Less than 24 hours after going through a rather physical, intense Friday Night Lights practice at Latrobe High School in front of nearly 14,000 fans, the Pittsburgh Steelers were surprisingly back in pads for Saturday’s session back at Saint Vincent College.
While the decision to be in pads again after such a short turnaround certainly raised some eyebrows, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters after Saturday’s practice that he was using the day as an opportunity to try and replicate the season with short weeks in an effort to “harden” the Steelers overall.
“We do those things thoughtfully, man, because we just wanna harden this group, not only in terms of physical preparation but mental preparation. The last 24 hours is kind of reflective of how the season could be from time to time,” Tomlin said Saturday, according to video via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski. “We’ll play on a Monday night and have to sprint into the next week, or we’ll have a Thursday night game and be sprinting all week. And so, you take moments like this in preparation and you talk about the aches and pains coupled with a short turnaround in an environment like this.
“But you also want to teach ’em and train them. It’s reflective of what happens in the season. And so I was really interested in the spirit in which they took the field today.”
That reasoning for why the Steelers were in pads again on Saturday afternoon on Chuck Noll Field certainly makes sense from Tomlin’s perspective. While training camp is about figuring out who is going to go into the season with you and what type of team you’re going to be, it’s also an opportunity to replicate some experiences within the season.
Pittsburgh will face a number of short weeks during the 2023 season. In Week Two Pittsburgh plays at home on Monday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns and then has to turn around for a trip to Las Vegas for a matchup against the Raiders in Week Three.
Later in the season, after a Week Eight matchup at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh hosts Tennessee in Week Nine on Thursday Night Football in a short turnaround. In Week 13, the Steelers host the Arizona Cardinals and then turn right around for a Week 14 home matchup on Thursday Night Football against the New England Patriots.
There’s also a Saturday matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals at home after a Week 15 road trip to Indianapolis.
Throughout the 2023 season the Steelers will be no stranger to short weeks and short turnarounds, so kudos to Tomlin for taking advantage of the schedule in training camp to try and replicate the season. We’ll see how it helps the players who make the 53-man roster from a preparation standpoint mentally and physically.
