The Bengals’ Reggie Nelson tackles Le’Veon Bell on the right knee Sunday night. — GETTY
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
One last look at the Steelers’ last game …
• No updates regarding Le’Veon Bell are expected until Tuesday, when Mike Tomlin has his press conference at noon, but no change is no change. Bell was seen limping at the Steelers’ South Side headquarters Monday, but that’s to be expected. All athletes coming off an injury are instructed to tread as lightly as possible when not participating in team events.
Anything is possible, provided Tomlin’s initial declaration is accurate that there was no ligament damage to the right knee. Bell is 22. He can heal quickly, and so can hyperextended knees.
Suppose that doesn’t happen, though, and the Steelers face the Ravens without him.
Harris, 23, is an undrafted rookie free agent out of Wake Forest, and the Steelers genuinely like him and have sounded genuinely surprised he got through the entire draft. He’s only 5-11 but he’s a solid, stocky 220 pounds with plenty of speed — you saw that with the long run Sunday nullified by the holding penalty — and a built-in aggressiveness to hit the hole.
One teammate told me three weeks ago: “We don’t have one running back here. We’ve got two. Believe me.”
He had an intriguing career at Wake Forest, too, rushing for 720 yards and five touchdowns in just four starts as a redshirt freshman before various injuries limited him to a total 1,510 yards and 12 touchdowns in his final three years there. He also left on bad terms by accusing his college coaches of bad-mouthing him to cost him a chance at being drafted.
Bottom line: We’re talking about a player with virtually no NFL experience — 11 snaps Sunday — who was plugging along on the practice squad for the first 12 weeks.
I asked Harris about that and more:
I wouldn’t anticipate much from Harris, and that’s no slight. Rather, it’s logical to assume that Tomlin and Todd Haley will arrange a game plan that, one, attacks Baltimore’s weak secondary and, two, makes more use of other existing assets. Markus Wheaton was targeted four times Sunday, Martavis Bryant just twice. It’s wonderful that Antonio Brown and Heath Miller were targeted a total of 20 times, so no complaint there. But the other two still need more touches for the field to spread and for the Ravens’ good pass rush to be neutralized with quick options for Ben Roethlisberger.
• Also, don’t rule out more Dri Archer. Haley certainly wouldn’t mind.
• Much attention will be paid to the job Cincinnati left tackle Andrew Whitworth did in pretty much swallowing James Harrison whole Sunday — zero QB pressures allowed all night — but Pittsburgh’s left tackle has fared well, too: Kelvin Beachum allowed no pressures, either, and finished the year ranked fourth in the NFL among all players at his position with a Pro Football Focus grade of plus-21.7.
• Beachum, bringing the goods Monday on Steelers-Ravens: “Having Baltimore come into Pittsburgh, we know what type of game it’ll be. We know it’ll be a slugfest. We know they hate us and we hate them. That’s the nature of this rivalry. There are a lot of marbles on the line. This is AFC North football, and it’s in the playoffs.”
• Not to be overlooked is what Marcus Gilbert did at the other tackle spot with a more formidable challenge in holding Carlos Dunlap to two quarterback hurries. Dunlap is capable of much more.
• The praises are being sung all-around for Stephon Tuitt because of his pass-rushing, but minus-4.4 grade Sunday was the worst of any player on the Steelers, and it was fueled almost entirely by a minus-4.9 grade on run defense. That’s visible, too. Tuitt often looks like he doesn’t know where to be or, specifically, how to hold the edge. That has to change.
“I know teams are going to run my way because I’m a rookie,” Tuitt said. “They’re going to try and put me out, like I’m the duck on the team. I go out there every day to make sure I’m prepared for that.”
The duck?
• Is it strange that Sean Spence is starting over Ryan Shazier but Shazier ends up with 37 snaps to Spence’s 27?
Not necessarily. Dick LeBeau loves having his inside linebacker be able to drop into pass coverage, and Shazier did that on all but 10 of his snaps. Spence dropped back only eight times.
• It’s been almost amusing to hear the secondary guys describing the Steelers as some sort of turnover-creating machine — and I say that based on the previous couple of seasons — but the fact is they’re now 9-0 when they win the turnover ratio.
