The Steelers have sat a large portion of their starters during the preseason, and that could come to bite them when the regular season begins. Among those with zero preseason snaps are Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf, Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., and on and on. Former Steelers DL Chris Hoke, now an NFL analyst, has some concerns about how that manifests itself in September.
“I’m surprised we’re not seeing these guys play preseason”, Hoke said Saturday night of starters like Rodgers and Metcalf on KDKA’s Nightly Sports Call. “I think the first couple of weeks it’s going to be really sloppy and we’re going to see these guys grow a lot week to week, so be patient the first month of the season. But overall, I think we’re going to be okay”.
As you might imagine, it’s not just the lack of preseason games, but the lack of time generally. The Steelers added many important, high-profile starters this offseason, including some of them very late in the process. Specifically, Rodgers, Ramsey, and Jonnu Smith hardly worked with the team at all before training camp.
The starters who have played the most are those on the Steelers’ offensive line, sans Isaac Seumalo. The rest of the starters are young, early- to mid-20s guys with little experience. Troy Fautanu has one regular-season game under his belt, and the rest don’t have much more.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin’s philosophy has been to maximize the reps of the less experienced players, even if the more experienced starters don’t have a history here. He believes in the high football IQ of guys like Rodgers and Ramsey, so he is not asking them to show it during the preseason.
One NFL trend in recent years has seen teams play their starters less and less in the preseason, but there are some signs of a reversal of course. The Bengals, for example, are playing theirs this year, like Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. The Steelers, or rather Tomlin, are falling somewhere in between with their starters. Those he feels need the work are getting it, provided they are healthy.
Hoke’s concern is at least fair, perhaps even warranted. The Steelers have a lot of moving parts in their starting lineup, and it’s not like training camp didn’t reveal some concerns about how things are meshing.
Indeed, prior to last night’s preseason game, the Steelers held a joint practice with the Buccaneers, and Pittsburgh’s starters could have fared better. Not enough to concern Tomlin to the point of playing some guys who could have played, of course.
On paper, the Steelers have an opening schedule that could be less demanding on their starters. Particularly the secondary, facing the Jets and QB Justin Fields in Week 1. No offense to the former Steelers arm, but he isn’t an elite passer. But Aaron Rodgers will have to face Sauce Gardner, so that will be fun.
