Steelers starter has a nonsensical excuse as to how the team allowed Justin Fields and the Jets to rush for nearly 200 yards
That doesn’t make a ton of sense.
The beauty of preparing for a Week 1 opponent in the NFL is that, unlike the rest of the season, where you have less than a week, you have months to get ready for your first team. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, not only did they have that extra time, but they once had the New York Jets’ starting quarterback in their building.
Yet they allowed over 180 yards on the ground and three rushing TDs, two of which came from Justin Fields. According to safety Juan Thornhill, that’s because they weren’t prepared for a running QB…
“I just feel like we might not have been prepared for a running quarterback because we’ve been seeing a guy like Aaron Rodgers all camp where he’s not really using his legs to try to beat us,” said Thornhill on Monday. “Then the first game of the year, you come out here against a guy that can run a 4.4 40-yard dash, it just adds a little bit more to the game. Next time, I just feel like we’ll be prepared for that.”
Juan Thornhill says Steelers weren’t prepared for Justin Fields rushing
I’m not sure if Thornhill is going to get a masterclass in public relations this week, but that’s a quote you probably want to keep to yourself. In all honesty, I would bet the team was prepared. It would be coaching malpractice not to have your team ready for one of the best running QBs in the league, who often defaults to his legs, and who was just on your team. That feels a little far-fetched.
What I think Thornhill was actually getting at, but just didn’t want to say it, was that the team got manhandled. Because that’s what actually happened. You can say one thing, but there is an old saying in football: “the tape is the tape.” And the Steelers defensive tape, well, it was bad…
So I’m taking Thornhill’s words with a grain of salt. The team clearly missed Derrick Harmon up front, and when DeShon Elliott went down with an injury, they had no one to rally from deep and make plays on the ball. That will change following the signing of Jabrill Peppers, and Elliott seems to have escaped major injury, but the run defense can’t be that bad again if the Steelers want to be taken seriously.
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A depth piece that makes too much sense.
