Patrick Peterson has been effusive with his praise of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. It had an impact on him signing with Pittsburgh. Today, Peterson had his introductory press conference and told a funny story between him and Tomlin.
In Peterson’s rookie season, he and the Arizona Cardinals took on the Steelers. He said Tomlin was able to get him offsides on a field-goal attempt due to something he saw on film earlier in the year.
“I had blocked a field goal the game before,” said Peterson on the team’s YouTube channel. “He [Tomlin] knew I had a good jump coming off the right side. So, I can’t remember who was the holder, but they never gave us the flash: anytime the holder [would] hold his hand up that means the ball was coming. They ended up giving me a flash and I jumped offsides and I hurried up and tried to call a timeout. Coach looked at me and told me ‘I got you.’”
The Steelers ended up winning the game 32-20 and that offsides penalty made the field goal much easier, turning 47-yard attempt to a 42-yard attempt. If you would like to see the clip it is below. You can see Peterson pointing over to the sideline in a “You got me” way while you can see Tomlin laughing about it.
This story shows how prepared Tomlin is for games. He knew the tendency of a rookie by only the fifth game of the season and was able to help the team out because of that. After this story and how many players across the league have said they enjoy playing for Tomlin, it makes sense why Peterson would want to join the Steelers.
For what it is worth, Peterson has shown the ability to block field goals, even in the latter part of his career. Just this past year he blocked a kick against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Steelers are getting a smart and talented player in Peterson. Pairing him with a coach like Tomlin who knows how to game plan really well and expose tendencies can only mean good things. It will certainly be fun to see how Tomlin and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin utilize the crafty veteran this season.
