Gildon infers coaching to blame for Steelers’ shortcomings
PITTSBURGH – Jason Gildon left the door wide open for coach bashers all over the Pittsburgh area last Sunday when he was asked about the Steelers’ defensive problems following the loss to Tennessee. “We’re doing a lot of different things this year than we did last year,” Gildon said without explanation.
“I’m just going to leave it at that,” he said.
If that sounded like a poke at the coaching staff, Gildon removed any doubt Thursday when he was asked to elaborate.
“We were at a point last year where everyone pretty much knew what we wanted to do out there on the field. There wasn’t a lot of thinking involved,” he said. “This year we are doing a few different things and sometimes there are guys out of position here and there and it’s led to some big plays.
“We do have 10 guys back from last year. We moved some guys to different positions. There’s no reason we shouldn’t be better than we were last year on dime and it hasn’t been that way this year. So the personnel’s the same. I think the guys are going out giving the same effort. It comes to a point than, what is it?”
The inference, of course, is that coaching is to blame. Steelers were the No. 1 defense in the NFL last year. They allowed, on average, 259 yards and 13 points per game. This year, they’re 19th in total defense. They allow 338 yards and 23 points per game. The 31 points the Steelers allowed last week against the Titans pushed their total of points allowed for the season – 225 – past the 212 allowed all of last season. So Gildon was pressed to provide specifics of the team “doing a lot of different things this year.”
“I think it would take awhile to actually get into details,” he said. “But if you get a chance, you go back and look at what we were doing last year and compare it to what we’re doing this year. I think that would be the easiest way. I’ve always felt that if it ain’t broke, why try to fix it? That’s what I was trying to say when I made that comment.”
The comment didn’t sit too well with the coaching staff. Gildon was asked at a defensive meeting Monday for examples. He didn’t respond.
“You have a little more time than I do,” Gildon told a reporter. “Go back and you watch it and you tell me. I could be wrong, but just being out there and playing and running the defense this year compared to the ones we ran last year, something does seem different. That’s the way I feel. If you have the time and you go back and look at some of the things we were doing last year and you compare them to the things we’re doing this year, I think you’ll see a difference.”
Defensive coordinator Tim Lewis didn’t want to talk about it. Coach Bill Cowher addressed the issue at his Tuesday press conference.
“When you talk to players after the game a lot of times, there is a lot of frustration,” Cowher said. “We went over the whole game with the football team. I wanted them to experience the same feeling I had when I watched them. It was not a good feeling. We didn’t play very good. It was important that they watched it and they discussed it. If they had anything they wanted to comment on, they had the opportunity.”
Of course, frustration just may be at the root of Gildon’s dissatisfaction. He entered the season needing 11 sacks to tie L.C. Greenwood for the all-time franchise record. Through 10 games, though, Gildon has 3.5 sacks, which puts him on pace for 5.5 sacks, which would be his lowest output since he had 5.5 sacks in 1997.
Certainly, offenses have adjusted to the Steelers’ pass rush. Tight ends and running backs are lining up wide on early downs to take Gildon and Joey Porter out of the box. Porter, though, has managed a team-high 7 sacks. And when asked about the team’s defensive problems, Porter looked in the mirror.
“Last week I had about five missed tackles,” he said. “I missed a sack, I missed four tackles, I missed (Kevin) Dyson when he scored a touchdown. All of those are plays I make 10 times out of 10 and I didn’t make them last week. So it’s little things like that.”
Little things, such as personal accountability, are the important things, particularly after a loss.
“You know,” Cowher said, “right now is not the time to question what you’re doing. Now’s the time we have to step up and start answering and be a part of the solution, not be part of the problem.”