Tomlin breaks protocol, talk about Patriots
From the notebook of a sportswriter who hopes none of his readers tried to get rich Sunday night by betting on the obvious:
n If there鈥檚 one thing over the years, don鈥檛 put money on teams with three-game leads. The Patriots win with 3-, 4- or 5-game leads. We can鈥檛 all be Patriots.
n Mike Tomlin thinks we can. Or he can. Or his team can. Whatever, but he shouldn鈥檛 be talking about that game. I was surprised by his breach in protocol by looking ahead.
n 鈥淢an, I鈥檓 going to embrace the elephant in the room, it鈥檚 going to be fireworks,鈥� Tomlin said of the Patriots before playing the Packers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 probably going to be Part One, and that鈥檚 going to be a big game. But probably, if we鈥檙e both doing what we鈥檙e supposed to do, the second one is really going to be big. And what happens in the first is going to set up the second one and determine the location in the second one.鈥�
n Wow. I want to hear things like that as a reporter, but as a father of an athlete who just went through the PIAA playoffs, you just don鈥檛 look ahead.
n It鈥檚 not bulletin board material I fear. It鈥檚 karma. You don鈥檛 jinx your next game by looking at another one. You just don鈥檛.
n 鈥淗e asked for non-coach speak,鈥� was how Tomlin explained the breach.
n 鈥淭hat actually sounds really weird,鈥� Rodney Harrison told Tony Dungy in the NBC studio. 鈥淟et me clue you in on something,鈥� Dungy said. 鈥淲hen I was coaching, no matter who we played, I was always thinking about you guys (the Patriots).鈥�
n Dungy was 3-5 against the Tom Brady-led Patriots in seven seasons with the Colts. That鈥檚 better than Tomlin鈥檚 10-year record of 1-6, so maybe it wouldn鈥檛 hurt to listen to Dungy. But it鈥檚 just not my style.
n Ben Roethlisberger was limping around the locker room after the game and I told him he鈥檚 not Fran Tarkenton anymore. 鈥淚 know, right?鈥� Roethlisberger said. 鈥淟ike my younger days.鈥�
n Roethlisberger scrambled up out of the pocket three times Sunday for 25 yards, with a long of 14 yards. The last time he ran further was a 16-yarder in the 2014 playoffs. The last time he amassed more was 2012 when he rushed five times for 31 yards. Back when he was a young man of 30.
n Another locker room note on Ben, and editors, don鈥檛 be afraid to cut this one: But he put on an old hoodie sweatshirt. This after his last presser when he wore unbuttoned flannel over an untucked t-shirt. That鈥檚 when I thought he was Landry Jones.
n Jones, the humble ol鈥� lumberjack, walked out of the locker room Sunday night with a sport coat over an untucked button-down shirt. It looked sloppy, but it looked like he was trying. Like Roethlisberger used to.
n Not that Ben鈥檚 become Landry. While Landry鈥檚 never looked better in practice, Ben was brilliant Sunday night. If not for five first-half drops he probably passes for over 400 yards.
n There was also the scrambling, and the blocking. He was out in front of Martavis Bryant on that goal-line reverse. Not sure about 鈥� no, in fact I know that I hated the call, but the TD was there had Bryant cut up between Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro. They were running out in front with Roethlisberger.
n The tepid start with Roethlisberger鈥檚 passing this season has given way to pinpoint brilliance in late-November night games in the northern outdoors. You can鈥檛 ask for more. That arm is back to where it needs to be.
n I don鈥檛 know which was more impressive, the 23-yard sideline throw to Antonio Brown that kick-started the final drive, or the catch by the guy teammates are calling 鈥淭ony Toe-Tap.鈥�
n At one practice last year, Tony did his thing and Tomlin looked at me as I stood along the sideline. He wanted a call. Knowing Toe-Tap the way I do, I just said he was in. Good catch. But someone from the team overruled me, and Tomlin went with that call. Later, film revealed that the Toe-Tap was indeed in. That staffer, I heard, got chewed out by Todd Haley.
n Always assume Antonio is in.
n Knowing this didn鈥檛 stop me from telling the poor folk next to me that Brown couldn鈥檛 possibly have caught this one.
n He did. Never rule Tony Toe-Tap out. Ever.
