Friday Insider: Never really a communication issue
"We couldn't just go out there and play like robots."
One particularly prominent player on the Steelers' defense was telling me that this week and, I'm not gonna lie, I didn't understand it at all.
Because here's what did make sense to me, and it does now more than ever following Teryl Austin's revealing remarks yesterday on the South Side about focusing more on schematics of late as an element of surprise, rather than assuming the athletes will find a way to win the day because of being placed in predictable settings.
You know, that thing James Harrison once told me atop a hill in Latrobe: "Football's a simple game down there: Beat the man across from you."
The cement wall in that, of course, when the man across from you begins doing the beating. And as such, on three separate occasions this season, when Mike Tomlin and Austin weren't wild about their chances against the man across from you, they whipped up some different Xs to their Os and, specifically Sunday against the Bengals, very different. More formations. More personnel involved. More stuff that Zac Taylor and Cincinnati's staff hadn't seen on any film.
It worked, too. Really well. And the players thought so, too.
So how to explain, then, that sentiment up top, one that was shared by others?
Well, a little more prying on my part and the answer became clear: Way, way, way too much had been left to the players and their judgment, largely in the form of Tomlin's super-ambitious "cover people" plan that'd allow Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter to swallow up a colossal percentage of the secondary's responsibilities. And when that wasn't working -- at all -- that prompted players from other positions to stray and try to compensate, resulting mostly in mayhem at all levels.
So, combine the hard lessons learned in Cincinnati, and then the acquisition of Kyle Dugger to become an instant starter at safety, and then Ramsey super-smoothly adjusting to safety, and then Austin utilizing Nick Herbig more often as a third edge rusher, and then Payton Wilson erupting into outright excellence once his list had been cut down, and then Patrick Queen following suit this past Sunday, and then James Pierre blowing well above the bar that'd been set by Slay at outside corner, and then ... yeah.
As that same individual above would elaborate for me, "We've talked about communication, but that hasn't been the thing. We all needed to do what we need to do, 1 out of 11, every man doing the job. And if you have that, you can just play football. Just go play."
They've done that. All levels. It shows. It's real.
• Some coordinators shelter themselves when times are tough. Matt Canada used to pretty much hide, I'd been told, in his office at the farthest end of a hallway in the team's headquarters, and he'd emerge only when needed. Not these two. Austin's been both aggressive and receptive in getting feedback from his players, never more than this month. Arthur Smith's been that way, as well. Which, I've got to say, is awesome. No amount of video or data can supplant what the players themselves experience out between the hashes.
• Yet another example: I'd never really thought of Mason Rudolph as a tempo-type quarterback, and I'm not sure many others had, either, if only because there hadn't been much precedent for it. But nonstop discussions with Smith, from the day Rudolph was signed, had the coordinator ready to make that call Sunday on Rudolph's very first series.
• Don't sweat Tomlin's remark this week about Slay getting his job back. The feedback I've gotten on Pierre, that's too much for anyone to ignore over something as silly as seniority or contract status. Pierre's about to see a slew of snaps, in Chicago and beyond.
• I'll be stunned -- nothing less than stunned -- if Aaron Rodgers starts Sunday. That's not a prediction. That's not information. It's years of paying close attention to Tomlin, what he says, how he reacts in such situations. And it's got little to do with Rudolph, though the security's welcome, I'm sure. It's got everything to do with not jeopardizing Rodgers further.
But hey, should know more today.
PENGUINS
• Nope, not a thing new on ownership. I'm expecting to hear more next week, but it's zero now.
• I'm loving observing how those in charge are genuinely agitated if/when the team doesn't perform well. That's been happening for, oh, I'd say the past couple weeks now. And to be all-the-way honest, I'm not sure it'd been happening before that. Winning raises expectations among winners, regardless of where anyone on the outside -- or the inside, for that matter -- thought this season might go.
• Erik Karlsson's resurrection has been vital to this start, but he'd be the first -- and he'd have ample company -- to deflect credit to Parker Wotherspoon, his partner since the opening of camp. And not just because Wotherspoon's metrics at five-on-five are the literal best of any regular on the roster, regardless of position, with a 52.9 Corsi For percentage. He's also been the first to step up when a teammate, including Karlsson, might be in trouble. None of that's escaped notice or appreciation.
• Even though the Penguins, and Dan Muse in particular, are getting hosed by the refs, don't expect to see any biting back. As one veteran player told me, that only worsens the situation in that the referees then become defensive.
• I haven't been given specific numbers, but advance ticket sales for games at PPG Paints Arena are well up for the weeks to come.
PIRATES
• Don't hate me for this, but ...
In my Thursday Grind, I reiterated that I'd been told now for weeks that the Pirates' payroll won't go higher for 2026 than the $87 million they just spent in 2025. And for what it's worth, I'll persist in believing that until I see otherwise.
However, right as that ran, I received a tip that the team's openly talking on the inside about that payroll increasing up to $110 million. And given who told me, I'd be remiss if I didn't share that with our readers, as well.
We'll see.
• Thanks for reading our franchise feature. I'll be at the hockey rink tonight, then flying off to Chicago tomorrow for football ... out of our brand new airport!
