Filling the Tuitt gap takes more than one
The season-ending injury to Stephon Tuitt not only forced defensive end Cam Heyward to play more snaps than usual, it forced the Steelers to use a different wrinkle in their sub-package defenses that certainly doesn’t conjure images of the famed Steel Curtain front four.
Heyward played 51 snaps in Monday night’s 27-14 comeback victory against the Miami Dolphins, which was a season-high 85% of the time. What’s more, instead of using their usual rotation system with defensive linemen, the Steelers used inside linebacker Vince Williams with Heyward as one of their two “linemen” in some of their sub-packages.
“That’s really indicative
of probably how we move forward,” coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference, not more than 14 hours after the Steelers won back-to-back games for the first time this season. “When you’re talking about replacing a guy like Stephon, it’s not only a multi-person job but probably a multi-positional job with defensive linemen and linebackers. I thought we did a good job of establishing a base of what that looks like moving forward.”
Dan McCullers, who would have been the first lineman off the bench, played only three snaps against the Dolphins. Rookie Isaiah Buggs, who was playing in his first NFL game, got nine snaps. L.T. Walton, who was signed last week to replace Tuitt’s spot on the roster, was inactive.
Tomlin said it’s “not necessarily so” that Heyward will continue to play as many snaps as he did against the Dolphins.
“Hopefully guys evolve,” Tomlin said. “Some of those new guys, maybe that’s just the beginning for a guy like Isaiah Buggs. L.T. Walton. … Maybe he’s more in condition to play and be a more viable option. As guys grow and show their capabilities, we’ll adjust accordingly. It may or may not mean more snaps for Cam Heyward.”
If so, Heyward is fine with that.
“I came off for a little bit,” he said. “I’m not worried about that. If we can get short fields and get off early on drives, that’s a plus. Even though they scored early on, it was short drives. It wasn’t like we were out there on long drives.”
Banner night
Is Zach Banner, the team’s backup swing tackle, becoming a cult hero?
Well, Tomlin said he hopes not.
But that’s what is quickly happening with the 6-foot-8, 360-pound tackle when he reports as the tackle/tight end eligible.
Every time it was announced that “72 is reporting as eligible” against the Dolphins — he played 26 snaps — the crowd at Heinz Field reacted as if Jerome Bettis were trotting on to the field.
Banner said quarterback Mason Rudolph even asked him if the cheers were for him.
“I guess they notice me because I’m so big,” Banner said.
Apparently, that’s not it. Video has surfaced on social media of Banner, the team’s biggest player, running downfield on plays and flattening linebackers and defensive backs who get in his way. Those videos have gone viral, turning Banner into something of a hero with the home crowd.
“This guy has done a really awesome job in the year or so he’s been here from an overall conditioning standpoint,” Tomlin said. “That’s the catalyst for all this. He’s taking advantage of an opportunity to get playing experience.”
The Steelers have used young tackles in the past as extra linemen to get them playing experience, most notably Kelvin Beachum and Chris Hubbard. And while Tomlin said Banner “is no Beach or Mother Hubbard just yet,” neither of those players ever received loud ovations like Banner received against the Dolphins.
“I hope he doesn’t become a cult hero,” Tomlin said. “He and we don’t need that in our lives.”
Too late.
Still grinding
After winning back-toback games for the first time this season and three of their past four, the Steelers have a chance to even their record and get to .500 with a victory Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
“To be able to say that, where we’ve come from is significant,” Tomlin said. “By no means are we throwing a pep rally. But we’re in the midst of a fight and one where we kind of got it moving in the right direction.
“It makes this week a really big one.”
The Steelers’ slow start against the Dolphins — they did not score until 2:45 remained in the first half — was nothing new. They have been held scoreless in the first quarter in four of their seven games.
Tomlin said quarterback Mason Rudolph, who threw an interception on the team’s second offensive play and connected on just one of his first seven passes, got better as the game wore on. He finished with 251 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns once he began stepping into his throws.
“His accuracy got better,” Tomlin said. “A lot of that had to do with his footwork.”