Steelers defensive ends in rush to prove worth
Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt was a second-round draft pick last year before breaking into the starting lineup near the end of the regular season.
Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward signed a six-year, $59.2 million contract extension last week.
Steelers gather at midfield after their first training camp practice Sunday at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
LATROBE – Until Cam Heyward matched Jason Worilds for the team lead in sacks last season, it had been 10 years since a defensive linemen led the Steelers in that statistic.
But second-year player Stephon Tuitt not only feels a defensive end can lead the Steelers in sacks this season, he believes he and Heyward can each reach double digits.
“I’d say it’s a possibility, a great possibility,” Tuitt said Sunday as the Steelers held their first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College.
If so, it would be a throwback to the days of Kimo von Oelhoffen and Aaron Smith anchoring the Steelers’ defense in the early 2000s. Smith led the Steelers with eight sacks in 2004, and von Oelhoffen registered a team-best eight in 2003.
Heyward and Tuitt believe they can be that disruptive this season. If that happens, there’s a good chance the Steelers’ defense, which ranked a mediocre 18th in the league in 2014, will be much better.
“If you’ve got two unstoppable defensive (ends), you will be a great defense,” said Tuitt, a second-round draft pick last season who broke into the starting lineup late in the year.
The Steelers have high expectations for the two. They just signed Heyward to a six-year, $59.2-million contract extension last week. Veteran Brett Keisel was released in the offseason to make room for Tuitt to step into a starting role unchallenged.
New defensive coordinator Keith Butler said he’d like to get more pressure from the defensive linemen, a change from previous years when the linemen were expected to take on blockers to allow the outside linebackers to get to the quarterback.
In Heyward, who had 7.5 sacks last season, and Tuitt, whose 21.5 sacks in three years at Notre Dame rank fourth in school history, the Steelers feel they have the ends to be more impactful as pass rushers.
That would pay great dividends for a defense that has struggled to pressure quarterbacks the past two years, registering 33 and 34 sacks.
“We embrace it,” said Heyward. “If the weight falls on us, we’ll pick it up.”
Because Pittsburgh’s offense returns all 11 starters and all key backups from a unit that was one of the NFL’s most prolific last season, the defense might not need to be great. It does, however, need to be better.
Head coach Mike Tomlin has challenged the defensive unit throughout the offseason with that in mind. And a lot of that will fall on the play of the defensive line.
“Coach said (the offense) is going to average 6.0 yards (per play) out there in practice,” Heyward said. “We’re not going to allow that. Our goal is to be the top defense in the league and that starts here.”
With Heyward having established himself as one of the team’s best defensive players and a leader of that unit and nose tackle Steve McLendon coming back for his third season as a starter, growth from Tuitt might be the biggest question mark on the line.
“He has to take his game to another level. He knows that,” McLendon said.
“Whatever the coaches ask of him, he needs to take that even higher. He has all the ability. He just needs to put it on the field during games.”
Tuitt did that at times last season, showing off the athleticism that led the Steelers to make him a second-round draft pick, such as when he hustled down the line of scrimmage in a win over Kansas City in December to smash running back Jamal Charles and force a fumble.
But he needs to play with more consistency.
Heyward took Tuitt under his wing in the offseason to make sure that happened. They worked out with McLendon and reserve lineman Cam Thomas in Arizona with longtime NFL defensive line coach and coordinator Ted Cottrell, learning the nuances of pass rushing.
“We worked very hard together this offseason and we’re going to do a lot of damage together,” Tuitt said.
Odds and end zones
Linebacker James Harrison and safety Will Allen were given the day off from practice Sunday. … While addressing the media as part of the Steelers’ celebration of the 50th year of training camp at Saint Vincent College, team president Art Rooney II reiterated his desire Sunday to possibly host the 2023 Super Bowl in Pittsburgh. … The Steelers will practice again today at 2:55 p.m. It is open to the public.