n Bryant, filling in for JuJu Smith-Schuster, returned the opening kickoff 38 yards, a team-high this season. He also made a great touchdown catch and made combat catches to move the chains. Slowly, but surely, he鈥檚 rounding back into the form the Steelers are going to need if they are to beat the Patriots.
n No, I mean, if they are going to beat the Bengals.
n Whew. Close call.
n The Bengals, Monday night鈥檚 opponent, would love nothing better than to injure as many Steelers as they can. It fills an empty hole where a playoff run used to be.
n Maybe I shouldn鈥檛 have told Le鈥橵eon Bell that he cleared the Game 11 curse.
n That鈥檚 the curse I figure Bill Dudley put on the Steelers鈥� running game after he was traded after the 1946 season. He and Jock Sutherland tiffed and the Steelers traded the league鈥檚 top rusher. He played 11 games that season. And, he played 11 games when he led the NFL for the Steelers in 1942. The 11th game is when Jerome Bettis was hurt while leading the NFL in rushing in 2001. Bell, the NFL鈥檚 leading rusher, cleared that 11th game.
n But Burfict awaits.
n Artie Burns needs to start playing like a No. 1 cornerback, but I鈥檒l settle for a solid No. 2.
n Maybe it was just a bad weekend for 鈥淭he U鈥� at Heinz Field. The Miami product was beaten badly for the Packers鈥� first touchdown, and his illegal hands penalty on a third-down sack revived the Packers鈥� second touchdown drive. Although, that was a ticky-tack call.
n A couple of interesting schematic ploys by the Steelers included the use of Jerald Hawkins as the third offensive tackle in their big-boy run package. His first career appearance only netted five yards in two runs, but it was the start of the game-tying drive, 14-14.
n The other twist was the use of Cameron Heyward as the only defensive linemen in a 6-DB dime package. Heyward got his first sack of the game out of it. Down 21-14 late in the third quarter, on third-and-15, Heyward came with three linebackers and a strong safety, and his sack was reason the Packers had to kick, and miss, a 57-yard field goal. I鈥檓 thinking that play out of that scheme prevented a double-digit deficit.
n Watching the TV replay, I continue to be wholly entertained by Cris Collinsworth. I鈥檝e always like his analysis, and I know most Steelers fans always hated it. I don鈥檛 know why. Even the great Al Michaels told him at one point, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 wonderful analysis.鈥�
n Michaels then threw out the stat about kicking 50-yarders at Heinz Field, that the 35 percent conversion rate there ranks last in the league. That鈥檚 in comparison to the league average 62 percent. It was a prescient stat, in light of what was to come.
n Brown called his second touchdown catch 鈥� the 33-yarder that looked like a routine catch for him 鈥� the more difficult catch compared to his sideline catch. But I see no reason why.
n Good thing Roethlisberger understands Brown so well, because I have a hard time understanding him myself. Just seems a bit out there. Maybe it鈥檚 part of his genius.
n The fact the Packers wouldn鈥檛 go away in the fourth quarter was the most shocking part of their performance. Perhaps stadium officials erred in playing 鈥淩enegade鈥� a second time. They pushed their luck, because Brett Hundley drove the Packers 77 yards for the tying score with 2:02 left. I was among the shocked.
n T.J. Watt鈥檚 vicious sack with 1:14 left set up a second-and-16 from the Green Bay 12. Tomlin was questioned for not calling a timeout, but this is another spot in which I agree with his time management. There鈥檚 no way I was helping the Packers against a defense that鈥檚 given up so many big plays of late. Had the next ballcarrier not stopped the clock by running out of bounds, Tomlin could鈥檝e begun using his timeouts then. As it was, he left the field with one timeout remaining. Superb clock management for the second time in three games. Most Steelers fan, of course, disagree. Vehemently.
n Collinsworth on Tony鈥檚 Toe-Tap: 鈥淥h my goodness I think he did it. 鈥� That is one of the most brilliant plays I鈥檝e seen in a long time.鈥�
n Not me. I see it all the time.
n And I still get fooled.
n A quote to close on: 鈥淎t the end of the day,鈥� said Heyward, 鈥測ou can learn something from that, when you win those type of games. You don鈥檛 want to be in a situation where you haven鈥檛 played a close game. There are things we can work on and things we can grow upon. We鈥檒l take the win.鈥