5 things to watch for in Steelers preseason game at Jaguars
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Camp has broken at Saint Vincent, leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers to their UPMC Rooney Sports Complex facility the remainder of the 2022 season. But before they have a practice on the South Side, the Steelers head to northern Florida for their only preseason road game.
Here are five things to watch for in Saturday’s 7 p.m. game against the Jacksonville Jaguars:
1. Pickett’s place
There was not necessarily a formal adjustment to the Steelers’ quarterback depth chart, but coach Mike Tomlin said Kenny Pickett — and not Mason Rudolph — will be the second quarterback in on Saturday after Mitch Trubisky starts.
That differs from the Trubisky-to-Rudolph-to-Pickett order used during last week’s preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks. Tomlin denied the tweak was a reward for Pickett’s performance in that game (13 for 15, 95 yards, two touchdowns) nor a rebuke of Rudolph’s play throughout camp (which has been consistent). Tomlin’s desire to play Pickett earlier in the game is more of a function of wanting to expose the rookie to more game reps and against a higher-caliber of competition.
As a first-round pick who already was popular in Pittsburgh, fans surely aren’t displeased they’ll get a more prominent look at Pickett this week.
2. The stars come out
Traditionally, Tomlin has been like most modern NFL coaches in that it was during the penultimate preseason game that he played his starters the longest. This season, though, is the first time Tomlin will preside over a preseason schedule of only three games. It always had been (at least) four in the past.
As such, there was some speculation Tomlin might wait for the third (and now, final) preseason game to let his prominent players play. After all, the new 17-game NFL regular season still starts the weekend after Labor Day, meaning the third preseason game still provides a two-week lead time to recover from minor injuries for those who play in it.
Tomlin on Thursday confirmed he planned to have “an inclusive mentality” with regard to deploying his stars Saturday, the second preseason game. That suggests the only time all preseason fans will get to see the likes of T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Diontae Johnson and other stars in game action will be while they are on the field in Jacksonville.
3. Is Bush burning?
Earlier this week, inside linebacker Devin Bush spoke publicly for the first time since the early stages of training camp. It came a day after Tomlin openly acknowledged the Steelers needed better play from their inside linebackers, particularly in coverage. Bush was poor in that area against the Seahawks after struggling across the board in 2021 in his return from a torn ACL suffered early during the 2020 season.
Will Bush come out with a fire to prove he’s the player the Steelers traded up to select No. 10 overall just 3½ years ago? Bush’s default personality setting comes across as indifferent/content, but with the trajectory of his career on the line, making a play or two against the Jaguars could go a long way to silencing his critics.
In a competition with Robert Spillane to be the second starter at ILB next to Myles Jack, Bush appeared to take more first-team reps this past week than he had over the first 2½ weeks of camp. That might have been more a sign coaches were displeased with Spillane’s performance vs. Seattle than anything Bush has done but regardless should lead to early opportunities for Bush to make plays against starting-caliber competition Saturday.
4. ‘Jaylen Warren football’
Upon joining the Steelers 3½ years ago, Benny Snell famously described his style of running as “Benny Snell football.” Snell has been penciled in this season as the No. 2 running back behind workhorse Najee Harris, but is Jaylen Warren making a case for his job?
An undrafted rookie from Oklahoma State, Warren was productive in college and has shown to be a hard runner with good hands to catch the ball out of the backfield throughout training camp (albeit those hands have failed him on fumbles at times).
Because Snell and other running backs have missed time during camp with injury, it’s difficult to decipher with any preciseness, but Warren might be on the verge of passing Snell on the depth chart. With Snell not playing last week against Seattle, Warren had 10 touches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Warren better fix those fumbling issues, but if he does, he has a good chance at making the season-opening active roster.
5. Oh, Canada
In a mock up of preparations for a regular-season game week, the Steelers did some gameplanning for the opponent over the past two practices. While, of course, the process was more of a mimicking of an “install” rather than a true complete construction of one, it will be increasingly interesting to see what the offense looks like under second-year coordinator Matt Canada.
Last year was Canada’s first calling plays at the NFL level, and he was doing so while in part deferring to 18-year veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. This season, Canada should be more comfortable doing things his way, and he has quarterbacks who better fit in executing it with Trubisky and Pickett. Especially with those two being the first two quarterbacks in, don’t be surprised if Canada adds a wrinkle or two.
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