The Pittsburgh Steelers under head coach Mike Tomlin won’t play quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wide receiver DK Metcalf, defensive end Cameron Heyward, or outside linebacker T.J. Watt Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers in the preseason finale. That wasn’t an unexpected announcement from Tomlin.
But what it does it put more of an emphasis on the need for a fast start for the Black and Gold during the regular season, especially with the likes of Rodgers and Metcalf not taking a single snap together inside a stadium this preseason. Though the two are veterans and quite accomplished, they haven’t played together before, and they are in a new offense under coordinator Arthur Smith.
While Tomlin feels comfortable with Rodgers and Metcalf have shown in practice settings, it’s a big risk the longtime head coach his taking, not giving his new players some time together in a game setting to knock the rust off.
For ESPN’s Ryan Clark, the decision is one that will put a greater emphasis on a fast start, of which he has great concern the Steelers won’t get off to this year with so many new pieces and no playing time together in the preseason.
“My level of concern is 10 outta 10. And it’s not necessarily that I’m expecting them to get off to a slow start. It’s the fact that this team can’t get off to a slow start,” Clark said, according to video via First Take on ESPN. “If you’ve watched Mike Tomlin teams throughout the last few years, they normally start fast. It is that they tail off toward the end of the season.
“You have some very winnable games early on in this season, and there’s gonna be a different level of attention paid to the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
With the additions of players like Rodgers and Metcalf, not to mention cornerback Darius Slay and defensive back Jalen Ramsey, the Steelers have brought in a number of big names with star power attached to them this offseason. With Rodgers especially, the attention will be tripled for the Steelers compared to the past.
That added attention brings expectations, so the Steelers need to get off to a fast start. Fortunately for the Steelers, the schedule lines up well for them. They open against the Jets on the road, host the Seahawks in Week 2, then take on the Patriots on the road in Week 3 before making the flight to Dublin for Week 4 against the Vikings.
Those are all very winnable games for the Black and Gold and stacking wins early in the season could set the Steelers up for success down the stretch.
In recent years, the Steelers have gotten off to fast starts, only to fade down the stretch, as Clark pointed out. Last season that was due to injuries and the condensed schedule late in the year around Christmas. But the opponents dealt with that too and had no real issues.
There’s no excuses this year for the Steelers. They’ve gotten better in key spots, all in an effort to chase a championship. If it doesn’t work out, the scrutiny will be heavy.
“This team has aging players who are some of the all-time greats of their generations at the positions. They’re going to expect that to pay dividends early in this season,” Clark said. “And if this team doesn’t get off to a hot start, Omar Khan, the general manager, Mike Tomlin, the head coach, and Aaron Rodgers, the starting quarterback, will be under an intense microscope.”
It’s a risk Tomlin is taking, without a doubt. You can’t box without sparring, as he likes to say. And no sparring has occurred in a game with the new faces, unless you want to count the joint practice with Tampa Bay as that (it isn’t).
So, a fast start is key. But with so many new parts, it could be a slow start out of the gates by the Black and Gold.
