It’s Friday, which means it’s time to get into your questions ahead of the weekend. The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and look to start 2-0 for the second straight season, so let’s dig into your inquiries about the Week 2 matchup.
Q: What receivers will the Steelers target next week? – Full Tilt Boogie
A: DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin will be the top two wideouts, I don’t think that’s much of a question. Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith will round out the top four targets.
Q: The run defense doesn’t seem to be just a Derrick Harmon away from being good. How much can we reasonably expect him to improve it? – sixringteam2
A: When Harmon is healthy, he will be a big improvement over Keeanu Benton, who they lined up at nose a lot in Week 1 – that’s just not Benton’s game. Putting Harmon and Cam Heyward in the middle and kicking Benton back out to the three-tech full-time spot will do a lot for the run game, as will getting Yahya Black more involved.
Q: Benton is not a nose tackle in the Steelers’ defense. He might be a good end, but they need someone else at the nose. The media needs to push Tomlin on this. He needs to be held accountable for misjudging and relying on Benton at this key spot, when he is not suited for it. Mazi Smith coming out of college was a better body type for the Steelers nose tackle position. I believe he is not dressing for the Cowboys, and could be had for very cheap. Think this is a good option? – Would_rathernot
A: Well let’s get this out of the way – Tomlin isn’t going to change anything he does simply because the media thinks he should. Once Harmon is healthy, I’d expect him to be lined up in the A-gap more with Heyward while Benton is lined up in the B-gap. However, I wouldn’t be opposed to a Mazi Smith trade. Anything to make the run defense better and give the unit more depth.
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