Sports Radio is all about sportsbooks and casinos these days. In fact, when you’re on your way to the BetRivers Sportsbook – maybe to see the PM Team on Thursdays or check out our shows before going to Heinz Field on a Steelers Sunday – you pass by hundreds of games and slot machines. Those are games of chance, right?
But what if you knew which slot machine was ready to produce a winner on the next spin? Think about the damage you could do at the roulette wheel if you knew where the ball would land before the croupier spins the wheel and drops the ball.
You would make so much money (before you were politely removed from the casino) that you would never make it to the sports book!
Funny thing is, when Steelers coach Mike Tomlin used some casino game analogies he actually gave away the answer when he was trying to keep his plans for the defensive backfield a secret.
Tomlin mentioned he purposely did not list a “slot corner” on the official depth chart. “We’ve got some options there and I choose to hold those cards close to the vest,” he smiled then added, “Cam Sutton is a very capable guy who’s done that inside and it’s reasonable to anticipate he’s going to do it in some form or fashion but he’s also going to play outside.”
Translation: He pulled the Tre Norwood card away from his vest in Carolina and it wasn’t exactly a winner and none of his other cornerbacks, including the recently acquired Ahkello Witherspoon, play the slot. So Sutton is really the only option there.
The addition of Witherspoon does create uncertainty on the outside, however. He could eventually be the second, third or fourth corner depending on how quickly he adapts. Both Witherspoon and Tomlin think that he will learn the defense sooner rather than later.
That means another part of Tomlin’s colorful analogy still holds true, at least when it comes to outside corner. “We’re going to spin the dial through the division of labor in that area,” Tomlin said, “I’m excited about being able to do so and some of the mystery associated with what we’re going to do in that area.”
So we will see how 25 (Witherspoon) does against 42 (Pierre), 31 (Layne) and maybe 20 (Sutton) as the dial continues to spin.