Former Steelers LB Arthur Moats Discusses Damontae Kazee's Powerful Role On The Defense

The Pittsburgh Steelers did a lot of overhauling to their defense during the offseason, letting several players go and bringing in some new ones. One player they chose to keep was safety, Damontae Kazee.

Kazee is entering his seventh year in the league. He joined the Steelers on a one-year contract in 2022. Kazee had a bit of a rocky start to his time in Pittsburgh with an arm injury during the preseason and then a three-game suspension that kept him out until Week 5. But once he was able to take the field again, he impressed enough that he was given a two-year extension from the Steelers at the end of last season. 

Now former Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats is spending some time during his podcast, The Arthur Moats Show, to break down Kazee's film and discuss the pros and cons of having him on the team. During the show's segment, Master Moats Film Session, Moats says he feels the organization and the fans are expecting a lot from him, especially after the release of Terrell Edmunds. 

Moats says he expects to see Kazee playing alongside Minkah Fitzpatrick, being moved up on the depth chart to replace Edmunds.  

"I'm excited about what he brings to the table on that back end."

Kazee has great football intelligence according to Moats as well as the ability to trust his athleticism, which is something you don't see in every player. He said he lets that guide him and it helps him put himself in the best possible place on the field. In watching the field play, he breaks down how it was a two-receiver set against the New Orleans Saints. 

"He's not up here where he's feeling like he has to chase one way or the other or cheat one way or the other and put himself in a compromising position. He was truly in a position to make a play."

Then Kazee notices the quarterback, Andy Dalton, start to "settle" and he can quickly respond. He has his head on a swivel, keeping track of those receivers but doing everything he can to read the quarterback and get a jump on what he's going to do. 

"I like the fact that he's breaking flat, he's not breaking down on an angle. Because he knows that's where this play is going to be made."

Moats shows how Kazee, being in position and doing what he is supposed to be doing, positively impacts the whole defense. It allows TJ Watt to be able to get involved. 

"Kazee is excellent in terms of being combative at the catch point. Because Kazee is doing his job, now he's in a perfect position to catch the tipped pass. One of the things that we always preach in Pittsburgh is tip passes and overthrows - we have to get all of those, in terms of creating turnovers and that is what Kazee does."  

None of this is a surprise to Moats who says that it was always clear that Kazee had the skills. We knew he could cover and ball hawk. Next, he shows a video of Kazee playing in the rain. It happens to be the game where Fitzpatrick was out with his appendix. So Kazee flipped sides. 

"It is good to see that when you talk Kazee, he's got that versatility and can truly play both free and strong safety."

Moats says that space is the enemy to the defense, when you see huge open areas, it leaves a lot of room for an excellent player like Alvin Kamara to pick up yardage. In this play against Kamara, he is the last line of defense. 

"That's what you see Kazee doing, tracking where this ball is going. That's what you want from your safety, to condense the running lanes."

Kazee stands his ground and doesn't get knocked back too many times. According to Moats, the main objective of the safety is to get the ball on the ground and to keep the offense from picking up any additional yardage. In comparing Kazee to Edmunds, this is something Edmunds did well, got the ball on the ground.

"It's not really the most appealing element of playing safety but if you're going to play safety in the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, you gotta be willing and able to come up here and get this ball on the ground. We cannot give up the big runs. The way you prevent having big runs is by having safeties that can tackle."

While Edmunds might not have been the best safety in the league, he was solid and predictable. On a defense that was a bit shaky at a few positions, it felt confusing to fans that they would just let him go. Moats says that if Kazee is going to step into Edmunds' shoes, he has to show that same consistency. 

"If he's truly going to take over for Terrell Edmunds' role of being the strong safety to Minkah's free safety, he has to continue to be a sure tackler. As long as he does that we know what he can do in terms of coverage element. He's going to excel." 

What do you think about Moats' assessment of Kazee? Do you think he makes up for the loss of Edmunds? Do you think he is strong enough to play alongside Fitzpatrick? What do you think about all the changes to the defense this off-season? Comment below. 

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