PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers will see a number of gamers make their first begins with the group once they tackle the Miami Dolphins at Acrisure Stadium. The offense is investing loads of hope in Dylan Cook dinner, who will make his first begin with the Steelers and within the NFL, as he tries to attenuate the Miami cross rush on the left deal with place.
On the defensive facet of the ball, the Steelers are simply as overwhelmed up. The most recent impression participant to go away the lineup is cornerback James Pierre. He is come on in robust trend for the protection, rising to the surface starter place reverse Joey Porter Jr. Sadly for him, a calf damage will maintain Pierre off the sector in opposition to the Dolphins.
With out Pierre, the following man up is 26-year-old defensive again Asante Samuel Jr. Like Porter Jr., he is the son of a revered NFL participant and Tremendous Bowl champion. After a yr of recovering from spinal fusion surgical procedure, he made his season debut in Week 13, making three tackles within the course of. He barely noticed the sector in Week 14, however now he is set to make his first begin with the Steelers.
Not solely is his efficiency essential towards serving to the Steelers get a badly-needed win, however it’s additionally a lot extra. For Samuel Jr., it is the chance to show he is again. With a robust begin and spectacular exhibiting in opposition to Miami, he can earn his place as a starter for the remainder of the season and in 2026.
Open Discipline Tackling
The Miami Dolphins have two focal factors on offense. One is working again De’Von Achane, and the opposite is large receiver Jaylen Waddle. The entrance seven will probably be tasked with stifling Achane within the run recreation, however Samuel Jr. will probably be essential in shutting him down if and when he will get to the surface.
That might pose a problem for Samuel Jr., who has been criticized for his open-field tackling up to now. As a member of the Los Angeles Chargers to start his profession, he performed in 50 video games. In accordance with recreation knowledge from Professional Soccer Focus, he is missed a complete of 35 tackles over these video games.
In two video games with the Steelers, nonetheless, he hasn’t missed any tackles. In his first main alternative, a one-on-one alternative in opposition to Buffalo Payments star James Cook dinner in Week 13, he made a powerful deal with. It actually offers the protection hope that he can proceed that momentum in his first begin.
Shake, Waddle and Roll
The tackling is a serious storyline to observe for Samuel Jr., however the hallmark of his recreation courting again to his NCAA days is as a smothering protection participant. He is bodily, fast and might make splash performs, aligning him completely with the opportunistic mindset of the Pittsurgh protection.
The problem of Jaylen Waddle will take a look at his metallic in protection. He and Porter Jr., will change off protection on the Dolphins main receiver, that means Samuel Jr. could have a number of alternatives to defend passes and presumably create turnovers.
Defending passes has include ease for the 26-year-old defensive again. In his first three seasons, he efficiently defended 35 passes and recorded six interceptions in 46 video games. He’ll put that up in opposition to Waddle and the Miami passing recreation.
If it shakes out the way in which the Steelers hope, Samuel Jr. could have efficiently handed the audition. The secondary wants extra gamers to depend on for the rest of the season and heading into 2026, and Asante Samuel Jr. is staring down a golden alternative in Week 15.
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