Tag: Mike Hilton

Pittsburgh Steelers rule out 3 for Jacksonville Jaguars game

The Steelers look to be heading into Jacksonville with nearly a clean slate on the injury front.

The Steelers Friday injury report looks fairly clean, with only running backs Trey Edmunds, Jaylen Samuels, and linebacker Jayrone Elliott ruled out for Sunday.

Edmunds (hamstring) and Samuels (quad) were both injured versus the Bengals. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin indicated on Tuesday that the backs’ availability would be dependent on practice participation, and neither took part all week. Elliott (illness) also has not been at practice this week.

As anticipated, cornerback Mike Hilton will be back in action. He was a full practice participant all week after exiting with a shoulder injury in the second quarter of Week 6.

Though Cam Sutton has played solid in Hilton’s absence, having him back in the lineup is just the injection Pittsburgh’s defense needs.

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Tight end Vance McDonald and guard Kevin Dotson have not yet been activated from reserve/COVID-19.

Here’s Friday’s full rundown as reported by Teresa Varley of Steelers.com:

Game status
RB Trey Edmunds (Hamstring) – Out
RB Jaylen Samuels (Quadriceps) – Out
LB Jayrone Elliott (Illness) – Out

Practice participation
QB Ben Roethlisberger (NIR) – Full
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (NIR) – Full
RB Anthony McFarland (Illness) – Full
CB Mike Hilton (Shoulder) – Full
RB Trey Edmunds (Hamstring) – DNP
RB Jaylen Samuels (Quadriceps) – DNP
LB Jayrone Elliott (Illness) – DNP
C Maurkice Pouncey (NIR) – Full
G David DeCastro (NIR) – Full
T Alejandro Villanueva (NIR) – Full
DE Stephon Tuitt (NIR) – Full
DE Isaiah Buggs (Ankle) – Full

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Steelers CB Mike Hilton due to return to practice this week

Mike Tomlin provided an injury update heading into Jacksonville Jaguars week.

In his weekly press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin noted that cornerback Mike Hilton would be returning to practice on Wednesday.

Hilton has been dealing with a shoulder injury that kept him out of action since Week 6.

The fourth-year corner is an integral part of Pittsburgh’s defense and has been vital to the pash rush in 2020.

Tomlin said “there’s really big optimism” in the potential return of both Hilton and defensive tackle Chris Wormley (knee) to the lineup. Henry Mondeaux has been filling in for Wormley since Week 8.

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Despite missing 5 games, Steelers CB Mike Hilton is in top 5 of total pressures

Hilton has been impressing with his versatility this season, and his absence is noticed.

Mike Hilton has been sorely missed among the Steelers defense since injuring his shoulder in Week 5 versus the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hilton isn’t shy about showing off his versatility and is significantly better in pass rush than coverage or versus the run.

Pro Football Focus grades him 62.6 in run defense, 61.4 in coverage and 88.0 pass rush. As Steelers Wire noted a few days ago, Hilton’s absence is a big reason why Pittsburgh has played more zone in recent weeks than they’ve been known for this season.

Per PFF, Hilton is currently ranked second in total pressures among cornerbacks. I’m actually not seeing a corner who has more pressures than Hilton, who has eight (three sacks, two hits, three hurries). Arizona’s Byron Murphy is next with six, followed by Tampa Bay’s Sean Murphy-Bunting and the Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey tied with five.

Hopefully, we’ll get some good news on the Hilton front this week, but I’d much rather he sit versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. Pittsburgh will need him at 100 percent for the final six games, which will be a rough stretch.

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Week 9 Inactives, Captains: Cowboys still won’t play Anae, Robinson but Elliott to go

With the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers getting ready for kickoff in Arlington, the official inactive lists have been released.

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With the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers getting ready for kickoff in Arlington, the official inactive lists have been released. Ezekiel Elliott, after going through a closely monitored pregame workout routine, is indeed active despite being limited in practice throughout the week. He has yet to miss a game due to injury in his career.

There was some thought that the soft tank would be on for a team that has nothing meaningful to play for the rest of the year, but the team apparently hasn’t reached that point yet, though that could change. The official inactive list can be seen below:

Linebacker Joe Thomas is out with a wrist injury despite returning to practice, though in a limited fashion, on Friday. It will presumably be Sean Lee who fills his shoes.

