Tuesday with Tomlin
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday the team has no plans to use a five-man rotation at outside linebacker moving forward as it did in last week’s 28-7 win over Indianapolis.
That’s going to mean less playing time for somebody moving forward.
Many will automatically point to Jarvis Jones and see him as the odd man out. After all, Jones is the only player among the group that also includes James Harrison, Arthur Moats and Anthony Chickillo who has not recorded a sack this season.
But, as we saw against the Colts, it was Moats who actually got the least amount of playing time as he was on the field for just 17 snaps.
Chickillo led the way with 32 snaps. Harrison had 31, Jones 27 and Dupree 20.
Dupree has said that he expects to rush from both sides once he gets completely up to speed and he has seen some action on both sides, but Harrison, despite being 38, is going to get the majority of work on that side down the stretch.
And Chickillo has made more plays as the season has worn on, meaning he’ll likely stay in the rotation as well – so long as he continues to make plays.
That means Moats or Jones will be the odd man out. And, despite his lack of getting to the quarterback, Jones has been very good in the run game.
Moats, with 3.5 sacks, has been productive, as well, but Jones also has an interception, forced fumble and recovery.
So who sits?
The guess here is that Moats will see his playing time diminished. He plays the same side as Dupree and Jones has been good enough all-around to continue to spell Harrison.
Ideally, you’d like to see Dupree coming off the right side – the blind side of right-handed quarterbacks – where he can use his speed to get around the edge. But that’s something to work on in the offseason. Right now, the Steelers are concerned about winning as many games as they can to get into the playoffs and do some damage if not make it to the Super Bowl.
@ The Super Bowl. It’s something many fans were giving up on a few weeks ago.
But take a look around at what happened in the league this past weekend.
The Patriots, with Rob Gronkowski hampered by a back injury, struggled to beat the Jets.
Houston, which will probably win the AFC South by default, got embarrassed at home by San Diego.
Oakland was forced into another shootout because its defense makes Pittsburgh’s look like the second-coming of the Steel Curtain. The Raiders are last in the NFL in sacks, despite the presence of Khalil Mack.
The Ravens? They struggled to get by the punch-less Bengals at home.
Defending AFC champion Denver? Lost in overtime at home to Kansas City, a team that lost to Tampa Bay at home the week before.
Really, take a look around the AFC and there are a bunch of contenders. But they all have warts.
This is as wide-open a race as I’ve seen in the AFC in quite some time.
And the Steelers appear to be getting healthy at the right time.
Ladarius Green’s emergence should help the offense. And Sammie Coates is healthy now, as well. He and Ben Roethlisberger need to get back in sync, but that will come.
The offensive line hasn’t allowed a sack in three of the past four games and Le’Veon Bell has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the past two.
@ The Steelers could get DeAngelo Williams back this week, as well. And if he isn’t back this week, then next week for sure.
That will be good news for Bell, who has 72 touches in the three games Williams has been out since having his left knee scoped in the first week of November.
Part of the reason the Steelers have had such a tough time in the playoffs the previous two seasons – going 1-2 – is because they haven’t had a capable running back available in those games.
It would be nice to have Bell available, for sure. Despite missing the first three games of the season, his 57 receptions lead all NFL running backs.
But if something were to happen to Bell again – and he would then have to consider himself snakebit when it comes to the postseason – having Williams available would be a nice fallback option.