As the old saying goes, iron sharpens iron, and Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin is putting that timeless saying to the test during training camp.
Tomlin has always preached breeding competition for his football team, having guys battle one another to develop a sense of toughness and physicality that sets the tone for the regular season. Pittsburgh is known for having one of the most physical training camps across the league, and that was no exception when the pads came on for the first time yesterday.
Tomlin pitted rookie TE Darnell Washington against OLB T.J. Watt in backs on backers, wanting to see what the first year TE was made of in a heavyweight challenge against one of the NFL’s best. When asked how he determines who faces who in backs on backers and OL/DL one-on-one drills, Tomlin mentioned that he likes to consider experience and caliber of player when coming up with the individual matchups.
“That some guys are good dance partners for valid reasons,” Tomlin said to the media Wednesday on video from Steelers.com. “Some guys are good dance partners for intangible reasons. Just in an environment like this, particularly when you talk about people in stages of development, what you’re looking for is people that are at similar stages of development. You know, Isaac [Seumalo] and Cam Hayward are awesome work partners. Well, ’cause they’re both veteran and established interior guys. And so, you’ll see them work a lot together. That’s an easy pair to match up.”
Pairing OG Isaac Seumalo and DL Cameron Heyward together in OL/DL one-on-ones is a perfect example of Tomlin finding the right “dance partner” for a player based on experience and overall caliber. Heyward is a multiple Pro-Bowl selection and has been one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league for nearly a decade. Seumalo, on the other hand, may be Pittsburgh’s best OL on the roster after signing with the team this offseason, bringing a ton of experience and strong tape to the table as a big upgrade at LG.
Obviously, not every player on the roster can be the caliber of Heyward and Seumalo, but Tomlin uses this methodology to pick the right matchups for players at all stages in their careers. For example, pitting OL Spencer Anderson and DL Keeanu Benton would make sense given the fact that both are rookies in their first training camp while OG Kevin Dotson and DL Montravius Adams would make sense as two veteran players of lesser caliber than Heyward and Seumalo.
The goal is to make guys push each other to be better. If Tomlin were to put Heyward against Anderson, Heyward would likely smoke Anderson on nearly every rep. However, pitting two studs against one another will make both players better, an environment Tomlin is looking to create with his football team in Latrobe.