Defensive end Aldon Smith, who has been dealing with an ailing knee for a couple of weeks will be available for use, though it’s possible he’s on a limited pitch count with Randy Gregory on the gameday roster. Rookie defensive back Reggie Robinson is still not able to get onto the active roster so far this year. The fourth-round pick has been healthy but a scratch all season. Likewise, fifth-round DE Bradlee Anae is inactive as well.

For the Steelers, Defensive tackle Tyson Alualu is out, though that had been reported earlier in the week, which will give the interior of the Dallas line a bit of a break. His replacement is rookie Carlos Davis, a seventh-round pick out of Nebraska.

Week 9 Captains

Meanwhile, the choices for captains for the Cowboys must be getting slim, because it’s a ragtag bunch of players getting the nod this week. Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson, defensive tackle Antwaun Woods and C.J. Goodwin make up that crew.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on Mike Hilton: ‘He’s a tough little football player’

Mike Hilton had another great game.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers have multiple players working on the final year of their respective contracts. One of those players is cornerback Mike Hilton. Through three games, Hilton is making a strong case to be the best defensive back on the Steelers roster.

After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media after the team’s 28-21 win over the Houston Texans and when asked about Hilton offered up his assessment in the most Tomlin way possible, referring to him as a “tough little football player.”

Hilton might be somewhat diminutive in the size but to use the old cliche’, he plays much bigger. It doesn’t matter what the Steelers ask of him, he comes through. Against the Texans, Hilton led the team with seven tackles, has an interception and a tackle for loss.

If Hilton keeps up this pace, he’s going to price himself way out of what the Steelers can afford.

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A pair of Pittsburgh Steelers slapped with hefty Week 2 fines

Boneheaded penalties were costly both on the field and off the field, as two in the Steelers secondary faced hefty fines by the NFL this week. 

Boneheaded penalties were costly both on the field and off the field, as two in the Steelers secondary faced hefty fines by the NFL this week.

According to Joe Rutter of Trib Live, cornerback Mike Hilton and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick were both penalized for personal foul calls that occurred in the second half versus the Denver Broncos.

On a third-and-6 play, Fitzpatrick was fined $11,619 for a horse-collar tackle on Broncos tight end Noah Fant. The personal foul gave Denver a fresh set of downs at Pittsburgh’s 4-yard line. Amazingly, the Steelers defense managed to keep Denver out of the end zone, but a successful field goal brought the score to 17-6.

The Steelers have the third-most pass interference penalties in league with five.

The very next drive, on 2nd and 10 in Pittsburgh territory, Hilton was called for roughing-the-passer on Jeff Driskel. The move cost the Steelers 15 yards and an automatic first down, and Hilton $15,000. It also led to a 17-14 score when Denver’s drive culminated in a touchdown and two-point conversion.

Ten penalties for 89 yards were called on the Steelers; a couple was phantom — on both teams. Either way, that’s just too many and something with which the team needs to be more disciplined.

While the unnecessary penalties on critical downs gave the Broncos life, thankfully, it didn’t win them the game.

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Steelers secondary coach, Teryl Austin: DB Cam Sutton ‘has a great feel for the pass game’

The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back will be situated to show he’s capable of a starting role on defense.

Heading into his fourth season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, big things going to be expected of defensive back Cam Sutton. It appears, according to secondary coach Teryl Austin, that he’ll have plenty of opportunities to show he’s a player worthy of a contract extension.

“I think Cam will have an expanded role, I would think in terms of—he will
still play some nickel for us, he plays some dime for us,” offered Austin during a Tuesday press conference. “He plays corner for us, he has played some safety for us.”

Sutton was a multi-positional player at Tennessee, so it’s only natural that his role expands with more playing time.

Austin spoke highly of that versatility Sutton brought with him to Pittsburgh in 2017.

“He has a lot of versatility, a super-smart guy. I think we will just carve out his role as it goes during the season and we will try to get him in there as many times as we can because he is a really good pass defender and he has a great feel for the pass game.”

