Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin rarely second-guesses himself - at least not publicly - but he has a couple of times lately, including during Tuesday’s weekly news conference.
Not that he and his defensive coaches planned for the Chargers exactly as they would have with a full line-up but Tomlin did admit that they should have done things differently than they did while missing 3 key defenders – TJ Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joe Haden – and allowing 41 points.
“With the configuration of people we had available on defense we probably should have done some things differently more out of our personality to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin reflected. “Drawing inside the lines when (we had) significant people missing kind of at every level we weren’t able to be as good as we desired to be and win those moments versus a well-balanced group like that.”
LA QB Justin Herbert not only threw for 382 yards and 3 touchdowns but he also ran for 90 more yards, including one 36-yard scramble. “We weren’t good enough to keep the quarterback in the pocket with our four-man rush,” Tomlin said. “Under normal circumstances our four-man rush is usually good enough to keep quarterbacks in the pocket, Buffalo for example. It was not good enough with some of the people we were missing; not only Watt but (Isaiah) Loudermilk has given us good quality reps in recent weeks so I thought that was a factor in the game.”
Then, of course, there were the absences of Fitzpatrick and Haden in the secondary. “We were less aggressive with maybe some of our blitz game,” Tomlin lamented. “We felt like we needed 7 people in coverage so we didn’t get after (Herbert) as much as we would like.”
When they did, Herbert either ran away from the pressure then, worse, threw that 53-yard TD pass to a wide-open Mike Williams which ultimately lost the game. Does that happen if Fitzpatrick is at safety instead of rookie Trey Norwood? We’ll never know. But Tomlin says that Norwood and others who were pressed into action – Delontae Scott, Darren Tuszka, Daniel Archibong, and Karl Joseph – will benefit in the longer run.
“Regardless of their performances, they’re going to be better for having an in-stadium experience and we’re going to be better,” said Tomlin who added that it’s not just the players. “It was one of those games that was something to learn from, particularly from a coach’s perspective – and we will.”
The encouraging news is that while he may have learned a lesson Sunday night Tomlin may not have to worry about formulating a better game plan with a patchwork defense going into Cincinnati. He also said he anticipates that Watt, Fitzpatrick and Haden all have a good chance to return this week.