Sep 8, 2014 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – The Steelers talked throughout the offseason about improving their run defense, which ranked 21st in the NFL last season.

It might already be time to go back to the drawing board.

Though the Steelers hung on to beat Cleveland, 30-27, Sunday in their regular season opener, the Browns continually gashed Pittsburgh’s defense on the ground, gaining 183 yards on just 30 rushing attempts, an average of 6.1 yards per carry.

Even worse, it wasn’t any one running back that did most of the damage. Starter Ben Tate was injured in the first half after gaining 41 yards on six attempts. Backups Terrence West and Isaiah Crowell were equally effective, with West picking up 100 yards on 16 carries and Crowell gaining 32 yards on five attempts with two touchdowns.

None of those three will be compared to Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders anytime soon.

Much of the damage was done in the second half when the Browns stormed back from a 27-3 deficit to tie the game early in the fourth quarter. Cleveland gained 121 yards rushing on the ground in the final two quarters, mostly against the Steelers’ nickel defense.

“A lot of it is schematics and some of it is communication,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Monday. “And a lot of it is just technique.

“But more than anything we just have to be good fundamentally. We have to exercise good technique. We have to play the defense that’s called. We have to communicate those defenses and we have to put them in the best position as we possibly can to defend the plays as coaches.”

Fixing that quickly will be the task at hand this week. The Steelers (1-0) travel to Baltimore (0-1) for a Thursday night game.

According to a number of players, the biggest issue was communication. The Browns opened the second half in a no-huddle offense, which isn’t all that uncommon for a team down 24 points. But Cleveland also was snapping the ball quickly while the Steelers were attempting to get everyone the correct defensive call.

Players were in the right position at the snap, but they didn’t necessarily know what they were supposed to do.

“As soon as we came in (Monday) we all started talking about it just trying to figure out a way,” cornerback Ike Taylor said of the communication issues. “We’ll figure it out sooner or later before Thursday.”

Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau relays his defensive calls to inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons via a speaker in Timmons’ helmet. Timmons then relays it to the other 10 players.

But with the Browns often snapping the ball with 15 to 20 seconds remaining on the play clock, some defensive players didn’t get the calls in time.

“We were where we were supposed to be, but based on some of the results of those snaps I can’t say that we were ready,” Tomlin said. “We’re going to work hard at being better in that regard here on a short week in preparation for Thursday.”

The team will look at different ways to relay the defensive calls. And they might need to this week.

The Ravens, like the Steelers, run a no-huddle offense. Based on the success the Browns had Sunday and the Eagles had in the preseason running a fast-paced no-huddle, the Steelers have to be prepared to face it again.

“We have to prepare for that,” said defensive end Brett Keisel. “I expect them to play great ball. They always play us very tough. It’s always a game that seems to come right down to the very end so we have to make the plays when they’re presented to us and hopefully have enough to win.”

Tomlin said safety Shamarko Thomas (ankle) and running back Dri Archer (ankle) both have sprains and will be questionable to play this week. Both were injured in Sunday’s game against the Browns. … Wide receivers Lance Moore (groin) and Martavis Bryant (shoulder) and cornerback Brice McCain (groin) will be questionable as well. All three missed the game against Cleveland. … After looking at game film, Tomlin was particularly unhappy that the Steelers drew 11 penalties against Cleveland. The team’s season-high last season was nine in a loss to Miami.