A Jags hangover: Steelers still trying to get edge back

A Jags hangover: Steelers still trying to get edge back

Jeremy Fowler
ESPN Staff Writer

PITTSBURGH -- Forget brimming with confidence and projecting optimism coming off a 13-win season. The Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive players are still salty about that playoff loss to Jacksonville.

There's an unsettled feeling with this team early in camp, with each cliche assuming a deeper meaning. When defensive end Stephon Tuitt says the Steelers need to take it "one game at a time" and focus on themselves, there is no smile attached.

"Get back to our old ways," said Tuitt about his goal for the Steelers' once-menacing run stopping.

Added defensive end Cam Heyward: "Complete reset."

This team has more problems than when Le'Veon Bell reports. That Jacksonville-infused haze is real. The Steelers were genuinely shook by getting outplayed in every area by a team they were expected to beat. Every crack was exposed, with players embracing changes starting now.

Coach Mike Tomlin has promised a "challenging" camp, of which cornerback Joe Haden approved. He wants more physicality, and he even had a stat handy to validate that desire: The Steelers ranked 31st in missed tackles last year. Pro Football Focus ranked the Steelers second-to-last in tackle percentage on run plays (16.1 percent missed).

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The Steelers Defense have been notoriously bad at tackling for years now. This isn't a new thing. The bottom simply fell out last year, and Jacksonville emasculated them.

With the subtraction of guys like Mike "Tackle & Dance" Mitchell, hopefully it seeps into the rest of the Defense. They chased statistics and highlight reels, and not actually stopping anybody.