Steelers Will Go Against Standard Procedure To Truly Prepare For Week 3

The Pittsburgh Steelers escaped Week 2 with a win, but there were still many issues that flared up. In his postgame press conference after that game, Head Coach Mike Tomlin only wanted to talk about the penalty aspect of the contest, as they were flagged 10 times for 78 yards, as well as a couple of offsetting penalties. In fact, offensive tackle Broderick Jones was benched because of the fact that he took three penalties in one drive, including one that wiped away a 51-yard play that would have set the Steelers up inside their opponent's 10-yard line. 

During his Tomlin Tuesdays press conference, he talked about their plan to avoid getting penalized as much in the upcoming week.

"We're making small alterations or big alterations where necessary in an effort to continue the growth and development of this unit. Those of you that normally follow us know that we normally bring in officials on Friday for practice. We're bringing in officials on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week. I believe that that's appropriate, given our last outing in that regard, in terms of not playing penalty-free. We're not hoping and wishing our issues away. We got to take tangible action."

Even though the Steelers and Denver Broncos had referees that were notorious for throwing their flags, there were many games across the league where the officials got too involved, including primetime games. The Steelers most likely won't have Clete Blakeman's crew again for Week 3, but it's still best to be prepared just in case their next officiating crew gets an itchy trigger finger with their yellow markers again.

Steelers And Officials Need Refreshers On What Gets Flagged

After Jones got flagged twice for back-breaking holding penalties, he did not get used in another drive, and he has officially been taken off the starting lineup on the team's official depth chart. Getting the extra work in with referees during practice should help him clean those up, as he will constantly get direct feedback on if he protects the quarterback without being too grabby. 

Sometimes, the officials need a reminder as well. In a string of offsetting penalties, Joey Porter Jr. was called for illegal hands to the face. However, on replay, his hands never seemed to go high enough for that type of call, and the commentators were even questioning the result. The Steelers still managed to get a three-and-out defensively on that drive, but nonexistent fouls can't be called like that on a continuous basis.

Either way, the sheer number of penalties that were called against the Steelers in Week 2 is completely unacceptable, for both the team and the referees. If those problems keep flaring up, that 51-yard pass won't be the last game-changing play that gets overruled due to a senseless flag. Not every game will be against a rebuilding team with a rookie quarterback, and they won't be able to get away with winning those kinds of contests often.

It's already well-known that the Steelers' back half of the schedule is absolutely brutal. With a gauntlet of division rivals and Super Bowl contenders ahead of them, they know that constantly getting penalized in inopportune moments will put them on a long losing streak to conclude the year. Now is the time to get these problems cleaned up while they are 2-0 and have a group of weaker opponents on the horizon.

Only true fouls should be enforced. Sometimes, officials can get way too involved and make themselves the star of the show, when no one wants to see that. Everyone involved needs to be better: teams and zebra-stripes.

What do you think about Tomlin bringing in officials throughout the entire practice week, as well as the problems with getting penalized as a whole? Let us know in the comments.

#SteelerNation