Tag: Steelers vs Seahawks

Pittsburgh Steelers LB T.J. Watt fined by the NFL for doing his job

The penalty occurred in the third quarter of the Steelers Sunday Night Football matchup versus Seattle Seahawks. 

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt was fined for doing his job.

The NFL slapped Watt on the wrist — in the form of a $10,815 fine — for unnecessary roughness, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports.

The penalty occurred in the third quarter of the Steelers Sunday Night Football overtime win versus Seattle Seahawks.

Punching the ball out is part of every defender’s game; it’s in their blood. Watt has forced 20 fumbles in his young career.

“I punch every week,” Watt told Steelers media after the game. “If you watch the film, it’s nothing malicious. I didn’t intend to punch him in the face or on the arm at all. I am striking at the football. I just told him it’s something that I do on a regular basis. It’s not something where I’m trying to affect the player in any way. I’m just trying to get the football out.”

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Steelers secondary coach Teryl Austin: ‘You can’t play DB in this league if you can’t tackle’

I can’t believe it’s not butter. Running backs and receivers slipped out of the hands of Steelers defenders a season-high 14 times versus the Seahawks on Sunday night.

I can’t believe it’s not butter. Running backs and receivers slipped out of the hands of Pittsburgh Steelers defenders a season-high 14 times versus the Seahawks on Sunday night (per Pro Football Focus). Nine of those missed tackles were committed by the secondary.

To address the issue, Steelers assistant defensive/secondary coach Teryl Austin says it starts with better preparing his guys for their assignments.

“Obviously, we’re not tackling our own guys, so it’s my job to put together some drills to help them get a little closer, to get in better position so that we can make those tackles,” Austin told Steelers media on Wednesday.

“We’ve got to do some things, and I’ll do some things drill-wise, to help them feel more comfortable in the open field, get their feet on people, so they can tackle and get them on the ground because we have to do better.”

Austin added that tackling is a crucial aspect of the defensive backs game.

“It’s never a function of toughness here because you can’t play DB in this league if you can’t tackle.”

According to Pro Football Focus, cornerbacks Joe Haden, Cam Sutton and rookie Tre Norwood each have a missed tackle percentage of 21. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has the most missed tackles with eight, but he also has the most total tackles (50), for missed tackles percentage of 14.

Pittsburgh’s defense has 51 missed tackles on the season, 21 attributed to the secondary.

“I don’t think we’re a poor tackling secondary,” said Austin. “I think we’re going to tackle. We’re going to tackle well overall. I’m sure we’ll get back to it. We’ve just got to make sure we emphasize it.”

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