THE ASYLUM
Friday Insider: Never really a communication issue
"We couldn't just go out there and play like robots."
One particularly prominent player on the Steelers' defense was telling me that this week and, I'm not gonna lie, I didn't understand it at all.
Because here's what did make sense to me, and it does now more than ever following Teryl Austin's revealing remarks yesterday on the South Side about focusing more on schematics of late as an element of surprise, rather than assuming the athletes will find a way to win the day because of being placed in predictable settings.
You know, that thing James Harrison once told me atop a hill in Latrobe: "Football's a simple game down there: Beat the man across from you."
The cement wall in that, of course, when the man across from you begins doing the beating. And as such, on three separate occasions this season, when Mike Tomlin and Austin weren't wild about their chances against the man across from you, they whipped up some different Xs to their Os and, specifically Sunday against the Bengals, very different. More formations. More personnel involved. More stuff that Zac Taylor and Cincinnati's staff hadn't seen on any film.
It worked, too. Really well. And the players thought so, too.
So how to explain, then, that sentiment up top, one that was shared by others?
Well, a little more prying on my part and the answer became clear: Way, way, way too much had been left to the players and their judgment, largely in the form of Tomlin's super-ambitious "cover people" plan that'd allow Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter to swallow up a colossal percentage of the secondary's responsibilities. And when that wasn't working -- at all -- that prompted players from other positions to stray and try to compensate, resulting mostly in mayhem at all levels.
So, combine the hard lessons learned in Cincinnati, and then the acquisition of Kyle Dugger to become an instant starter at safety, and then Ramsey super-smoothly adjusting to safety, and then Austin utilizing Nick Herbig more often as a third edge rusher, and then Payton Wilson erupting into outright excellence once his list had been cut down, and then Patrick Queen following suit this past Sunday, and then James Pierre blowing well above the bar that'd been set by Slay at outside corner, and then ... yeah.
As that same individual above would elaborate for me, "We've talked about communication, but that hasn't been the thing. We all needed to do what we need to do, 1 out of 11, every man doing the job. And if you have that, you can just play football. Just go play."
They've done that. All levels. It shows. It's real.
• Some coordinators shelter themselves when times are tough. Matt Canada used to pretty much hide, I'd been told, in his office at the farthest end of a hallway in the team's headquarters, and he'd emerge only when needed. Not these two. Austin's been both aggressive and receptive in getting feedback from his players, never more than this month. Arthur Smith's been that way, as well. Which, I've got to say, is awesome. No amount of video or data can supplant what the players themselves experience out between the hashes.
• Yet another example: I'd never really thought of Mason Rudolph as a tempo-type quarterback, and I'm not sure many others had, either, if only because there hadn't been much precedent for it. But nonstop discussions with Smith, from the day Rudolph was signed, had the coordinator ready to make that call Sunday on Rudolph's very first series.
• Don't sweat Tomlin's remark this week about Slay getting his job back. The feedback I've gotten on Pierre, that's too much for anyone to ignore over something as silly as seniority or contract status. Pierre's about to see a slew of snaps, in Chicago and beyond.
• I'll be stunned -- nothing less than stunned -- if Aaron Rodgers starts Sunday. That's not a prediction. That's not information. It's years of paying close attention to Tomlin, what he says, how he reacts in such situations. And it's got little to do with Rudolph, though the security's welcome, I'm sure. It's got everything to do with not jeopardizing Rodgers further.
But hey, should know more today.
PENGUINS
• Nope, not a thing new on ownership. I'm expecting to hear more next week, but it's zero now.
• I'm loving observing how those in charge are genuinely agitated if/when the team doesn't perform well. That's been happening for, oh, I'd say the past couple weeks now. And to be all-the-way honest, I'm not sure it'd been happening before that. Winning raises expectations among winners, regardless of where anyone on the outside -- or the inside, for that matter -- thought this season might go.
• Erik Karlsson's resurrection has been vital to this start, but he'd be the first -- and he'd have ample company -- to deflect credit to Parker Wotherspoon, his partner since the opening of camp. And not just because Wotherspoon's metrics at five-on-five are the literal best of any regular on the roster, regardless of position, with a 52.9 Corsi For percentage. He's also been the first to step up when a teammate, including Karlsson, might be in trouble. None of that's escaped notice or appreciation.
• Even though the Penguins, and Dan Muse in particular, are getting hosed by the refs, don't expect to see any biting back. As one veteran player told me, that only worsens the situation in that the referees then become defensive.
• I haven't been given specific numbers, but advance ticket sales for games at PPG Paints Arena are well up for the weeks to come.
PIRATES
• Don't hate me for this, but ...
In my Thursday Grind, I reiterated that I'd been told now for weeks that the Pirates' payroll won't go higher for 2026 than the $87 million they just spent in 2025. And for what it's worth, I'll persist in believing that until I see otherwise.
However, right as that ran, I received a tip that the team's openly talking on the inside about that payroll increasing up to $110 million. And given who told me, I'd be remiss if I didn't share that with our readers, as well.
We'll see.
• Thanks for reading our franchise feature. I'll be at the hockey rink tonight, then flying off to Chicago tomorrow for football ... out of our brand new airport!
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