When the Steelers talk about communication being a critical component of play in 2020, many feel they are paying simple lip service to an age-old issue in the NFL.
Broken or blown coverages will add up to a loss -- or at least a very ugly play -- nearly every time in the NFL, where quarterbacks will spot those kind of things quickly and exploit them.
In this season, however, they could be even more magnified because of the lack of practice time teams will have under the NFL's COVID-19 protocols.
With no on-field work in the offseason, a truncated preseason that includes just 14 padded practices and no preseason games, teams breaking in new players wearing the green dot on their helmets and communicating the defense from the sideline to the other 10 guys on the field are going to have their work cut out for them.
It's a big reason why the Steelers are so comfortable going back to Vince Williams as one of their inside linebackers this season.
Make no mistake, Devin Bush, who won't come off the field much -- if at all -- this season, will likely be the Steelers' primary defensive play caller. He'll likely wear the green dot and have the speaker in his helmet.
"He’s the type of guy that has to be a hub of communication," Tomlin said. "We were thoughtful about the things that we asked him to do in that regard a year ago. He was challenged enough just to play and be as productive a member of the unit as he was for us. It’s reasonable for us to expect him to take a significant step in those unofficial endeavors that kind of encompasses his position."
If you recall last season, because the Steelers were breaking in Mark Barron as their nickel and dime linebacker in his first season with the team, Bush was a rookie and Williams was relegated to being a one or two-down player, they tried other guys making the play calls. T.J. Watt tried his hand at it. Barron did it, as well.
They never asked it of Bush, despite working with him doing it in OTAs and training camp. This year, however, he will likely be the primary play caller, with Williams helping him out as much as possible.
How will Williams do that?
"Just lead by example," Williams said. "I tell Devin all the time that middle linebackers are vocal communicators in the middle of the field. The more you make calls, the more comfortable you get with it, the more people get confidence in you making those calls. He is just taking it in stride, watching me, seeing how I do things and learning."
MORE STEELERS
• Diontae Johnson said Ben Roethlisberger was throwing full speed and "had a nice, tight spiral like you want it. He’s going to put the ball wherever he wants it." That's good news for the Steelers. But the other thing that was good to see was Roethlisberger making throws that weren't necessarily with a solid base under him. The Steelers released video Tuesday of Roethlisberger taking the snap, dodging a defender and then making an off-balance throw, something he's done thousands of times in his career. But those are arm throws, ones on which you can't drive the ball with the lower half, those are the ones that help make him special. Showing he could make those kind of throws -- even in a less-than-competitive period -- shows he's feeling pretty comfortable throwing the ball. -- Lolley
• We haven't gotten an opportunity to see the Steelers working on the field yet, so we don't know exactly what the offense is going to look like this season. As I wrote earlier this week, the offense is going to look very similar to what they have been doing because it's still Roethlisberger running the show and the Steelers want to keep him in his comfort zone. But that doesn't mean the team won't be using some window dressing, pre-snap motion and those kind of things. more so than they have in the past. That's one of the reasons quarterbacks coach Matt Canada was brought in. And Johnson let slip this week that the Steelers are working on some of those things. "I know it’s new stuff. I’m still learning all of new motions and stuff, stuff he’s brought over to us," Johnson said. -- Lolley
• One of the reasons why teams will have expanded practice squads -- from 12 to 16 players this year -- is because of a nod to the effects coronavirus could have on a team during the season. With the rules currently in place, don't expect teams to sign a lot of players who have been outside of the team's "bubble" once the season starts. Any such signing would take several days to be able to even participate in a practice because of the testing that would need to be done to make sure the player is free of the virus before he has access to the rest of the team. "The things that we are working under today may not be the things that we are working under as we push into the season," Tomlin said. "But that is the circumstance today and that is why you have to be thoughtful about forecasting where you need to fortify your depth and so forth because it will take a few days and an effort to get thoughts or plans into action in regard to the acquisition of players." -- Lolley
PENGUINS
• The Penguins enter Game 4 of their qualifying-round series against Montreal this afternoon separated from the start of their off-season by just one loss, since the Canadiens hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five. That is certainly not the position they expected to be in when the postseason got underway last Saturday, and if their planned run is derailed in the first week, what already figured to be a busy time before the start of the 2020-21 season for Jim Rutherford could get downright hectic, because individual performances against Montreal surely will cause the front office and coaching staff to reconsider their evaluations of some players, and quite possibly lead to more personnel moves than might otherwise have been made. Of the 27 players the Penguins' website lists on their major-league roster, 11 are on expiring contracts. Eight of them will be restricted free agents, while three will be unrestricted. The Penguins are believed to have about $63 million in salaries committed to next season and now that the salary-cap ceiling of $81.5 million for then has been established, Rutherford has a feel for the kind of financial maneuvering he can do in the months ahead. He has, however, refrained from discussing contracts with anyone whose deal is expiring because he didn't want to risk having negotiations to pull a player's attention away from the task at hand. "For some players, it wouldn't be a distraction," he said. "For the odd player, it might be a distraction. I think the focus now should be on winning games. We're going to have time to do that when the appropriate time comes." Especially if the "appropriate time" comes a lot sooner than he might have expected just a few days ago. -- Dave Molinari
