Tim Benz: How Mike Tomlin Gives the Steelers Offense an ‘O’ — From ‘Optimism’ to ‘Doggedness’

While listening Mike Tomlin, Head Coach describe the Pittsburgh Steelers”O“Tuesday, a lot of”O“ words came to my mind.

When discussing Russell Wilson taking over the offense as the new starting quarterback for 2024, Tomlin seemed optimistic.

And rightly so.

There’s at least some reason to believe the nine-time Pro Bowler still has enough energy to be better than the Kenny Pickett-Mitch Trubisky combination that had the Steelers reeling at 7-7 before Mason Rudolph’s three-week magic carpet ride carried the club to the playoffs.

“I don’t know if there’s an element of translation. It’s just who he East,“ Tomlin said of Wilson: “You can’t have the kind of resume he has, or achieve at the level he has, over the course of his career, without bringing unique traits and approaches to business.”

For Tomlin, it’s not just the intangibles that matter. It’s also what Wilson has left in his 35-year-old right arm.

“He has arm strength. He has extreme accuracy. He can put the ball in the right front pocket of your jersey,“ Tomlin talked about Wilson’s deep ball abilities.

Indeed, Wilson appears to still have these clubs in his bag. Tomlin has every reason to believe that this QB will — at a minimum — give his offense a more representative chance to win game by game than it did through the first 14 weeks of last season.

However, when it comes to who Wilson will throw the ball to (other than George Pickens), that’s where Tomlin seemed unconscious.

Since the pursuit of Brandon Aiyuk never came to fruition, the Steelers could not materially replace Diontae Johnson after he was traded to Carolina for cornerback Donte Jackson this offseason.

On Tuesday, I asked Tomlin if the franchise had found the wide receiver market be more difficult to manage than expected when dealing with the Panthers has been consumed in March.

“No way,“ Tomlin responded: “There’s a plethora of receivers, not only in the draft but in free agency. You can look at that position in the first three rounds of the draft over the last five years, and that gives you an indication of the amount of talent and the preparation of that talent over the last few years. So we were really comfortable with that and not too worried about it, to be honest. I’m being completely honest with you.

Really? If Pickens gets hurt, Van Jefferson is the best receiver on the field. He’s a solid No. 3. It’s a lot to ask of him to be a true No. 2. Asking him to potentially be the best receiver on the team is just plain unfair.

Tomlin, however, appears unperturbed.

“We’re really excited about Roman Wilson (who) we got in the third round,” Tomlin said.We have has always done a good job of acquiring receiver talent, and not necessarily in the first round, and I just think that speaks to the depth and THE preparation of the post.

Of course. Except that the major My criticism of Wilson is that he may have been too light to hold up in the NFL, and he got hurt getting tackled on one of the first plays of padded practices this summer and may not be available or fully ready for Sunday’s season opener at Atlanta.

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Not to mention, Wilson could be more of a slot contributor than a running partner at any given time for Pickens.

Then there’s the small matter of the inexperienced and battered offensive line. That’s where Tomlin seemed somewhat obstinate.

When asked to clarify whether second-year tackle Broderick Jones was going to Playing right or left to open the year, Tomlin declined to give a direct answer.

“I haven’t made any decisions about that,” Tomlin said. “Obviously, he’s worked a lot on the right. But, again, were “We’ll continue to monitor that as we progress through the week because his versatility has been an asset to him and to us.”

If this variable depends only As for whether rookie Troy Fautanu is healthy enough to start on the right side, so be it. But, if that’s the case, SO Jones should have played more first-team action on the left side throughout the off-season.

If Jones stays on the right side and Fautanu doesn’t start when he’s healthy enough to play, that means the franchise is simply continuing its infatuation with Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle despite drafting his potential replacement two years in a row.

I wouldn’t even know how to answer that. At this point, it’s just Tomlin being stubborn.

Or, to continue with the theme, Tomlin is being obtuse.

One thing is for sure though. Given the Steelers’ tough schedule, unless Tomlin’s offense does major progress from last year and this summer’s pre-season performance, a few more “O“ the words come to my mind.

As of the playoffs.

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Listen: Joe Rutter and Tim Benz discuss the Steelers’ regular season opener in Atlanta and Mike Tomlin’s first press conference of the year.