Kevin Colbert expressed some of the Steelers' best offseason news yet Tuesday in Indianapolis when he told DK Pittsburgh Sports' Dale Lolley that Stephon Tuitt "absolutely" wants to play football in 2022.
Tuitt's absence for the entire 2021 season left the defensive line without one of its best players, and the group would be all but barren following the season-ending injury to Tyson Alualu.
After an 11-sack season in 2020, it was Tuitt who was supposed to be the biggest complementary piece next to T.J. Watt who led the charge with Cam Heyward. Instead, it was Chris Wormley, Isaiah Buggs, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Carlos Davis, Henry Mondeaux and Montravius Adams.
That was the core issue with the Steelers ranking last in rushing defense. The group Colbert invested into with a large portion of the team's salary cap was down one of its most expensive players in Tuitt, and needed patchwork effort from backups. Also, Tuitt's absence meant more teams could focus on double-teaming Watt and/or Heyward. And that Devin Bush and Joe Schobert got a lot more attention from interior offensive linemen who could leak to the second level.
The 146.1 rushing yards per game allowed by the defense was the worst showing of the Mike Tomlin era. Struggles from Bush and Schobert certainly played a role, but the biggest factor was not having a stout defensive line that could control the line of scrimmage and limit the space available to running backs to pick their gaps.
Watch this handoff when Dalvin Cook took off for 20 yards against the Steelers and you can see the entire right side of the defensive line in Wormley and Adams just get moved down the line like they were sleds in practice. The result was Bush being lined up by the fullback and Terrell Edmunds trying to come from the secondary to police two gaps and Cook just picking the easier one to run through:
That's not just lesser work on the defensive line, it's bad work.
Losing a battle is one thing, but getting moved down the line so that you're not even a factor is being flat-out bullied. Typically you want your defensive line to at least maintain their positions so that the off-ball linebackers and safeties can defend tighter gaps. But in situations like this, those gaps are widened substantially to give Cook a lot more room to run.
There were spurts when Loudermilk, Adams and Wormley gave better efforts against the run, but they never had the complete package Tuitt offered with dominant strength along with proper hand technique and constant footwork.
The defensive line displayed none of that in Cook's run. Even when they did at least do better with the fundamentals, that lack of pure power that Tuitt constantly showed would lead to major lapses in the defense.
Here's a 28-yard touchdown run by Jamaal Williams when the Lions, missing their star center Frank Ragnow, dominated the Steelers' front. This time Wormley does a better job by at least pushing towards his gap from the right side. But Loudermilk on the left side can't manage to gain any leverage to at least challenge his gap.
He at least got his hands inside on his man, but he's still sealed out of the hole and it led to the Lions' big run as the linebackers got mopped up:
Sure, there are other aspects of the defense that could also be better on the play. Bush could find a way to get off his block or mitigate the size disadvantage to stay free and make a play. Schobert could close down on the gap harder. Minkah Fitzpatrick or Edmunds could bring Williams down once he got to top speed.
But none of that happens if the gaps upfront are properly maintained. If you think one defensive lineman couldn't make the difference there, you'd be wrong.
Watch this play from 2020 when the Browns tried a right reach step down the line and Tuitt was able to not only get his hands in proper position, but he kept his head up to diagnose the play and know when to disengage to bring down Nick Chubb. He also did that while pushing his man two yards into the backfield, blowing up the play:
When Tuitt entered the NFL as a 21-year-old in 2014, he was very much about using his brute strength to win matchups. But at age 27 in 2020, Tuitt showed just how much he had developed over the years by combining his raw power with technical savvy in moves and understanding when to use them.
Watch how Tuitt dealt with Dennis Kelly of the Titans in 2020. Kelly was trying to be aggressive in setting the tone with heavy-handed strikes, so Tuitt countered by using his bodyweight against him and pulling down on Kelly's jersey just enough to make the tackle lose balance. That created the open lane for Tuitt to attack Derrick Henry:
That savvy has been developed over seven years of growth. If you think that's too long, remember that Heyward took a while before becoming the recognized star he's regarded as today. It was Heyward's seventh season when he first registered double-digit sacks and made his first Pro Bowl. He's now made five straight, plus three All-Pro teams.
If Tuitt can return next year and play at the level he was in 2020, that will force offensive lines to worry about a significant deal more in game prep. Even the slightest miss of a punch was an opening big enough for Tuitt to turn into a big gain. Watch this play when the Ravens' offensive tackle Tyre Phillips failed to get his hands on Tuitt and it led to an easy swim move for Tuitt who crushed Gus Edwards in the backfield:
This was a regular occurrence for the Steelers in 2020.
Regardless of whether Bush can return to his 2019-20 form and if the Steelers acquire some major help at cornerback with both Joe Haden and Ahkello Witherspoon being unrestricted free agents, Tuitt's return would be a major step to solving the defense's biggest problem last season: stopping the run.
There's no doubt there would be some rust to knock off, but that's also nothing new for Tuitt. After playing only six games in 2019, many wondered if he could ever ascend to a higher level or if he would forever be the defensive lineman the Steelers hoped would develop and never achieve his potential. He followed that with his best season and played all but one game in 2020.
His return should also push the Steelers' defensive tackle needs in the NFL Draft down from considering the position in the first round, but the team still could use talents who could be available on the second and third days of the draft like Travis Jones of Connecticut and Thomas Booker of Stanford.
But beyond draft strategies, the Steelers need on-field production in 2022. If Tuitt can even bring 80 percent of the production he did in 2020, it would transform the defense.
