Tuesday with Tomlin
Mike Tomlin said following last Sunday’s 23-13 loss at Kansas City that the Steelers figured to have Ben Roethlisberger back this week against the Cincinnati Bengals.
He reiterated that on Tuesday and added that the team will have no limitations on their starting quarterback, though he did say that if Roethlisberger has any swelling in his injured left knee, he could wind up sitting this one out.
I don’t expect that.
Roethlisberger has been practicing on a limited basis in each of the previous two weeks. He hasn’t had a setback yet. That also should help Roethlisberger shake off any rust quickly, something Tomlin said he didn’t feel would be an issue.
@ Linebacker Terence Garvin had knee surgery on Monday after suffering an MCL injury in practice last Friday. He’ll be out a few weeks.
Tomlin did say that safety Will Allen might be back this week and that defensive end Stephon Tuitt also has a good chance to return. The Steelers could use both against what is a dynamic Cincinnati offense – though Robert Golden has played pretty well at strong safety.
Tomlin also said that he expected William Gay, who left Sunday’s game with a shoulder contusion, will be limited early in the week but is expected to play against the Bengals.
@ Tomlin was asked several questions about Antwon Blake and Brandon Boykin and basically said that he thought that while Blake allowed some plays to be made on him against the Chiefs, he thought he adjusted well to playing with a cast on his hand.
When asked about Boykin, he said if Gay doesn’t play, he has confidence in Boykin. That tells you that the Steelers aren’t ready to make a move with Blake and Boykin – at least not that they are going to say publicly today.
@ Tomlin acknowledged that the Steelers have had some issues covering tight ends this season and now face another good one in Cincinnati’s Tyler Eifert.
The Steelers have faced some very good tight ends this season, including Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Gates and Travis Kelce. And they’ve given up 44 catches for 465 yards and six scores – three of which were by Gronkowski.
Only the Giants (48) have allowed more catches. Only the Raiders (7) have given up more touchdowns. Three teams, Seattle, New Orleans and the Giants, have given up more passing yards to tight ends than the Steelers.
@ Tomlin said the plan last week was to use DeAngelo Williams in short-yardage situatons. But after Williams went 2-4 in short-yardage runs and also dropped a key third-and-2 pass that could have gone for a touchdown, look for that to change this week.