The Pittsburgh Steelers have gone from 3-0 to 3-2 in the space of two games with their losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts, and some fans are starting to lose their cool.
In light of this, Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen shared a quick reminder on social media on October 8.
In just seven hours, the tweet had over 100,000 views and over 3.3K likes. However, given that the linebacker hasn’t played well since joining the Steelers, it also seems to irritate some of Queen’s supporters.
“Write a [expletive] play,” was the most popular comment. “Please call Davante Adams as soon as possible,” a different user retorted.
Nevertheless, there were Pittsburghers who offered Queen and the Steelers some support.
“I believe that everyone was simply irritated at having to stay up so late. “Keep fighting, brother,” a supporter uttered. A fourth remark, which stated that the Steelers “need a bounce back game,” urged Queen to “show out on Sunday.”
Though he’s not alone, Patrick Queen has struggled in pass coverage for the Steelers.
Just as much as the Steelers’ offensive shortcomings have contributed to their losses, the team’s defense has deteriorated over the last two weeks. Despite only scoring 20 points in Week 5, the Cowboys easily moved up and down the field, amassing 445 yards of total offense.
And the score on Sunday night most likely would have been much different if not for many red zone errors.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said on October 8 that communication breakdowns have contributed to some of the defensive team’s problems. That would make sense in light of the Steelers’ pass coverage statistics.
Although Queen hasn’t been the best in this regard, he isn’t the only one; the difficulties of late have been shared.
According to Pro Football Focus, undrafted rookie slot cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. has given up 201 yards and two touchdowns in coverage in the first five weeks. However, Donte Jackson and Joey Porter Jr., two more cornerbacks, are not far behind with 144 yards apiece.
Next is Queen, who allows 140 yards with a passer rating of 108.3 against the opposition.
The final two Steelers defenders who have allowed more over 100 yards through the air through five games are safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee.
When Reflecting on Patrick Queen’s Early Struggles, Steelers Beat Reporter Assigns Additional Responsibility
Should Queen’s pass coverage grades be the only issue, Steelers supporters may potentially put up with it.
The greater concern, though, has been the middle linebacker’s run defense, which PFF claims has been a significant issue thus far. Since joining the Steelers, Queen has missed eight tackles in contrast to five crucial defensive stops, seven of which have been in run defense.
In terms of run defense, the performance has resulted in a dismal 1.7% stop percentage and a 29.2% missed tackle percentage. Additionally, he has given up 5.6 rush yards per tackle on average.
Ray Fittipaldo, beat reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, attributed Queen’s early problems to the extra duties that come with wearing the green dot on defense in a mailbag item published on October 8.
Fittipaldo conceded, “[Queen is] taking some time to find his footing.” “Reasons exist for it.”
The beat writer said, “[Queen] has a lot on his plate as the QB of the defense.” “He has a lot of responsibilities and makes all of the calls. Ineffective communication is to blame for a few of the problems with coverage. Due to his several other obligations, he is likely not playing quickly since he is still learning.
By that reasoning, Queen ought to get better over the coming weeks. And he ought should, given that the Steelers gave him a three-year contract this spring that included $13.84 million in guaranteed income.
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