If there is one thing the Pittsburgh Steelers need to improve come the 2022 season, it's their run defense. As head coach Mike Tomlin said, they were really bad in that department last campaign.
In an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio's Movin' The Chains, Tomlin got brutally honest on their run defense that ranked dead last at no. 32 in the whole NFL in 2021.
“Hey man, we sucked last year. And part of fixing it is first acknowledging it. And then taking it personal,” Tomlin shared, per Steelers Depot.
True enough, allowing 2483 rushing yards (32nd in NFL) and 17 touchdowns on the ground (22nd) won't cut it if the Steelers want to be taken as serious Super Bowl contenders. They did make the postseason despite that, but they ended up losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round.
As for his plan to help the Steelers win more games in 2022 and get past their issues on run defense, he wants his team to focus on one thing: playing to their strengths.
“In terms of the process, I try to keep a simple formula. We need to play to our strengths. We need to work to minimize our weaknesses, that increases our chances of winning,” Tomlin shared. “And so, whatever those strengths and weaknesses are. As you mentioned, we are going through a transition in some areas and we're not running away from that. We're running to that and the component of getting those guys better and raising that element of our game is the work that we do and how we do it.”
The Steelers will be looking to keep competing in the AFC North even after the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger. Sure enough, in order to do that, they have to address all their weaknesses from last season in one way or another.
Tomlin has a plan, but it remains to be seen if they can execute when needed.
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