Steelers QB Landry Jones on the first team, Ben Roethlisberger was OK’ed by medical staff on Sunday
PITTSBURGH 鈥� Mike Tomlin confirmed on Tuesday that Ben Roethlisberger will be out against the Patriots after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Tomlin would not speculate on Roethlisberger鈥檚 status beyond this week, however.
Landry Jones will receive all of the first-team reps in practice this week in preparation to start against the New England Patriots, Tomlin said. Jones has been a student of Todd Haley鈥檚 offensive system for the past four years, but it鈥檚 less about what he knows and more about what he can do.
鈥淚鈥檒l say this about Landry: He鈥檚 been here a number of years now,鈥� Tomlin said. 鈥淗e has a very good understanding of our offense, but the knowledge and understanding is one thing. The ability to execute is another.鈥�
Tomlin said the Steelers will form their game plan around the progression Jones shows this week.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important that he operates and operates in rhythm and makes good and quick decisions,鈥� Tomlin said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to operate in his comfort zone.鈥�
Zach Mettenberger will be the back-up quarterback but will receive an opportunity this week to show what he can do in an increased role, Tomlin said. Mettenberger was claimed by the Steelers off waivers just before the season.
鈥淗e鈥檚 done a good job of getting up to speed in the short period of time that he鈥檚 been here,鈥� Tomlin said. 鈥淢uch like I talked about with Landry, what he knows and what he鈥檚 prepared to execute are maybe two different things.鈥�
The Steelers will also be without defensive end Cam Heyward, who Tomlin ruled out with a hamstring.
TALKING POINTS
n Even with a torn left meniscus, Roethlisberger was given the OK by the Steelers medical staff to return for the second half against the Dolphins. 鈥淗e got medical clearance to do so, and he was willing to do it,鈥� Tomlin said. 鈥淭here really wasn鈥檛 a lot of discussion. They analyzed him and evaluated him in the latter part of the second quarter while we was still on the field.鈥�
n Tomlin said Sunday鈥檚 loss came down to time of possession. The Dolphins (36:30) held the ball 16 minutes longer than the Steelers (23:30), which enabled them to grind out 166 of their 222 rushing yards in the second half. 鈥淟argely if a I had to summarize it in a nutshell, I think we wore down as the game wore on,鈥� Tomlin said. On the offensive side of the ball, Tomlin pointed to the Steelers鈥� poor third down conversion rate (3 of 11).
n Tomlin pointed to a pair of defensive blunders by William Gay and Artie Burns against the Dolphins that changed the climate of the first half. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 allow those two plays in all likelihood, although we don鈥檛 have rhythm, we go into halftime up as opposed to down,鈥� Tomlin said. The first was on a 53-yard pickup over Gay to the Steelers鈥� 1-yard line. The second came just before halftime when Burns failed to pick up Jarvis Landry on a switch release. 鈥淭hose two plays were feel-flipping plays,鈥� Tomlin said. 鈥淧lays that generated point opportunities for them. Plays that, quite frankly, should have produced opportunities for us to head to the sideline.鈥�
n Although Ladarius Green is eligible to start practicing, Tomlin was not ready to say he will be activated this week. 鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 looked at those considerations yet,鈥� Tomlin said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been talking about more pressing issues in terms of guys who are dealing with more current issues in terms of a halter standpoint.鈥� Tomlin said he would meet with the Steelers鈥� medical staff about Green this afternoon.
n Tom Brady isn鈥檛 showing any signs of rust from his time away, judging by his last two outings. Brady has thrown for 762 yards with six touchdowns and zero interceptions in wins over the Bengals and Browns since returning from his four-game suspension. 鈥淚 think one of the things that he鈥檚 really doing well and often overlooked is his ability to extend plays,鈥� Tomlin said. 鈥淲hen ball doesn鈥檛 come out on rhythm, he moves around and finds eligibles. He stretches the field both horizontally and vertically in those moments.鈥�
n Patriots Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett are big-bodied tight ends who are dangerous in the red zone but also are big-play threats. 鈥淭he combination of these two guys and the way they utilize them is very good in their efforts to keep defenses off balanced,鈥� Tomlin said.
n The Patriots feature a two-back system with former Steeler LaGarette Blount and James White. Blount is the powerful, bruiser back, and White is a quick, shifty back who can catch passes out of the backfield. 鈥淭hunder and lightning, if you will,鈥� Tomlin said.
n Tomlin noted that Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler primarily shadowed Antonio Brown in last year鈥檚 Week 1 meeting, and he anticipates it happening again. 鈥淗e appears to be that match-up, shutdown corner,鈥� Tomlin said. 鈥淗is coverage is good and consistent and tight. He鈥檚 good at the ball whether it鈥檚 down field or in the short passing game.鈥�
INJURY REPORT
n The statuses of Markus Wheaton (shoulder), Ryan Shazier (knee), Shamarko Thomas (groin), Marcus Gilbert (ankle), Rob Golden (foot), Mike Mitchell (knee) and DeAngelo Williams (knee) will depend on their practice participation this week.
n In addition to Roethlisberger and Heyward, Cody Wallace (knee) was ruled out this week.
THIS N鈥橝T
Tomlin has faced Bill Belichick enough times in his coaching career to know what to expect, or what not to expect, from the Patriots. 鈥淚 doubt New England formulates their plan based off what others have done,鈥� Tomlin said. 鈥淚 think generally they stick to their script, their personality and their comfort zone.鈥�
QUOTEWORTHY
鈥淎 shootout is not the type of game we鈥檙e looking for under the present circumstances for us.鈥� 鈥� Tomlin, on playing the Patriots with Landry Jones starting at quarterback.