Steelers to Gronk: We're coming for you

Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler had a look over what he had to field against the Patriots on Sept. 10 and didn't see as much as was there in recent years.

Looking across the field at his foe, aside from quarterback Tom Brady, he identified his No. 1 target: tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots are relatively thin at receiver, making Gronk the most dangerous weapon overall in New England's arsenal.

The solution: "constant contact."

"He has success when people don't put their hands on him," Steelers safety Mike Mitchell said of Gronkowski. 

So Butler will direct his pass defenders and tacklers to maul him within the first five years allowed them by the rulebook.

"You just have to jam him up a little bit, mess with his timing," Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier said. "If you mess up their timing, they are really time-oriented. You have to mess up their timing and get in his face with pressure, then I feel we can slow him down a little bit."

Pittsburgh will get the first crack at stopping Brady as he launches his NFL revenge tour after having his former four-game suspension vanquished by federal judge Richard Berman in connection with his very-much alleged and very-little proven involvement in DeflateGate. 

The Steelers' plan to stop Gronkowski has to be supplemented by their plan to stop Brady. If they can't get to the source, their overall effort will prove fruitless. Pittsburgh was 27th overall last season against the pass, permitted 7.8 yards per attempt (the fourth most), and allowed 253 yards per game, better than only five other teams.