Pittsburgh Steelers second-year offensive tackle Broderick Jones had a bad game in Pittsburgh’s 9-3 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday. For lack of a better term, Bills DE Greg Rousseau ate Jones’ lunch on a number of occasions, with Jones’ lack of power on his punch a major issue throughout his time on the field. Jones knows that his power wasn’t where it needs to be, telling reporters on Tuesday that he needs to be more physical and set the tone early.
“I just got to be better. For me, for us as an offense, I feel like we try and always get that extra emphasis on starting fast and being physical, and for me, I feel like I didn’t set the tone from the beginning of the game,” Jones said via 93.7 The Fan on Twitter.
Pretty much anyone watching that game could see that Jones struggled, and his power was really the biggest issue. His technique was fine, his sets were fine, and he did have some good reps. But when it came to his punch, he just had nothing behind it and didn’t use independent hands. This allowed Rousseau to run through him and get around and pressure or sack the quarterback.
At least Jones recognized that it was an issue, and I’m sure he’ll work with Pat Meyer and the rest of the offensive coaching staff to make sure that he’s improving. Meyer’s big on the use of independent hands, and when Jones was getting beat badly, he was using both hands simultaneously, so when he lost the rep, he was completely out of the play.
There’s no doubt Jones has to get better. Gerry Dulac reported the other day that there’s no chance Jones goes back to the bench after starting as a rookie, but he didn’t look like an NFL starting offensive tackle the other day, and he needs to show that he can be. He’ll have one last chance before the season opener if he plays on Saturday against the Detroit Lions, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Pittsburgh’s starting offensive line get a crack at it after the group has struggled for most of the preseason.
After how he’s played so far, Jones will be the focus of many throughout the summer and leading into Week 1. If his power doesn’t improve quickly, it will be hard to justify starting him.