“That’s the key,” Brice McCain said. “That’s not going to change for the playoffs. When you win the turnover battle, you win games.”
• This is cool: McCain was targeted three times while covering A.J. Green. McCain caught two of those, Green one.
• Cam Heyward, on McCain and Antwon Blake: “It just goes to their preparation. They prepare like no one else. In practice, Brice has that little-man syndrome. He’s very hard on himself and always wants to play big. Blake’s got it, too. I give him a hard time.”
• There’s nothing remotely good to say about Tomlin’s fake punt call, one that could have cost the Steelers the division title. To his credit, Tomlin had nothing remotely good to say about it, either: “I take responsibility for that. I’m going to remain aggressive. I thought they had possessed the ball. I thought our defense had played a lot. I was not interested in having the defense take the field again if we got what we were looking for. I took a calculated risk. Good play by them. They checked out of whatever rush they were in and covered it. But that’s on me.”
• The weirdness between Tomlin and Reggie Nelson after the game evidently had nothing directly to do with Nelson’s low tackle on Bell, which Tomlin told me was ‘a legal hit.’ Rather, it was what Tomlin called ‘he-said-she-said’ fodder in which Nelson was accusing Tomlin of talking about him, something Tomlin denied. Nelson told Cincinnati reporters he didn’t want to talk about it: “That’s between me and the next man. If he wants to elaborate on it, let him elaborate on it. My line is open, though.”
OK, whatever.
Asked separately about the tackle: “Just playing football. That’s it.”
• Nose tackles spent a total of 28 of 71 snaps on the field, 24 for Steve McLendon, four for Daniel McCullers. That’s where the game is headed, folks. Nickel and dime.
• Maurkice Pouncey, on possibly losing Bell: “He’s a key part of the team. He’s our MVP. Hopefully, everything’s all right. But if he can’t go, the next man has to step up and play just like him. Or even better.”
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December 29, 2014
Steelers PATs: Life without Le’Veon?
by Dejan Kovacevic • Coverage • Steelers
The Bengals’ Reggie Nelson tackles Le’Veon Bell on the right knee Sunday night. — GETTY
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
One last look at the Steelers’ last game …
• No updates regarding Le’Veon Bell are expected until Tuesday, when Mike Tomlin has his press conference at noon, but no change is no change. Bell was seen limping at the Steelers’ South Side headquarters Monday, but that’s to be expected. All athletes coming off an injury are instructed to tread as lightly as possible when not participating in team events.
Anything is possible, provided Tomlin’s initial declaration is accurate that there was no ligament damage to the right knee. Bell is 22. He can heal quickly, and so can hyperextended knees.
Suppose that doesn’t happen, though, and the Steelers face the Ravens without him.
Then, it’s up to Josh Harris, right?
Maybe, maybe not.
Harris, 23, is an undrafted rookie free agent out of Wake Forest, and the Steelers genuinely like him and have sounded genuinely surprised he got through the entire draft. He’s only 5-11 but he’s a solid, stocky 220 pounds with plenty of speed — you saw that with the long run Sunday nullified by the holding penalty — and a built-in aggressiveness to hit the hole.
One teammate told me three weeks ago: “We don’t have one running back here. We’ve got two. Believe me.”
He had an intriguing career at Wake Forest, too, rushing for 720 yards and five touchdowns in just four starts as a redshirt freshman before various injuries limited him to a total 1,510 yards and 12 touchdowns in his final three years there. He also left on bad terms by accusing his college coaches of bad-mouthing him to cost him a chance at being drafted.
Bottom line: We’re talking about a player with virtually no NFL experience — 11 snaps Sunday — who was plugging along on the practice squad for the first 12 weeks.
I asked Harris about that and more:
I wouldn’t anticipate much from Harris, and that’s no slight. Rather, it’s logical to assume that Tomlin and Todd Haley will arrange a game plan that, one, attacks Baltimore’s weak secondary and, two, makes more use of other existing assets. Markus Wheaton was targeted four times Sunday, Martavis Bryant just twice. It’s wonderful that Antonio Brown and Heath Miller were targeted a total of 20 times, so no complaint there. But the other two still need more touches for the field to spread and for the Ravens’ good pass rush to be neutralized with quick options for Ben Roethlisberger.
