I really like the secondary, especially when Cortez is back. When I was at camp, Thomas and Golden were both playing so well, I started to wonder if we could put them both in the nickle with one of them covering the slot and the other playing FS. They both look significantly better in coverage than Gay and Clark. Thomas has looked really good in the slot and Golden has gotten at lot of reps at FS with the 1st team D. I would consider swapping them because Thomas has a Troy like burst and I think he'd be able to make more plays as a safety and Golden has done fine covering the slot. Whatever they do, I think those 5 would be the best set of players on passing downs.
I also am in love with Jarvis. He's a ball hunter. He's gonna create a lot of turnovers. He has a different mentality than every other player always thinking about the strip. Woodley's as trim as he's ever been. And I expect with Troy back, Timmy will get to play more in the box where he's an even bigger difference maker. Foote is solid and I still have super high hopes for Spence if he can return. And I also like Worilds and Robinson if we could get them in the mix as situational pass rushers.
But the Dline still concerns me. I know we're changing things up a bit to allow these guys to attack more and try to generate pressure. And that's gonna make us less effective against the run. And that's ok if we can get pressure. I just don't see any pressure during these first 2 preseason games. During our last couple of SuperBowl runs, I thought the DLine was the strength of the the Steelers D. Having the best 3-4 DLine in the game made everyone else's job easier and made the team better. Now it's starting to feel like that unit might be the weak link. I'm just a little concerned that this unit can't be the weak link if the 3-4 is gonna work. Keisel's still Keisel, but I worry about McClendon and Hood.
In time, maybe it becomes a senseless concern. But for now I'm cautiously optimistic til I see more.
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