The Pittsburgh Steelers picked Cornerback Levi Wallace this off-season after spending four years with the Buffalo Bills. Wallace has slowly been building his resume with the Steelers, showing the coach that he is a tough, cerebral player who does not give in to adversity.
The Steelers are normally known for their smashmouth-style football, especially on the defensive front. However, the defense has been slow to build this season. They usually are one of the league leaders in sacks and takeaways but the weeks before the bye, other than Week 1, looked like a different team. Clearly, adjustments were made, T.J. Watt returned and the defense started to pick up the slack after returning in Week 10.
One of those defensive players credited with helping the defense to improve is Wallace. Wallace signed a two-year, $8 million contract with Pittsburgh and made it known that he was ready to compete for a starting job. Wallace was a major factor in keeping games close while Watt was out with an injury. He has three interceptions, second only to fellow ‘Bama alum, Minkah Fitzpatrick, who just got his fourth in Atlanta and is tied with 11 for pass breaks ups on the team.
Wallace has become a significant contributor to the Steelers’ defense which has slowly crept its way back into the top 10 in the league for takeaways with 17. The majority of those come after the bye week. This week at the Tuesday press conference, Wallace was asked about the defense and his role in it so far this season.
“I was talking to my girlfriend ‘Wilson,’ I miss her,” Wallace deadpanned. “I haven’t touched her in a couple of weeks, so I need another interception soon.”
In case you didn’t catch the reference, ‘Wilson’ is a nod to the brand of football the NFL uses.
Wallace is already outperforming his previous seasons. He never had more than two interceptions in a single year. Wallace missed two games earlier this season with an injury but more than makes up for it when he does play. In his 10 games this year, he has started six and has been dominant. Head Coach Mike Tomlin also praised Wallace and fellow Corner, Cam Sutton, at his press conference Tuesday.
“They both have really good above-the-neck games. They do. When you’re good above the neck, there’s a feel, there’s an anticipation, and oftentimes, that feel or anticipation is required to do anything other than tackle the catch. In the National Football League, everybody’s varsity. All things being equal, you’ve got good route running, you’ve got accurate throws, you’ve got good coverage,” Tomlin started.
“Usually what you have is defenders tackling the catch. So, when it gets beyond that from a defender’s standpoint, there’s some anticipation, or intuition, or knowledge there that gives them the edge to go beyond that. So, when you see guys like those two with double-digit PBUs [pass breakups], it probably speaks more to anything that they’ve got a certain amount of exposure, awareness and preparedness,” Tomlin finished.
According to PFF, Wallace is leading the league in his allowed passer rating with 19.1. Wallace and Sutton have been reliable defenders on a defense that has struggled to find its way.
While Wallace may not be the biggest or fastest guy out there, he has shown tremendous football aptitude. He has a sixth sense for knowing where the ball will be, and then he makes sure he gets there. Wallace is giving the Steelers tremendous value for the money this season.
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