Broderick Jones will be a hot topic today when Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addresses the media, I’m sure. A second-year first-round pick demoted and then benched after playing in a rotation, many are wondering about his future. Some are even questioning his drive, and he hasn’t always helped his case. Mark Kaboly is the latest reporter who claims to have “heard” things.
“I know [Chris Hoke] said last night that he didn’t seem interested in training camp”, he said of Broderick Jones on 93.7 The Fan yesterday. “I heard that maybe he wasn’t very interested after he found out he wasn’t gonna start this week. He just didn’t look like he was that engaged. Maybe that’s part of why he’s sitting down more than his [injuries]. Maybe they’re trying to send him a message”.
Broderick Jones, drafted 14th overall last year, started the majority of his rookie season. While the Steelers wanted him to start at left tackle this year, that rested on rookie Troy Fautanu starting at right tackle. Fautanu’s knee injury slowed that path, and now they find Fautanu ready and Jones not.
As a result, the Steelers plugged Fautanu into the starting lineup, planning to rotate Jones in. Unfortunately, he committed a false start and two holds during a six-play sequence, which ended that plan prematurely. After starting the season opener, he played just 11 snaps last week.
Afterward, Jones said, “I just feel like I wasn’t playing up to the speed of the game”, via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I wasn’t playing with that 110% attitude. I feel like that’s all it was for me. I have to continue to push myself to be better and continue to work.”
It’s quite possible that Jones took his demotion hard and as a result gave less than complete effort. That is a natural human response and would be unsurprising for a young player. This is likely the first time in his life that Jones has lost a starting job, and that is bound to cause frustration.
It is especially so when the evident offseason plan goes haywire, and you’re dealing with injuries. Broderick Jones knows as well as anybody that he should have been playing left tackle all offseason. Instead, he had to keep flipping back and forth until Fautanu’s injury forced him to stay put at right tackle. He found himself caught in limbo, unable to prepare for the left side, the consequence being his demotion.
But does the tape actually bear out this idea that Jones wasn’t trying? There are apparently reports about the Steelers feeling frustration about his unwillingness to finish blocks, but what, then, is this? Effort doesn’t seem to be a problem here, and quite frankly, effort is frequently a crutch used in place of genuine criticism.
Broderick Jones isn’t playing the highest level of football right now, and perhaps he hasn’t handled everything in the manner that might have been most productive. From an unsettled position to injuries to who knows what else, he has had a full plate.
While he has made some comments blaming himself for his own effort, Jones is also just that kind of person. He is going to put the blame on himself and talk about how he has to do better. And of course he has to do better, but does that include improving his effort and motivation? I’m not sure I buy that.
