Friday Football Footnotes: Steelers must address plenty of specific areas if they are to hang with Tom Brady, Bucs

The Pittsburgh Steelers are eight-point underdogs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. That’s not something this fanbase is used to seeing. But they are used to seeing Tom Brady shred the Steelers defense.

And that’s usually when the defense has been good. Without T.J. Watt, this year’s Steelers defense stinks.

So, for “Friday Football Footnotes” this week, here are five key elements to watch if the Steelers are to upset — or even stay close to — the Bucs.

Hands up

At 2.2 seconds per drop back, Brady is (as always) getting rid of the ball quickly. That’s the third-fastest rate among qualifying quarterbacks so far this year.

At 45, Brady may not move as well as modern-era mobile quarterbacks. But because of that stat, it doesn’t matter. So a key for Steelers pass rushers is to get their hands up in passing lanes and deflect Brady’s attempts.

Watt (when healthy) and Cameron Heyward are two of the best in football at that skill. Rookie DeMarvin Leal has shown a knack for it too.

“When a QB gets rid of the ball pretty fast, throw him off. Get a hand up,” Leal said this week. “Deflect it. Make him try to throw around you. Throw it too high, maybe. Get a tip, or something, to get interceptions. Find different ways to be effective.”

Leal has been credited with three passes defended so far this season.

What do you do when you get there?

Stopping a rush and putting their hands up may be the only option for Steelers defenders. Because not only does Brady throw the ball quickly, the Steelers pass rush has been toothless without Watt.

The Steelers only had one QB hit and no sacks last week. And if the Steelers do get to Brady, are they going to be able to sack him gently enough?

I can’t believe I just wrote that. But this is the NFL in 2022. Apparently caring for the quarterback is a more important job than getting him to the ground for pass rushers these days.

Just ask Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett. He absorbed an absurd roughing the passer penalty while sacking Brady last week. Chris Jones got one too during a strip sack of Derek Carr.

“We are being taught to make a play on the ball,” Heyward said. “I don’t know what else you could ask (Jones to do). That’s teach-tape right there. For any defensive lineman, you should be doing that.”

Brady has been sacked seven times in 214 drop backs. As a comp, Carson Wentz of Washington has been taken down 23 times in 232 attempts to lead the league.

More Steelers news

• Once part of the Steelers future, then forgotten, CB James Pierre getting another shot
• Activation of Steelers WR Calvin Austin ‘possible,’ but ‘he’s a little rusty’
• Steelers tasked with trying to generate pass rush while figuring out how to defend Tom Brady

Cash it in

Want two big reasons why the Steelers are struggling to put up points on offense? Look at red-zone inefficiency and conversion-down failure rate.

The Steelers were 5 for 19 on third and fourth down tries last week in Buffalo. They were 0 for 4 in the red zone.

Head coach Mike Tomlin said one big problem is that those two trends are intersecting at inopportune times.

“The possession-down plays were double situational plays,” Tomlin said of the Buffalo game. “Fourth-and-6 in the red zone, for example. Third-and-10 in the red zone. Oftentimes, the most weighty plays are not just possession downs, but they’re also red zone plays.”

The Steelers are at 36.33% when it comes to third-down conversion rate. That’s 22nd in football. In terms of red zone touchdown percentage, the Steelers are 25th in the NFL at 46.15%.

Here’s a fix

One way to help that red zone problem? Hit a receiver in the end zone for a change. The Steelers wide receivers have yet to register a touchdown through five games.

Given how NFL offenses operate these days, that’s pretty unbelievable. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada was asked about that specific issue. He gave a generic response.

“Scoring touchdowns is the point of emphasis. We can go through plays and here and there, are we close, are we not? Certainly, I want everybody to score touchdowns. We have to score touchdowns, and there’s no running away from that,” Canada said.

Well, maybe if his receivers could run away from a few more defenders, then the touchdown problem would be a lot less of an issue. Then, of course, the quarterbacks need to hit them with accurate passes and the receivers need to actually catch them and get their feet in-bounds.

All those things have been issues so far for this group.

As far as Tampa goes this year, Brady has seven TD passes. Five have gone to wide receivers. Two have ended up in the hands of running back Leonard Fournette.

Working in concert

Having played in the NFC, new Steelers offensive linemen Mason Cole and James Daniels have both faced the Tampa Bay front seven in recent years. They both heaped praise on the organization’s defensive front.

“They do a really good job of playing off of each other,” Daniels said. “Their linebackers would be great without the defensive line. Their defensive line would be great without the linebackers. They complement each other. They do a really good job. Their linebackers are really fast. (Lavonte Davis and Devin White) are sideline to sideline. And, I would say, the best nose tackle in the NFL in Vita Vea.”

Tampa Bay’s defense is sixth in total yards allowed (309) and points allowed (16.6).