The need for a better defense in Pittsburgh hasn’t been a secret heading into the 2015 season, but signs of it were tough to find against the Bills last week.
Buffalo may have been running a quarterback competition and playing without some of their top skill position players, but they reeled off several big plays on their way to 43 points and 542 yards. That seems to fulfill the worst fears for a young unit playing for a new defensive coordinator in Keith Butler, but safety Mike Mitchell says that no one is overreacting in Pittsburgh.
“I don’t think we’re in a panic mode,” Mitchell said, via the Beaver County Times. “I don’t think the coaches are in a panic mode.”
Panic before the start of the regular season is never advisable, especially with Butler tweaking the familiar Dick LeBeau scheme with a slew of inexperienced players. The hope has to be that things will come together as the season unfolds and that the team learns from rough days.
It’s a reasonable hope, although the pace can’t be too glacial if the Steelers are going to avoid the possibility of digging themselves a hole they can’t escape from in time to make the playoffs.