The Pittsburgh Steelers returned to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Monday after a month of training at Saint Vincent College and a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team is preparing for its final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers, scheduled for Thursday night.
Coach Mike Tomlin described Monday’s session as productive, noting that the morning was spent reviewing game tape from Saturday night’s loss to the Buccaneers. He emphasized that there were lessons to be learned not only in skill development but also in strategy and team culture.
“Really productive day,” said Coach Mike Tomlin following practice. “Spent the morning combing through Saturday night’s game tape. It’s just a lot to be learned, not only from a skill development standpoint, but from a strategy perspective and from a cultural perspective. So, I just wanted to devote the morning totally to that.
“We came out here and got some Carolina work this afternoon. We are working on a short week. So, we just transitioned and quickly moved to Carolina.
“A lot of good effort and energy out here today. It’s important that we don’t waste days in transition being back in this environment. We’ve got a lot of work to do and obviously the sands running through the hourglass in terms of team development, in terms of guys getting an opportunity to state a case for themselves and for us to just develop the type of cohesion that’s necessary to get into the season.
“We’re working and working with urgency.”
Tomlin did not disclose which players would participate in Thursday’s game against Carolina, stating he would provide more information during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
“Don’t have any plans about who’s playing or how much they’re playing in Carolina,” said Tomlin. “We’ll take a look at this practice tape and give a little bit more time from the injury perspective to allow people to perk up. Certainly, because this is the last opportunity, we want to give every healthy man an opportunity to state a case for themselves. So, we’ll leave the door ajar for those that are managing short term injury things.”
Wide receivers Calvin Austin III and Ben Skowronek are currently dealing with injuries, but Tomlin indicated there is no major concern regarding their status.
“I’m comfortable with it,” said Tomlin. “Certainly, things get a little tight this time of year. Lines get short and usually in one area, positionally. There’s strength and safety in numbers.
“That’s a group that’s running a little light, but that’s just a component of this time of year.”
Thursday’s matchup will serve as an important evaluation period for younger players hoping to secure roster spots ahead of the regular season. Rookie running back Kaleb Johnson was highlighted by Tomlin for his progress over recent weeks.
“I just want to continue to see him get more comfortable in this environment,” said Tomlin. “I think the more comfortable he gets, the less fuel he burns in anticipation, the more his talents are going to show.
“I think we saw it from game one to game two. It’s reasonable to expect that to continue.”
Tomlin explained his approach toward developing relationships with individual players within the organization: “It’s a bunch of individual relationships within this big organization,” said Tomlin of how he approaches handling different players. “That started for me way back in draft prep. It was not only getting to know the players and their skill set, but just their relationship with the game, how they best receive coaching, how they respond to challenges, et cetera. It is a major component of the ‘get to know’ for me.”
Additionally, while long snapper Jake McQuade was recently signed by Pittsburgh following an injury sustained by Christian Kuntz at long snapper during preseason activities (https://www.steelers.com/news/steelers-sign-long-snapper-jake-mcquade), Tomlin clarified that Kuntz’s injury is considered short term.
