The Pittsburgh Steelers are facing long odds heading into Week 15 against the Carolina Panthers. Mike Tomlin needs to win out to avoid his first losing season and subsequently lose his national media Teflon coating. Rookie Kenny Pickett has not cleared concussion protocol and they have been embroiled in a quarterback controversy about who would replace him in the starting lineup this week. The team is listing badly, and they desperately needed a course correction.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin gives instructions to his team during a 38-3 loss at Buffalo. Photo - Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
Tomlin sensed that a shakeup was necessary, so he decided to go back to the future and conjured up the ghosts of Steelers past by putting the team in full pads to practice. The Steelers lost to the Baltimore Ravens last week and were bludgeoned by a one-dimensional running game that they seemed powerless to stop. The return to full contact practices was a drastic step to regain an edge that the team needs to find and hold onto for the remainder of the season.
“Guys were bouncing around. We were competing,” quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “I thought we had some juice to us.”
Mitch Trubisky was named the starter on Saturday after speculation that Mason Rudolph would get to play this weekend. After Trubisky turned the ball over three times and basically eliminated the Steelers from playoff contention, he managed to make Rudolph look like an appealing option. The entire team was in a foul mood and Tomlin may have found the cure for what ails the black and gold by letting them take out their frustrations against each other.
“It was really crunky today,” Najee Harris said after Friday’s practice.
PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 24: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (10), running back Najee Harris (22), quarterback Kenny Pickett (8), and quarterback Chris Oladokun (5) take part in a drill during the team's OTA practice, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Steelers players sounded like they got a chance to physically demonstrate how they feel about each other, and it may have cleared the air more than any players only meeting could hope to do. The players were keenly terse about what went on during the session, but based on the Harris’ choice of adjective, it certainly wasn’t a knitting circle.
“They all only happened in our competitive periods,” James Daniels related. “It was never scout team; it was always varsity/varsity when it happened. So, it’s good. I wouldn’t say it was anything over the top, it was just a little something and we continued on with practice.”
The Steelers are no strangers to practice field incidents. During training camp in Latrobe, PA this summer, T.J. Watt skirmished with rookie Calvin Austin. Cam Heyward renewed his unique relationship with Benny Snell with a seemingly annual fight between the two veterans. If any altercations occurred on Friday, the team wasn’t talking about it.
Fight breaks out after a run play. Benny Snell vs Cam Heyward.
— Josh Rowntree (@JRown32) August 2, 2022
Heyward is IRATE. Really going after Snell and having to be held back. Wow. #Steelers @937theFan pic.twitter.com/W1dmtOgmKJ
“We needed it,” Rookie Mark Robinson said about the practice. “We needed it, yeah.”
Pittsburgh desperately needs a jolt and on Sunday, it will become readily apparent if full contact practices this week were the tonic for what ails the team. The Steelers are a few plays away this season from being a winning football team, but at 5-8, the gap seems like the Grand Canyon. Games against the Ravens, New York Jets, New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins could have easily been victories and the Steelers would be in the thick of the race for the AFC North.
Tomlin has come under fire this season for losing control of the locker room, seemingly endorsing Matt Canada’s continued existence and the longest playoff win drought of the Super Bowl Era for the franchise. His coaching hallmark is getting the most out of his players and this move might not be the right one, but it is a move. After a season of status quo, it is nice to see something different from the black and gold.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Is the return to full contact practices just what the doctor ordered to spoil the Carolina Panthers season? Please comment below, or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
