There’s been a common refrain by the people that pay close attention to the Steelers regarding their defense this year. It is comprised of two parts. It’s very good, and it’s very vanilla.

Of course, vanilla can be fantastic. A high quality vanilla is delicious. But, get it enough times and anyone will figure out some work-arounds, like sneaking some chocolate chips or wafers in there when no one is looking, or maybe a spoonful of peanut butter if you are feeling cocky.

We have seen that in the first drives of games. The opposing offense has been able to script highly successful drives because they know exactly what to expect. Blitzburgh is nowhere to be found. Complex pre-snap disguises are non-existent. What you see is what you get, and they rely on winning the individual match-ups rather than a drawn up scheme.

Why would that be? One reason might be that defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is not the best at coming up with schemes and relies solely on the athletic ability of his stars to make a play. The other could be that much like the offense that was limited for the first half of the season to not lose the game versus being aggressive in the pursuit of victory, the defense was instructed to take the same mindset.

The defense understood it had to hold scoring at 17 points to win.  They could surrender yards as long as it did not give up touchdowns. Blitzing is taking a risk. The team counts on a TJ Watt or other impact player forcing a mistake on a long drive, and so far, that has happened for the most part.

Considering the schedule, they also have not been required to show their hand yet. That is about to change. Much like a jockey rounding the corner to the last leg of the race, it’s time to stop pulling back on the reins and let the horse run. It’s been smart to not put the elaborate blitz schemes and pre-snap looks on tape, whether it was deliberant or not. Now the competition ramps up, the offenses will be better, and vanilla will not get the job done. The Steelers are going to need to bring all thirty-two flavors to make the party be a success.

One thing that will help is that the defense is no longer walking the razor’s edge of one or two blown plays resulting in a loss. The team has an offense that can recover from a mistake, be it their own or the defense. Much like the offense has become more aggressive in each game since Wilson took over, now there should be confidence that the defense can also take a higher risk/reward approach knowing that Russell Wilson and company can be the one bailing out a blown play. It has been many, many years since the team could say that.

It will take points to beat Washington this week, and it will take many points to beat Cincy and Baltimore as well. The days of a brutal 17-14 slugfest are not going to be commonplace anymore, as the Thursday night game between those two showed.

Now we just have to wait and see. Was the vanilla offense just a ruse, and Teryl Austin is about to give the horse its head and let it run, or he is really riding a one-trick pony where what you see is what you get? We will know more after the game on Sunday, and it could be a sign of things to come for the remainder of the season.

This defense is very good in its plain state. It could be great if the star players also start getting schemed to make big plays, rather than get them by brute force or dumb luck. I love me some vanilla, but I’m ready for a big scoop of Rocky Road right now. I can’t wait to see what the team serves up.