‘Hard To Play That Way:’ Patrick Queen Details Difference That Makes Pittsburgh’s Scheme So Tough
March 31, 2026
‘Hard To Play That Way:’ Patrick Queen Details Difference That Makes Pittsburgh’s Scheme So Tough
19 comments
I thought this part was interesting.
““You gotta play the pass, no matter the receiver, tight end, running back they got. You gotta know every single route combination.”
Could be why we haven’t seen quality linebacker play since shazier ten years ago, whereas guys like queen and Bush looked better in different systems. I didn’t play linebacker at nearly the level that queen did but it seems like the criticism that they ask the Mike to man up in situations against top WRs is true. Which is wild. That’s hard for any lb not named Fred Warner. Your mike should never be man’d up on an x or an elite slot
It also sounds like he’s overwhelmed with the green dot responsibilities. They should try giving it to Payton Wilson and see if he can handle it any better.
Hopefully Graham brings in a system that isn’t so basic. Tomlins whole thing was “beat the man in front of you” and he didn’t care if the guy across was a foot taller an a whole second faster.
Looking forward to what Patrick Graham has to offer. Hopefully new schemes can improve their inability to stop 3rd and long, which plagued the team all yr long
It also helped having Roquan Smith.
I’ve been thinking Queen and Wilson both should be making more of an impact. Time will tell, but I’m optimistic the new regime will get more out of the personnel on both sides of the ball.
I’d be happy with a Dick Lebeau GPT after watching Teryl Austin for years.
I also believe Tomlin’s defensive mentality was built for an NFL that allowed the defense to play and what this flag football it’s become.
I love it. A defensive scheme that’s so easy every offense figured it out yet so hard the own defense couldn’t figure it out. Glad for a fresh start from that mess.
No clue how much to take away from his comments, but Im very interested to see him in a new defense. Feels like he would be at his best with less on his plate and we have the depth at that position to take some off of it. No reason for him to play every single snap on D
But wait… we were told our schemes were so easy that everyone had them figured out, now they were too complex?
Hopefully with the new DC this helps alleviate some of the problems. He made Spillane look good in Vegas. And Bush has also looked good outside of Pittsburgh scheme.
The question I have is if Queen is struggling with the green dot who would wear it in 2026?
I’m inclined to believe him, considering we’ve been signing or trading for proven ILB talent on a yearly basis ever since shazier went down a decade ago, and literally every single one of them has underperformed. Then you look at guys like Spillane and even Devin bush, who have had more success since leaving us. I think our scheme was setting guys up for failure.
How complicated can a scheme be WHEN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING FIELD HAS BEEN WIDE OPEN FOR A HALF DECADE
I dont think scheme made him terrible at tackling or made him consistently run into the back of his own teammates when playing against the run.
I am open to better coaching improving the defense as a whole but Ill believe it when I see it with Queen.
The problem with Queen is hes not physical enough to get off blocks.
He flubbed 20% of all his tackles because of the “system”? Yeah, right…….
The juxtaposition of having a defense that every offense finds incredibly easy to figure out and beat while also being apparently very difficult for our players to figure out and run. I mean what the actual fuck
We’ve been held back on defense by Tomlin’s stupid outdated scheme for years. It’s been down hill all the way on defense since Tomlin forced the great DLB out.
They’ve clearly learned nothing. This is what I feared, Flanders Rooney allergic to any change and everything is going to stay the same, why even bother hiring Graham?
Steelers stuck in the past, even with Tomlin gone.
19 comments
I thought this part was interesting.
““You gotta play the pass, no matter the receiver, tight end, running back they got. You gotta know every single route combination.”
Could be why we haven’t seen quality linebacker play since shazier ten years ago, whereas guys like queen and Bush looked better in different systems. I didn’t play linebacker at nearly the level that queen did but it seems like the criticism that they ask the Mike to man up in situations against top WRs is true. Which is wild. That’s hard for any lb not named Fred Warner. Your mike should never be man’d up on an x or an elite slot
It also sounds like he’s overwhelmed with the green dot responsibilities. They should try giving it to Payton Wilson and see if he can handle it any better.
Hopefully Graham brings in a system that isn’t so basic. Tomlins whole thing was “beat the man in front of you” and he didn’t care if the guy across was a foot taller an a whole second faster.
Looking forward to what Patrick Graham has to offer. Hopefully new schemes can improve their inability to stop 3rd and long, which plagued the team all yr long
It also helped having Roquan Smith.
I’ve been thinking Queen and Wilson both should be making more of an impact. Time will tell, but I’m optimistic the new regime will get more out of the personnel on both sides of the ball.
I’d be happy with a Dick Lebeau GPT after watching Teryl Austin for years.
I also believe Tomlin’s defensive mentality was built for an NFL that allowed the defense to play and what this flag football it’s become.
I love it. A defensive scheme that’s so easy every offense figured it out yet so hard the own defense couldn’t figure it out. Glad for a fresh start from that mess.
No clue how much to take away from his comments, but Im very interested to see him in a new defense. Feels like he would be at his best with less on his plate and we have the depth at that position to take some off of it. No reason for him to play every single snap on D
But wait… we were told our schemes were so easy that everyone had them figured out, now they were too complex?
Hopefully with the new DC this helps alleviate some of the problems. He made Spillane look good in Vegas. And Bush has also looked good outside of Pittsburgh scheme.
The question I have is if Queen is struggling with the green dot who would wear it in 2026?
I’m inclined to believe him, considering we’ve been signing or trading for proven ILB talent on a yearly basis ever since shazier went down a decade ago, and literally every single one of them has underperformed. Then you look at guys like Spillane and even Devin bush, who have had more success since leaving us. I think our scheme was setting guys up for failure.
How complicated can a scheme be WHEN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING FIELD HAS BEEN WIDE OPEN FOR A HALF DECADE
I dont think scheme made him terrible at tackling or made him consistently run into the back of his own teammates when playing against the run.
I am open to better coaching improving the defense as a whole but Ill believe it when I see it with Queen.
The problem with Queen is hes not physical enough to get off blocks.
He flubbed 20% of all his tackles because of the “system”? Yeah, right…….
The juxtaposition of having a defense that every offense finds incredibly easy to figure out and beat while also being apparently very difficult for our players to figure out and run. I mean what the actual fuck
We’ve been held back on defense by Tomlin’s stupid outdated scheme for years. It’s been down hill all the way on defense since Tomlin forced the great DLB out.
[https://steelersdepot.com/2026/03/he-knows-how-i-feel-mike-mccarthy-instructs-new-dc-patrick-graham-not-to-start-over/](https://steelersdepot.com/2026/03/he-knows-how-i-feel-mike-mccarthy-instructs-new-dc-patrick-graham-not-to-start-over/)
They’ve clearly learned nothing. This is what I feared, Flanders Rooney allergic to any change and everything is going to stay the same, why even bother hiring Graham?
Steelers stuck in the past, even with Tomlin gone.