The Pittsburgh Steelers have kicked off training camp, and there are a few notable differences this year. Change was expected with Mike Tomlin out and Mike McCarthy in as head coach. One of the more surprising changes is that the Steelers won’t have live tackling during practices. Tomlin often emphasized physicality, but McCarthy is taking a different approach. Patrick Queen doesn’t think it’s a big deal, though.
“Just got a little bit more effort to put them on the ground,” Queen said Wednesday via 93.7 The Fan on Twitter. “But other than that, it’s really no difference.”
Queen hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind when he dislikes what’s going on. He was often critical of the Steelers’ defense and how plays were called in the past. If he had an issue with the Steelers not tackling in practice, he’d probably let people know.
It’s not like this is the first time Queen has been on a team that didn’t tackle in training camp, either. In that same video, he revealed that during his time in Baltimore, the Ravens also had minimal contact during training camp.
“No, we didn’t tackle.”
This seems like a big deal because the Steelers pride themselves on their physicality. However, it could be the right move. It’s not like the Steelers were a great tackling team previously. Our own Josh Carney credited Queen with 28 missed tackles last year, with a miss rate of 17.8 percent. Others, such as Darius Slay, Brandin Echols, and Malik Harrison, had miss rates near 20 percent.
Perhaps this will help keep players fresher as the season goes on. It’s a long season, and bumps and bruises start to pile up quickly. The Steelers have previously dealt with several soft-tissue injuries early on in the year. Maybe minimizing the physicality in practices will help solve that problem.
It’s not fair to judge this change yet. We’ll see during the season if the Steelers are better or worse at tackling. McCarthy has been around the block, though. This isn’t his first rodeo, as he’s been the head coach of two other NFL teams. It’s fair to trust his judgment.