PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t have an issue playing first round pick, running back Najee Harris every snap in Buffalo. He didn’t say he would change his philosophy going forward.
Tomlin said Harris is a ‘highly conditioned’ athlete and that his wind was good, especially in the second half.
“You burn a lot of fuel early in the game with anxiety and so forth,” Tomlin said. “It became less of an issue as the game wore on. He settled down. We found our rhythm. I was happy with how that transpired and unfolded. The same could be said for the quality of his play as the game unfolded.”
Harris’ first half in Buffalo, rushed for two, four, two, two, minus four, two and zero yards. The rookie had a key 18-yard run setting up the only offensive touchdown in the second half. Harris finished with 16 carries for 45 yards and caught one pass for four yards.
“We were able to settle down, make some plays and make enough plays to get victory,” Tomlin said. “For that we are thankful, but we have a lot to work on. We have a lot of details to improve. We need to continue to gain experience and cohesion, individually and collectively.
“It’s the growth process that needs to occur at this stage of the journey. We walk into this parking lot every single day we are either going to get better or we are not. We better get better.”
Old Man Cam
If he is in the area when the media is speaking to defensive captain Cam Heyward, Tomlin is likely to inject a shot at Heyward’s age. The 32-year-old rated by Pro Football Focus as the NFL’s top defensive player for week one.
Tomlin said he’s not sure how he does it, but asked all of us to join him in age-shaming Heyward.
“I’m going to continue to joke about Cam’s age,” Tomlin said. “We are all motivated in different ways. Cam is one of those guys that is always looking for reasons to rise up to something. You throw his age in his face. Even though he knows what you are doing. He has to respond. That’s the competitor that man is.”
“Please keep talking about it.”
“We expect him to continue to do what it is that he is doing, which is not only make quality plays, but be a quality leader.
Mature WR
Think of what Tomlin has dealt with in his career at wide receiver from Antonio Brown to Plaxico Burress to Hines Ward. The nuances with all of them and more. He believes it’s a different group right now.
Described in a way you don’t often hear of the receiving position, mature.
“They didn’t get an opportunity to impact the game in a real positive way in the early stages,” Tomlin said about Sunday. “They didn’t get frustrated. They stayed in the fight and they made the plays when called upon.”
Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster all making significant, often spectacular plays, in the second half.
“It was cool to see them grow from a maturity standpoint,” Tomlin said. “Understand that element of it. That it is a collective. Maybe they don’t always get an opportunity to do what they are capable of doing all day. It’s part of team.”
OLB Rotation
Tomlin said they ‘wouldn’t be a slave to snap distribution’ when it comes to his outside linebacker. His goal is just to keep the three (TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, Melvin Ingram) fresh and engaged. He doesn’t see the numbers of snaps with any of them being an issue.
“They are all varsity,” Tomlin said. “They are all going to be significant. We are excited we have all three of them. We intend to utilize all three of them. Maybe from time-to-time, all three at once if the situation allows for it.”
Against the Bills, they combined for eight tackles, but a pair of sacks, pair of tackles for loss, a forced fumble and six quarterback hurries.