Golden making most of his opportunity
PITTSBURGH – Robert Golden isn’t taking anything for granted.
He saw Shamarko Thomas get all the playing time with the Steelers’ first-team defense in the 2015 preseason only to be told days before the regular season at New England that he wasn’t going to be the starter.
Golden, who has been working with the first-team defense throughout the offseason and training camp, wants to make sure that doesn’t happen to him.
The fifth-year veteran has worked hard, going from an undrafted rookie to a special teamer to special teams captain and, finally, an NFL starter. He’s not about to let it slip away.
“I think Rob is doing a good job of holding it down, being decisive,” said Steelers free safety Mike Mitchell. “I think our communication is where it needs to be. We’re on the same page, no mental errors. We know where each other is going to be. I’m very happy with Rob.”
Mitchell knows a little something about breaking in new guys. Counting Thomas at the start of last season, he’s worked with four different strong safeties since joining the Steelers in 2014 as a replacement for Ryan Clark. Troy Polamalu and Will Allen were the others.
Now, Mitchell and cornerback William Gay are the two wily veterans in Pittsburgh’s revamped secondary.
Because the team had so many moving parts in the secondary last season, when it ranked 30th in the league allowing 272 yards passing per game, Mitchell feels much more comfortable midway through this preseason than he did a year ago.
Mitchell and others missed a lot of playing time last August because of injuries and it showed in the lack of communication among the group, particularly early last season. But Gay and Ross Cockrell at cornerback and Mitchell and Golden at safety have worked together nearly non-stop this offseason and training camp.
“You’ve got all four guys out there. I think we’re still getting the nickel situation sorted out but I think we’re getting more comfortable there,” Mitchell said. “Obviously, losing Senquez (Golson) hurt but we’ll get him back whenever we get him. Sean (Davis) is making good progress at the spot. I see us coming together. We’re not giving up big plays in the passing game, speaking from the (first-team) standpoint.”
Part of the reason for the smooth transition is that Golden has been with the team as long as anyone in the secondary save Gay. When Allen missed three games last season, it was Golden who stepped in and earned more playing time as the season wore on.
He finished with 40 tackles and an interception. The Steelers gave him a three-year, $4.95-million contract to keep him from leaving in free agency.
“Sitting behind great guys that I sat behind for my first two or three years, I definitely was able to learn from those guys and know the defense inside and out,” Golden said. “Mike knows the defense inside and out, so we’re very interchangeable. He knows where I’m going to be. I know where he’s going to be. We can’t do anything but get better.”
Getting the nickel spot figured out will help. The Steelers play their nickel defense – with five defensive backs – about 70 percent of the time. It’s become more of their base defense than the 3-4.
Golson, last season’s second-round draft pick, was expected to fill that role this season but suffered a Lisfranc injury early in training camp. There is a possibility he could return by midseason. In the meantime, Sean Davis, a second-round pick this year, has been holding down the spot.
“I thought he made some good tackles when he was in with us,” Mitchell said of Davis. “When I’m in ‘coach mode,’ I’m kind of watching everybody. I’m happy with his growth. We want to continue to see him grow. We want to see him come back on the next play and continue to grow in those areas. I think he’s doing a good job.”
Golden knows what the rookie is going through. But he also knows the expectations to contribute early are greater for a second-round draft pick such as Davis than they were for him.
He feels the rookie will be just fine.
“When I started playing a lot, I started to feel a lot more comfortable,” Golden said. “I think the same thing will happen for the young guys.”
At the very least, the secondary is a more settled group at this point than it was a year ago. There doesn’t seem to be any reason to think there is going to be any kind of overhaul before the Steelers open the regular season Sept. 12 at Washington.
Golden would like to keep it that way.
“I just want to continue to do my job,” he said. “The goal is to help this team win as many games as possible.”
Odds and end zones
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Monday he intends to play everyone who is healthy in Friday’s preseason game at New Orleans. That would include quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown and running backs Le’Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams, none of whom played in the first two preseason games. … The Steelers signed rookie guard Shahbaz Ahmed and waived/injured guard Cole Manhart.