Neues » Thinking about the 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense

Cheap Derwin Gray Jersey , there weren’t too many positives which came to mind. What came to mind were the numerous leads squandered, the inability to get off the field when it mattered the most and the overall mediocre play outside of sacking the quarterback.Heading into the 2018 regular season, Mike Tomlin made it a point to let everyone with ears know improving tackling was a point of emphasis in 2018. In training camp the team focused on tackling almost more than any other defensive skill.Did it pay off?According to the folks at Pro Football Focus (PFF), their tackling improved tremendously. Check out the results from 2017 to 2018:In case you can’t see the above tweets, just look at these stats:Missed Tackles2017 — 147 / Rank — 32nd2018 — 86 / Rank — 5thTalk about night and day when it comes to tackling. Sure, when I first read the statistics visions of Terrell Edmunds tackling absolutely awful angles ran through my mind, but it is natural for fans to immediately think of the bad plays Benny Snell Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey , even over the good plays.I didn’t think about Mike Hilton harassing ball carriers in the backfield on a corner blitz, Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt crashing down the line of scrimmage to bring down a ball carrier from behind or Stephon Tuitt trailing the play looking like a great white shark about to feed on his prey. In this instance, I have to give credit where credit is due. The Steelers were rightfully ridiculed for their poor tackling after the 2017 season, and while they weren’t the league’s best in 2018, going from 32nd to 8th is a tremendous jump in the right direction. Kudos to Mike Tomlin and his defensive staff for the improvement, and the hope is the improvement continues in the tackling department next season. With Week 7 of the NFL schedule officially in the books, at least for the AFC North Benny Snell Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey , it’s time to take a look back at those teams who call the AFC North home to see how they fared and what the standings look like after this week’s action. The first goal for each team in the NFL is to win its division. Doing so guarantees both a playoff spot and a home playoff game, so even these early-season games are important when it comes to divisional rankings. Let’s take a spin around the AFC North to check on the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.Week 7 ResultsTampa Bay Buccaneers - 26Cleveland Browns - 23 (OT)Just when it looked like the Browns were a team who could actually make some noise in the AFC, and in the AFC North, they put together a very Brown-like performance and lose to the Buccaneers on the road in Week 6. It is crazy to think how they have played in 4 overtime games in the first 7 weeks of the 2018 regular season. Can certainly take its toll on a team.New Orleans Saints - 24Baltimore Ravens - 23The announcer said it after John Brown hauled in a Joe Flacco touchdown pass to cut the lead to one. “Justin Tucker has never missed an extra point in his NFL career.” Well, until Sunday. Tucker’s kick sliced wide right Benny Snell Jersey 2019 , and the Saints came away with a one-point win on the road. Drew Brees has now beaten every NFL team, including the Saints, which is an impressive statistic. No one saw Tucker missing that kick, but the Steelers faithful certainly were excited.Kansas City Chiefs - 45Cincinnati Bengals - 10Raise your hand if you were surprised at this result? I shouldn’t see any hands raised considering the Bengals were coming off a very physical loss to the Steelers, were on the road in a hostile environment, playing one of the league’s hottest teams and were playing on prime time — where they are awful. No shocker here.Week 8 ScheduleCleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers — 1 p.m. ET kickoffBaltimore Ravens at Carolina Panthers — 1 p.m. ET kickoffCincinnati Bengals vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — 1 p.m. ET kickoffAFC North StandingsPittsburgh Steelers - 3-2-1Cincinnati Bengals - 4-3Baltimore Ravens - 4-3Cleveland Browns - 2-4-1Let us know what you think about the division after Week 7 in the comment section below. Do you see this being a powerhouse division? Which teams are contenders and which ones are nothing more than pretenders?