps
and things of that nature, full speed reps. Excited about
that component of it, but more importantly than anything else,
I'm excited about this group meeting the challenge that he is.
An NFL season man's it's thick this week. We're in

(02:49):
a big game. It's big for both squads. Both squads
have absorbed some negativity, if you will, Our ability to
manage that and remain focused in prep and in play
will ultimately determine our positioning. I'm excited about getting singularly
focused and working our tails off this week in an
effort to pursue it.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
And as he always does, Mike Tomlin outlined injury concerns
and updates for the Steelers ahead of this weekend's clash
with the Colts.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
Kenny can be described as out again this week. We've
had a couple of guys that that are in the
concussion protocol, Alex high Smith and t. J. Watt. They're
in the protocol. Will rely on the medical experts in
terms of their availability, and then the stages of availability
in terms of as we push through the week. But

(03:38):
I don't have a lot of information or detail there.
I really wait and hear from them regarding those things.
Elandon Roberts was able to participate in game, and with
an extended cycle, o't imagine that's gonna be less of
an issue for him. James Pierre have an opportunity to
play some of the other guys, guys who kind of

(04:01):
went into that game in less than ideal circumstances. I'm
sure we'll be better because of the extended weekend as
we come out of it. Guys like Isaac and Nase
who were limited last week and in preparation will probably
have more extended in helmet preparation, which is critical on

(04:21):
a big week. We need in helmet perspective on prep,
we need good days and so it's a big component
of what we do.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
There's certainly a sense of urgency as the Steelers come
off of two straight home losses and now had to
Indy for a crucial showdown with the Colts. Mike Tollin
spoke on the challenge Indianapolis will present.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
I'll start first with their defensive group. They got some
continuity there. Man Gus Bradley's been there for a number
of years. We've played against him last year in Indy,
but we've played against them a lot in recent years,
whether it's in Indie or other places. Is defensive schematics
have a feel or texture to them. Uh. He's a fundamentalist.

(05:06):
They execute very well. They they ride the wave that
their front provides. They play a lot of people in
their front. Buckner's a bell cow if you will, of
that front group. He plays in run game circumstances. He
plays in past game circumstances. They got some guys that
distinguish themselves in one or the other. Like I said,

(05:27):
they use a lot of people Quitty pay Samson or
two guys on the edge man that that that provide
quality rush for them. I think they got four guys
with five or more sacks. I think they're fourth in
the league in terms of sacks per game. Those guys
provide the wave. Uh, they really do. Can't say enough
about Zaire in the middle. Uh at linebacker has been

(05:49):
fund the last several days, just you know, getting getting
familiar with his evolution as a player. Man. Obviously, he's
been in India number of years. They drafted him late,
and he's kind of grown through the ranks as a
teamer and then a you know, a component of the defense,
and now he's really a central component of the defense.
He's a green dot. He had one hundred and sixty

(06:11):
plus tackles I think a year ago. I think he's
right around one hundred and forty as we sit here today.
His growth and evolution in playmaking is probably one of
the reasons why they've been able to move on from
a guy like Shaq Leonard Man, his tape has been
really hot. Kenny Moore on the back end, Man, there's
another guy that's been there a long time. Man is

(06:33):
really good at what he does. Plays inside. It's a
good blitzer, is a good tackler, a good slot cover guy.
I think he's got two touchdowns. I think they've got
five touchdowns on defense. Man, they've been really opportunistic, and
I think that that's a signature of agus Bradley group. Man,
they play some zones. They got vision to break tips

(06:54):
and overthrows they collect. They got vision to break when
the rush is breaking the pocket down. That's how they
work in terms of creating splash. Like their safety tandem.
They've they've made plays, particularly in terms of closing some
games out when people get somewhat one dimensional. They're sitting

(07:14):
at umbrella schematics back there, Man and they and they
closed the door and finished some games on the offensive
side of the ball. They appear to be very comfortable
with Gardner and and they should be. He's new to Indie,
but he's not new to what it is that they do.
He came over with the coaching staff from Philadelphia. I'd
imagine they were really intentional about his acquisition, and they're

(07:38):
finding comfort in that now that they get a chance
to call upon them. He looks like a guy that's
really comfortable within their system of offense. The r p
O component, the run pass component of it, the the
changes of launch point, the misdirection component of it. Uh.
He makes good and fluid decisions. He's good at extending

(07:59):
when plays aren't available to him in a normal fashion.
He does a good job of extending plays and turning
them into a positive. They got a real nice division
of labor at the Eligibles. Can't say enough about Mike
Pittman and the plays that he makes. He's a high
volume catch guy, a tough guy, a guy that makes

(08:20):
tough combat catches. Pierce is a guy that's a fifty
to fifty ball guy at down the grass. Guy he
was at at the University of Cincinnati. We looked at
him hard when he came into the league. He's still
proving to be that in terms of his ability to
make deep ball plays. Downs is a new guy that
I'm getting familiar with, a rookie that plays in the
slide and and does some slot things for them in there.

(08:43):
They got a nice arsenal of tight ends, and given
how we've performed against tight ends of late, obviously that
has our attention. They do. They do a really nice
job of spreading the ball around and dividing the labor
up within that group. At running back, we better be
prepared to see Taylor. Got a lot of respect for him,
we've seen him some, but also have a lot of

(09:04):
respect for Zach Moss and respect the work that he's
done in Taylor's absence. But again, feature ball carrier work
is not something that's foreign or new to mass Man.
He's been at it for some time and so he's
a veteran in that space and not surprised by the
quality work he's given them. There, they made some splash

(09:24):
plays and teams they essentially won their latest Tennessee game
on special teams blocked a couple of punts and things
of that nature, and so you know that would be
a space where I'm sure both teams are trying to
make some splash and to provide a leg up in
what is a huge AFC road game for us.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
On the road again for a Saturday afternoon showdown in Indie,
Steelers Colts four point thirty at Lucas Oil Stadium. I'm
sn R host Wes Yeuler. Thanks for listening to this
episode of the Steelers we can review. Take care, and
I'll talk to the ends next week.