• Most, if not all, of the Penguins' problems in the series so far have been self-inflicted, but it's possible that the pandemic that disrupted the 2019-20 season isn't doing them any favors against the Canadiens, either. Three Montreal defensemen -- Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot -- are averaging over 25 minutes of ice time per game, which put all of them in the top nine in the league going into Thursday's games. (To put that in perspective, consider that Kris Letang is the only Penguins defenseman to place in the top 26.) Under normal circumstances, when the postseason comes in the wake of a grueling 82-game schedule, the chance of players being able to handle such a heavy workload effectively would be diminished, because fatigue could be more of an issue for at least some. As it is, however, players went more than four months between games after the NHL suspended operations March 12, giving them a chance to recover from any nagging injuries and to replenish their energy reserves. Whether that has had a positive impact on how Montreal's big-minutes defensemen have performed is conjecture, but it certainly hasn't hurt. Petry, in particular, definitely won't complain about it, since he has accounted for both of Montreal's game-winning goals. -- Molinari
• Penguins winger Patrick Marleau, a non-factor in the series so far, has appeared in 194 career playoff games, the most of any player who hasn't won a Cup. He is not, however, the only prominent, long-serving veteran who still is chasing his first championship in the NHL. Canadiens goalie Carey Price -- you might have noticed him once or twice in the series -- and Toronto center Jason Spezza are on that list, along with a number of others. And while all of them absolutely would love to get the experience of lifting the Cup, regardless of the circumstances, one has to wonder how the experience would compare to having a chance to do it in an arena full of people, even if it would be on the road. (Fans in just about every city seem to respect what it takes to earn a Cup, and to politely celebrate the accomplishment if a visiting team happens to win it.) There's no way of knowing, of course, because none of those guys will have anything against which to compare it, but it seems like the accomplishment they have been chasing for their entire careers might not be quite as satisfying as it would in any other year. It's safe to assume, though, that all would be more than willing to find out just what the feeling would be like. -- Molinari
PIRATES
• With all the talk of the Pirates tanking, it should be noted that even if they finish with the worst record in baseball, there is no guarantee they will receive the first pick in the 2021 amateur draft. Per the March agreement the league and players association are still operating under, commissioner Rob Manfred's office has the power to potentially set the draft order if fewer than 81 games are played, as long as the players association is consulted. That condition will obviously be met this year, as teams were scheduled to play 60 games, and some seem doubtful to even reach that after several teams have been sidelined with lengthy COVID-19 shutdowns. The spirit of the clause seems to be in case the regular season cannot be completed, but it's something that could potentially loom as the season nears its completion. -- Alex Stumpf
• Since players receive a prorated amount of service days per calendar day they are on the 2020 roster, Nick Burdi should have finally shed his Rule 5 status this season before being placed on the 45-day injured list Wednesday. That doesn't have much impact for his status with the team anymore, though. Burdi can now be optioned to the minor-leagues starting in 2021, but his talent level was never in question. When healthy, he is clearly a quality pitcher. The problem is the Pirates will still have to either carry him on the 40-man roster or expose him to waivers. Injured players need to be added back to the 40-man for the offseason and cannot be stored on the IL. If his elbow injury turns out to be serious and cuts into his availability for next season, the Pirates might opt to not keep him on the 40-man, especially since they have used three of his six years of team control already. -- Stumpf
• The word out of Altoona, Pa. is that the hitter who has impressed coaches the most so far is Oneil Cruz. The 21-year-old is in a unique situation, as the Pirates would prefer to not add younger players who are not on the 40-man roster unless they need to because it would potentially eat into their option years and take a roster spot away from a more major-league ready player this offseason. Cruz has not played above class AA Altoona, but he was a part of the club's preseason exhibitions in July. He's also already on the 40-man roster, so this will count as an option year for him, regardless of if he appears with the Pirates or not. The Pirates don't want to rush their prospects, but if they need a hitter down the stretch or just want to guarantee he sees some competitive pitching in 2020, it's not out of the question that Cruz might reach the majors this year, or at least be a part of the expanded taxi squad. -- Stumpf
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