There are certain things that football players do not like to be called, and ‘soft’ is certainly one of them. The term makes it sound like they are weak and incapable of holding their ground on a football field; like they aren’t tough enough to play the game. But that didn’t stop Pittsburgh Steelers team president Art Rooney II from describing his team’s run defense as just that.
“Last year there were some games where we were kind of soft against the run, and that's not Steelers football,” Rooney said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We have to get stronger against the run, so we can put our defense in position to get after the quarterback.”
The notion may seem kind of crazy since the team was tenth in total rushing yards allowed (1693). Yes, nine teams did better, but being 10th is nothing to be ashamed of. When combined with the team’s fifth-ranked pass defense, it translates into having the fifth best defense in the league (in total yards allowed).
However, while teams didn’t run a lot against them, when they did run they ran well. The Steelers ranked 27th in yards per carry allowed (4.4 yards/carry).
Their troubles against the run were on display during their playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Leonard Fournette had 109 yards on the night, and the Jags totaled 164. It was the fifth time during the 2017 season the Steelers defense gave up 150+ yards on the ground.
Teams will be aware of this when they face the Steelers in 2018. If they don’t figure out how to stop teams from running, everyone is going to do just that.
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