Minutes after the Steelers defeated the Raiders, 32-13, Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, I made my way into the locker room and eventually bumped in Patrick Queen, still donning his pads and full uniform.
I asked him if that performance felt as good as it looked. He cocked his head to the side, seeking a little more clarity. I said, "Well, you had 13 tackles."
"I did?"
"Yeah."
"Finally."
For all the concern those on the outside have had over Queen's lack of playmaking, trust me, he's carried that, too. He wants to make a huge impact here. He wants to be the guy in the middle of this defense. But, as I wrote about in last week's Friday Insider, that comes with responsibilities other than splash. He's the quarterback of the defense, and it's a new defense to him, as well. There's going to be an adjustment period.
Sunday's performance may be an indicator that the adjustment period is coming to an end, giving Queen more freedom to play on instinct rather than having to think for himself and the other 10 guys on the defense.
"You're going to start seeing everything start to gel," Elandon Roberts told me Sunday following the game. "That's everywhere, no matter how long somebody's been in a system. Working with new guys or working the same guys, guys are gelling more and starting to get in a groove. That's all you're seeing."
After reviewing the film, Queen didn't have an overly splashy performance, but was flying all over the field with 13 total tackles and one tackle for loss:
That's only eight of 63 snaps, but they were indicative of what Queen brought to the game Sunday. He provided speed to the flat, was much better in run defense and put himself in position to make plays that ultimately didn't come to him.
One thing he told me last week when I asked what the transition is like from one defense to another really stood out with his play.
"Just understanding route combinations and the stuff that comes with that," Queen told me. "That's why I've been taking pride in not letting anything in the middle of the field. Just knowing the simplicity with our defense, being able to know different coverages and how the coverage get supported through different route concepts and stuff. It's been a huge help coming from there to come here and just having a more simple defense."
Prior to this game, Queen had looked a bit too slow to me. Not slow in terms of foot speed, but almost too slow to react. I began to wonder if he was a good fit in the Steelers' scheme. The Ravens also predominantly use Cover 3, but they do a lot of different stuff up front and mix their coverages very differently.
Little of what I saw from Queen made me think he looked comfortable. Like nothing was simple. That's what he was talking about.
But, to the point Roberts made, the beginning of the season is a time in which teams work through all the kinks. Not everything looks great immediately for every team. And even if it does, it could be fool's gold. Just look at the Saints. After Week 2, everyone wanted to crown Klint Kubiak the next NFL offensive genius and claim the Saints to be some sort of contender just because they blew the doors off the Panthers and Cowboys. Now they've lost four straight and are three-point underdogs at home against the Broncos.
Now, we need to see Queen and the rest of the defense replicate this type of performance against a more formidable opponent, and they'll get their opportunity this week with the Jets coming to town, who just recently acquired Davante Adams via trade. It'll be a tough test.
But, it's important to remember to be patient at the start of a season. Give it several weeks and teams typically let you know who they really are. With Queen, we could be seeing more of what everyone expected him to be. After all, things should be getting easier for him as the quarterback of the defense. That'll only free him up to make more plays as he did against the Raiders.