• Also, don’t rule out more Dri Archer. Haley certainly wouldn’t mind.
• Much attention will be paid to the job Cincinnati left tackle Andrew Whitworth did in pretty much swallowing James Harrison whole Sunday — zero QB pressures allowed all night — but Pittsburgh’s left tackle has fared well, too: Kelvin Beachum allowed no pressures, either, and finished the year ranked fourth in the NFL among all players at his position with a Pro Football Focus grade of plus-21.7.
• Beachum, bringing the goods Monday on Steelers-Ravens: “Having Baltimore come into Pittsburgh, we know what type of game it’ll be. We know it’ll be a slugfest. We know they hate us and we hate them. That’s the nature of this rivalry. There are a lot of marbles on the line. This is AFC North football, and it’s in the playoffs.”
• Not to be overlooked is what Marcus Gilbert did at the other tackle spot with a more formidable challenge in holding Carlos Dunlap to two quarterback hurries. Dunlap is capable of much more.
• The praises are being sung all-around for Stephon Tuitt because of his pass-rushing, but minus-4.4 grade Sunday was the worst of any player on the Steelers, and it was fueled almost entirely by a minus-4.9 grade on run defense. That’s visible, too. Tuitt often looks like he doesn’t know where to be or, specifically, how to hold the edge. That has to change.
“I know teams are going to run my way because I’m a rookie,” Tuitt said. “They’re going to try and put me out, like I’m the duck on the team. I go out there every day to make sure I’m prepared for that.”
The duck?
• Is it strange that Sean Spence is starting over Ryan Shazier but Shazier ends up with 37 snaps to Spence’s 27?
Not necessarily. Dick LeBeau loves having his inside linebacker be able to drop into pass coverage, and Shazier did that on all but 10 of his snaps. Spence dropped back only eight times.
• It’s been almost amusing to hear the secondary guys describing the Steelers as some sort of turnover-creating machine — and I say that based on the previous couple of seasons — but the fact is they’re now 9-0 when they win the turnover ratio.
“That’s the key,” Brice McCain said. “That’s not going to change for the playoffs. When you win the turnover battle, you win games.”
• This is cool: McCain was targeted three times while covering A.J. Green. McCain caught two of those, Green one.
• Cam Heyward, on McCain and Antwon Blake: “It just goes to their preparation. They prepare like no one else. In practice, Brice has that little-man syndrome. He’s very hard on himself and always wants to play big. Blake’s got it, too. I give him a hard time.”
• There’s nothing remotely good to say about Tomlin’s fake punt call, one that could have cost the Steelers the division title. To his credit, Tomlin had nothing remotely good to say about it, either: “I take responsibility for that. I’m going to remain aggressive. I thought they had possessed the ball. I thought our defense had played a lot. I was not interested in having the defense take the field again if we got what we were looking for. I took a calculated risk. Good play by them. They checked out of whatever rush they were in and covered it. But that’s on me.”
• The weirdness between Tomlin and Reggie Nelson after the game evidently had nothing directly to do with Nelson’s low tackle on Bell, which Tomlin told me was ‘a legal hit.’ Rather, it was what Tomlin called ‘he-said-she-said’ fodder in which Nelson was accusing Tomlin of talking about him, something Tomlin denied. Nelson told Cincinnati reporters he didn’t want to talk about it: “That’s between me and the next man. If he wants to elaborate on it, let him elaborate on it. My line is open, though.”
OK, whatever.
Asked separately about the tackle: “Just playing football. That’s it.”
• Nose tackles spent a total of 28 of 71 snaps on the field, 24 for Steve McLendon, four for Daniel McCullers. That’s where the game is headed, folks. Nickel and dime.
• Maurkice Pouncey, on possibly losing Bell: “He’s a key part of the team. He’s our MVP. Hopefully, everything’s all right. But if he can’t go, the next man has to step up and play just like him. Or even better.”