The Pittsburgh Steelers have stars are all over the defensive side of the football once again. They should, too, considering the amount of money Pittsburgh has invested on that side of the football in recent years.<\/p>\n
Yet that investment hasn\u2019t paid off like many expected. Last season, words like \u201chistoric\u201d and phrases like \u201cbest defense of all-time\u201d<\/a> were thrown around ahead of the season. And then the Steelers fell flat defensively.<\/p>\n Now, things are expected to be different with Patrick Graham taking over as defensive coordinator under first-year head coach Mike McCarthy. Those expectations still remain, especially for some new players joining the mix.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s a real belief now that with a proper Xs-and-Os mastermind overseeing the defense, the Steelers will be so much better on that side of the football. Former NFL head coach Dave Wannstedt believes that will be the case.<\/p>\n Appearing on 93.7 The Fan\u2019s Morning Show, Wannstedt spoke highly of Graham, and cited where he thinks it all went wrong for Pittsburgh defensively in recent years.<\/p>\n \u201cThose guys are getting older, the clock\u2019s running on all of them. That\u2019s the biggest thing that I hear around the league with the Steelers defense: can they stay healthy with their age? But Patrick Graham\u2019s gonna make a difference. He really is,\u201d Wannstedt said, according to audio via The Fan<\/a>. \u201cAnd Teryl Austin, I mean, I\u2019m a fan of his. I don\u2019t have a problem with that, but they never recovered, in my opinion, after Dick LeBeau left.\u201d<\/p>\n LeBeau resigned after the 2014 season<\/a> before moving on to Tennessee, where he continued to coach for three more seasons. To say the Steelers never recovered from that seems like revisionist history, considering Pittsburgh had a great defense for a long stretch in the late 2010s and early 2020s.<\/p>\n Where Pittsburgh failed was in the struggles to adapt to the style of play in today\u2019s game. The organization struggled to identify talent in the secondary, couldn\u2019t figure out the inside linebacker position after Ryan Shazier\u2019s career-ending injury, and did not properly invest in the trenches.<\/p>\n That\u2019s largely all changed now. The Steelers still have some concerns at inside linebacker, but the defensive line is beefed up and looks like a massive strength, and the secondary is improved with the additions of Jamel Dean, Jaquan Brisker, Jalen Ramsey and DeShon Elliott in recent years, along with Joey Porter Jr.\u2019s development.<\/p>\n So, the Steelers have recovered since LeBeau moved on. But they really struggled in recent years under Teryl Austin and Mike Tomlin. The scheme was bland and archaic, and it put players in difficult positions. That led to plenty of chatter late last season from players who expressed their frustrations with the scheme.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n That\u2019s all changed with Graham now in Pittsburgh, and players are genuinely excited about what\u2019s ahead. He\u2019s always been highly regarded as a defensive coach, but he\u2019s never had a ton of talent at his disposal. Pittsburgh is a different story. It\u2019s up to him to make a difference from a play-calling perspective.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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