Z-Factor: Introducing Cam Sutton
Just when you thought tying the Cleveland Browns was the worst thing to come out of last week, the Steelers one-up us all and release their injury report. It didn’t take long to notice that Pittsburgh’s number one cornerback, Joe Haden, had been listed with an apparent hamstring problem. According to a tweet from Gerry Dulac early in the week, Haden had been injured during a special teams play. Now, say what you will about the Steelers using their best cover corner on special teams (I personally would not have had him out there), but hamstring injuries can happen at any time and Pittsburgh needs to fill that void quickly.
Against the Browns we saw a heavy dose of Cam Sutton, and for two reasons. The first being when Artie Burns lost his cool and picked up a 15-yard penalty in a crucial part of the game. Maybe it was because of the critical situation that the Steelers only “punished” Artie for a handful of snaps because it wasn’t long before number 25 came back in. The second appearance was a much longer act for Sutton, after he entered the game for Haden who had been injured, as previously mentioned.
There was some good and some bad, as to be expected from a young defensive back coming fresh off the bench. Sutton is in his second season now, after being selected in the 3rd round in the 2017 NFL Draft out of The University of Tennessee. Sutton was a very “above the line” player collegiately and was used at multiple positions throughout his career, which made him all the more attractive to Pittsburgh. Sutton was also widely praised for his intelligence and ability to pick things up quickly in a defense. Despite these positives, Sutton had little-to-no NFL experience heading into Week One, and Cleveland tried to pick on him.
The bullying proved prosperous, at times. Late in the 4th quarter, Browns quarterback Tyrod Taylor went at Sutton on back-to-back plays for back-to-back completions. The first was a confidence killer, as Taylor connected with Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins for 38 yards after Sutton appeared to misjudge where the ball was going. The next play was actually pretty good coverage however, the young cornerback fell victim to Josh Gordon and being “Mossed” for the touchdown.
A lot of young and or inexperienced defensive backs would not be able to come back from such a bad series late in a game. Sutton was able to come back, and he probably saved the Steelers from starting their season 0-1. Cleveland had a chance to put Pittsburgh away (they had multiple opportunities, but this was one of the first), as they had the ball with seconds to spare in regulation and were driving. When it appeared all hope was lost, Taylor tried to go back to Sutton’s side of the field, but that stream had run dry. Sutton made a beautiful play and intercepted Taylor on an attempted fade route intended for Gordon, and sent the game to overtime.
The Steelers are going to need Sutton’s play to continue on a positive trajectory in Week Two versus Kansas City. Haden is “out” with his hamstring and the Chiefs looked like the best offense in the league last week. Not only do they have the fastest man in the NFL, Tyreek Hill, and All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce, they also have running back, Kareem Hunt, coming off a stellar rookie season and oh yeah, Patrick Mahomes.
Assuming Sutton will play a majority of his snaps at outside corner since Haden will be out, we might not see him line up on Kelce, but keep an eye out for that possibility. Remember, Sutton is very versatile and was moved around a lot in college and has experience covering tight ends in the slot. But again, with Haden out, I’m not sure how flexible the Steelers can afford to be with Sutton on Sunday.
Some have speculated this game could result in 50 points for each team, but I don’t think it will get that out of hand. And you can bank on Sutton as one of the key components to stopping Kansas City on Sunday at Heinz Field.