That flexibility has made Sutton a valuable asset to the Steelers, as Austin has a player he can rely on to play inside, outside, or safety, depending on their opponents or the situations they’re in.

Sutton’s duties increased in 2019, and he embraced the challenge. After playing in dime packages during his second season, he shared with Mike Hilton the slot corner role in both nickel and dime packages.

In 227 coverage snaps, Sutton allowed just 14 receptions on 29 targets in 16 games for a Pro Football Focus grade of 74.5. With a coverage grade of only 56 in 2018, it was painfully obvious he needed to improve.

If the Steelers can craft a player- and team-friendly contract, Sutton could be the next man up if the Steelers aren’t able to extend the more expensive Hilton in 2021 — he just needs to continue to prove he’s capable of the call.

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Revised 2021 salary cap paints bleak picture for Pittsburgh Steelers

With several 2021 priority free agents, the Steelers will have a mess on their hands with a significantly-reduced salary cap.

The 2021 salary cap prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was estimated to be $210 million. On Friday, the NFL and NFLPA executive committee agreed upon a salary cap floor of $175 million.

This paints a bleak picture for the Pittsburgh Steelers who have several priority players set to hit free agency in March, including defensive end Cam Heyward, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, cornerback Mike Hilton and linebacker Bud Dupree. With the $175 million salary cap, the Steelers will be nearly $16 million in the red for 2021.

Because the Steelers remain competitive each season, they have been up against it salary cap-wise for decades. It’s a delicate puzzle that great teams have to deal with season-in and season-out. Restructuring deals and the loss of productive players are often the outcomes.

It’ll certainly be interesting to sit back and watch how this all plays out.

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Eagles Nickell Robey-Coleman lands just outside the top-5 in a ranking of the top-11 slot-CB’s in the NFL

Nickell Robey-Coleman No. 6 in ranking of NFL’s 11 best slot defenders

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The NFL has turned into the ultimate passing league and one way that some of the top offenses in the league manipulate coverage and matchups is by attacking via the slot receiver.

Guys like Tyreek Hill, Adam Thielen, Keenan Allen, Julian Edelman, Cooper Kupp, and Larry Fitzgerald make a living at dominating mismatches in the slot against outmatched cornerbacks and safeties alike.

The remedy for the top NFL defenses lies with the slot or nickel cornerback, a guy capable of translating that outside cornerback production inside where there’s less room to utilize and less margin for error.

Doug Farrar and Touchdown Wire recently ranked the top-11 slot cornerbacks in the NFL and new Eagles defender, Nickell Robey-Coleman landed high on the list at No. 6.

Though he’s primarily known as the instigator on one of the most infamous non-calls in recent NFL history, Robey-Coleman has been one of the league’s better slot defenders for a while now — he’s one of just three-slot defenders (along with Chris Harris Jr. and Mackensie Alexander) to make this list in both 2019 and 2020. Last season, Robey-Coleman allowed 32 catches on 52 targets for 272 yards, 144 yards after the catch, one touchdown, and an opponent passer rating of 80.1.

Last season with the LA Rams, Robey-Coleman only allowed a passer rating of 80.1 — good for 13th among all CBs– and was sixth in yards per slot coverage snap (0.63), according to Pro Football Focus.

The move greatly improves the Eagles secondary tremendously and he should combine with Darius Slay to help the Birds have one of the secondary’s in the NFL.

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After years of subpar coverage defenses, the Steelers finally got it right

Steelers Wire is taking a look at the players who make the secondary so good.

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Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been six seasons since Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark, two of the best safeties in recent team history, were part of the Steelers secondary. There have been a dozen-plus starting defensive backs during that span who have come and gone.

With all their power, the Steelers have tried for years to find replacements for Polamalu, Clark, Ike Taylor, Deshea Townsend, and, yes, even William Gay.

After struggling to strike a chord with the secondary that has, on average, ranked 15th in five seasons, the Steelers might have just finally found something.

The Steelers secondary shot up from 17th in 2018 to fifth in 2019. According to Pro Football Focus, the defense as a whole went on to compile the second-most interceptions (20) and allow the second-lowest passer rating (85.4) among all 32 teams.

Here are the Steelers that are making it happen.

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