Know the Foe: Five Questions About the Steelers
By now, you’re well aware that Sunday’s matchup between the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers is just the eighth in NFL history in which two unbeaten teams with at least five wins have gone head to head. That makes it the biggest game on the NFL’s Week 7 schedule.
To learn more about the challenge the Titans will face Sunday at Nissan Stadium, we asked Donnie Druin of AllSteelers, part of the SI.com NFL community, to answer five questions about the Steelers.
1. Ben Roethlisberger is 5-3 with 99.8 passer rating against the Titans in his career. At 38 years old, what does he no longer do as well as he once did?
Sheesh, I think mobility is the night and day difference you see between a young Ben Roethlisberger and his current form (although he still manages to navigate the pocket very well for his age). Steelers fans are so used to seeing Roethlisberger shake any given sack and extend plays. Now, if you get your body on him, there's a good chance he's going down. However, an underrated answer to this question will be forcing balls and thus throwing interceptions. Antonio Brown no longer commands targets and desperation throws that would result in turnovers, and we've seen his turnover rate go down drastically through the small amount of time without Brown since he's no longer forcing throws at ridiculous rates. Many people believe his deep-ball accuracy has fallen off, yet Chase Claypool is assisting in
2) What does the defense lose due to the season-ending knee injury to inside linebacker Devin Bush?
You can't talk about Devin Bush without first pointing out his athleticism. Coming out of college, he posted similar NFL Combine metrics to Saquon Barkley and that showed on the field. His ability to quickly shoot through gaps and make plays while also possessing incredible sideline to sideline range as a tackler. Although his pass coverage wasn't stellar, his absence also puts further stress on other players through the defense to cover tight ends. It's also notable that Bush also held the coveted green dot on his helmet, as he relayed the play-calls from the defensive coordinator. The Steelers liked what they saw out of replacement linebacker Robert Spillane, although he's not quite the athlete Bush is. Also expect Ulysees Glbert to potentially see time, an athletic linebacker who doesn't quite thump the pads like Spillane however. In coverage, back-up safety Marcus Allen may also potentially see time when needed in coverage. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Spillane would retain Bush's role, but it would be a group effort to replace what Bush brought to the table.
3) Rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool has looked like a stud the last couple weeks? What is the key to his success and how pleasant a surprise has he been?
While Claypool has started off on a tremendous foot, he still remains a tad raw in the finer details of being a receiver, which should be fixed with time and experience. This includes small details such as selling defenders with head fakes when running double-routes, making sure he's at the yardage marker on third downs, things of that nature. As of now, his pure combination of size (6-4, we've all seen the Calvin Johnson comparisons each week) and speed has paid dividends in both short yardage and deep ball situations. Simply put: You can gameplan all you want, but Claypool has the body to win in the air and the speed to make plays with the ball in his hands when the ball is snapped. It certainly helps to get one on one matchups when you have a receiver such as JuJu Smith-Schuster on the field.
A pleasant surprise may be the perfect way to describe Claypool's selection. Not to say anybody doubted Claypool's ability, but drafting him in the second round definitely wasn't on the radar of anybody outside of the facility. I was so confident the Steelers were going to select running back J.K. Dobbins that I tried to get a jump-start on the breaking news article. When it comes to drafting receivers, Pittsburgh has learned to trust what the organization sees in them. So while the pick was a tad unexpected, Claypool's impact has already been felt just five games into his career.
4) Last Sunday, the Titans faced Houston and J.J. Watt. This week it's Pittsburgh and two more Watt boys. What should Titans fans expect to see from T.J. and Derek?
Can you imagine the Thanksgiving football games with those guys growing up? Brutal. Beginning with Derek, we've yet to really see his true impact given he's appeared in just four games this year, playing just 25 offensive snaps during that time. Derek sat practice out on Wednesday and officially carries a "Questionable" designation ahead of the game. Although rarely used as a fullback on offense, his greatest contributions have come via special teams when healthy, so expect to see him in that fashion should he play. After losing fullback Roosevelt Nix in free agency, many thought Pittsburgh would have used Watt frequently in that role, yet 2020's early returns say he's merely replaced special team player Tyler Matakevich. Perhaps a limited offseason is keeping Derek on the sidelines, but that's my best guess as to why he's not featured more when healthy.
Then, of course, you have T.J. Many thought Watt deserved to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year last season, and his play thus far has proven his mindset aligns with that thinking. Through five games, Watt has registered 13 QB hits, 4.5 sacks, 15 combined tackles (9 tackles for loss), 2 passes defended and 1 interception to his name thus far. When he's not adding to the stat sheet, he's fighting double teams and allowing another member of Pittsburgh's front seven to see a one on one opportunity. I feel like I could talk about T.J. until I'm blue in the face. His impact on the football field is nothing short of tremendous in run support as well. As for what fans should expect from Watt, expect to see a lot of swim/rip pass rush moves that allows him outside leverage to the quarterback. The Steelers like to move Watt around some, so don't be surprised if he's bouncing around the line of scrimmage on some plays as well.
5) It looks like the defense is living up to its long-standing 'Blitzburgh' reputation this season. Is it one or two players who repeatedly add to the pass rush or is it likely to be anyone at any time?
So, it's a little of both. Outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree have combined for 9.5 of Pittsburgh's 24 sacks thus far, yet ten different defensive players have registered sacks thus far. There's no doubting Dupree/Watt are the engine to the pass rush, so in that sense, they are the two most valuable pass-rushing pieces to the puzzle. However, everybody has gotten a piece of the pie in 2020, as interior defensive linemen Stephon Tuitt has four sacks to his name as well. The Steelers currently hold the league's highest blitz rate through 2020 (48%), and with three different secondary players tallying sacks to their resume this season, I believe it's fair to say Pittsburgh likes to throw everything but the kitchen sink at opposing offenses. All members of the defense play their part in getting to the quarterback.
