Pittsburgh Steelers OT Broderick Jones had a brutal showing in Pittsburgh’s second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. Jones struggled to generate power and use independent hands, and Buffalo DE Greg Rousseau had no problems beating Jones and pressuring the quarterback. Jones told the media on Tuesday that he knows he has to be better, but Mike Tomlin said that he’ll be judged by how he responds Saturday against the Detroit Lions in Pittsburgh’s final preseason game.
“We don’t care about criticism. That’s the world we live in. We’re professionals. His response to performance will be judged on his next performance,” Tomlin said via Steelers.com when asked about Jones’ maturity in responding to criticism.
Jones has to show that he’s better than he was against the Bills. While Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said the team won’t bench Jones, he was a major liability against the Bills. If he struggles again against Detroit, it’s going to be really hard to make him a Week 1 starter.
While Jones has been playing right tackle in place of the injured Troy Fautanu and some have pointed to that for the reason of his struggles, it’s his hand usage and lack of power in his hands that have been the issue and not anything to do with him playing on the right side. Fautanu is reportedly going to start Week 1, which would kick Jones back to the left side, and Jones as the blindside protector could go sideways if he continues to show the same struggles he had against the Bills.
There’s no doubt that it’s a big game for Jones on Saturday, and his response is going to have to come in the form of a good performance. He can say all the right things and admit fault, but at the end of the day, he has to show growth on the field and show that he’s a better player. He’ll have a prime opportunity with the rest of the starting offense against the Lions, but another poor performance could really call into question whether he should be a Week 1 starter. That would be disappointing given the team was expecting growth out of him in Year 2.
Jones might be the most-watched player on offense aside from QB Russell Wilson Saturday, as his struggles were pronounced against Buffalo. Hopefully, he can turn things around and put a good game on tape and assuage any fears about starting him Week 1. Tomlin, the coaching staff and the fan base will be watching closely.
