Pittsburgh Steelers Reunion: Watch Out For Impassioned Keenan Lewis Return
The Pittsburgh Steelers secondary has always been an up and down group, with more downs than ups over the few seasons. Heading into the 2013 season, the Steelers weren’t able to seal a deal with then FA Keenan Lewis. He went on to sign with the Saints and head back to his hometown of New Orléans. This Sunday, Lewis will finally face off against his former team and mates.
Lewis was with the Steelers for four years and took all four of those years before being able to come into his own as a consistent cover guy. Depth was and has always been a major problem in Pittsburgh.
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Lewis played his way behind the #1 corner, Ike Taylor, and many wanted Lewis to return after having a very solid season back in 2012. It wasn’t to be, and the Steelers were content to use Cortez Allen as the next man up in the depth chart.
Lewis has been the leader on the Saints secondary since signing, but this season has been a huge struggle for them – they rank 27th in the league in defense, 23rd in passing defense. After their Monday night loss to the Ravens, Lewis interrupted teammate Corey White with a very impassioned speech in defense of his coordinator, Rob Ryan.
This defense is riled up after fans continue to blame Ryan instead of the players. It’s commendable that Ryan is stepping up like a true leader and taking the blame and spreading it out among his other teammates.
He is fired up, and that kind of emotion could transfer into his play on the field this Sunday against the Steelers. Rob Ryan has his players rallied, and the Steelers may meet up with a very focused and determined defense – Lewis being at the forefront of it all.
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More than likely, Lewis will line up against former teammate Antonio Brown on Sunday. Brown is tearing it up at Heinz Field this year, averaging almost 22 yards more in the ‘Burgh than on the road, with four of his five 100 yard games being on that turf. He’s also caught 66% of his touchdowns at Heinz.
It’s been noted that Lewis covered Brown during practices while they both resided on the team. It will be interesting to see if Brown can pull off some moves to get Lewis to bit on a few in order to get open down field. Quick slants and short curls should be no problem for Antonio, but one of the things Lewis has been able to become much better at is running with receivers and taking away the deep ball.
This Sunday should be a fun game to watch those two battle it out. As much as I liked Lewis while he was a Steeler, I hope that Brown gets the best of him on several occasions. I don’t bank on the Steelers defense being able to keep the Satins at bay for much of the game and hold them under 21 points.
I fully expect this to be more of a shoot out game, and AB will need to find ways to beat Lewis so the safeties have to help over the top and take coverage away from guys like Martavis Bryant.