There's no guarantee Derrick Harmon will return from his most recent knee injury to play against the Dolphins on Monday night. However, Mike Tomlin left the door open for him to return, potentially providing a needed shot in the arm to the Steelers' run defense.
"Derek Harmon will be limited at the early portions of the week and we'll let the amount of participation and how quickly it picks up and the quality of that participation, as we go through the week, to determine whether or not he's available," Tomlin said during his Tuesday press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "Certainly excited about an additional day as it pertains to him."
Wednesday will be an off day for the players, giving a roster dealing with a lot of attrition a much needed day of rest before the team practices Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Harmon is coming off a knee injury sustained in the Week 12 loss to the Bears that's kept him sidelined for the past two games.
The Steelers also have several other players that are trying to work through injuries, including Kyler Dugger,Keeanu Benton, James Pierre, Ben Skowronek and Yahya Black. And, there's no telling if Andrus Peat, Malik Harrison and Darnell Washington will be available, as all three are in the NFL's concussion protocol.
However, the Steelers might need Harmon to return faster than anyone else. There is a stark difference in the team's run defense when Harmon is playing vs. when he's not. With Harmon, the Steelers are keeping teams to 96.0 rushing yards per game. Without him, they are allowing a jaw-dropping 191.3 rushing yards per game.
Just the past two weeks without Harmon, they've allowed a total of 466 rushing against the Bills and Ravens. On Monday night, they'll be facing a Dolphins team that has De'Von Achane at running back, who ranks third in the NFL with 1,126 rushing yards.
So, what does Harmon do so well that makes the run defense play exponentially better?
"He's a first-rounder. That's why you draft first-rounders. He's really talented," Tomlin said. "But you know, it's not a one-man gang, certainly. I knew we were in for a tough run day last week when Malik [Harrison] went down, because that's also a component of his job description in terms of being a 9-on-7 run-stopping type linebacker for us. And so, it's never a one-man discussion. Usually it's a multiple-man discussion. But certainly, Harmon is an asset to us in that space."
There's no denying that. And it's not like the Steelers have faced a bunch of poor rushing teams in Harmon's nine games played this season. They held the Colts and Jonathan Taylor, the NFL's leading rusher, to just 55 yards in Week 9. Then they held a very run-heavy Bears team to only 99 yards, far below their average of 152.6 yards per game.
So, yes, run defense might not just be a one-man gang. But, there's no question this defense is significantly better with Harmon on the field. Getting him back would be a huge shot in the arm.
THE ASYLUM
Tomlin: Harmon inching closer to return
There's no guarantee Derrick Harmon will return from his most recent knee injury to play against the Dolphins on Monday night. However, Mike Tomlin left the door open for him to return, potentially providing a needed shot in the arm to the Steelers' run defense.
"Derek Harmon will be limited at the early portions of the week and we'll let the amount of participation and how quickly it picks up and the quality of that participation, as we go through the week, to determine whether or not he's available," Tomlin said during his Tuesday press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "Certainly excited about an additional day as it pertains to him."
Wednesday will be an off day for the players, giving a roster dealing with a lot of attrition a much needed day of rest before the team practices Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Harmon is coming off a knee injury sustained in the Week 12 loss to the Bears that's kept him sidelined for the past two games.
The Steelers also have several other players that are trying to work through injuries, including Kyler Dugger, Keeanu Benton, James Pierre, Ben Skowronek and Yahya Black. And, there's no telling if Andrus Peat, Malik Harrison and Darnell Washington will be available, as all three are in the NFL's concussion protocol.
However, the Steelers might need Harmon to return faster than anyone else. There is a stark difference in the team's run defense when Harmon is playing vs. when he's not. With Harmon, the Steelers are keeping teams to 96.0 rushing yards per game. Without him, they are allowing a jaw-dropping 191.3 rushing yards per game.
Just the past two weeks without Harmon, they've allowed a total of 466 rushing against the Bills and Ravens. On Monday night, they'll be facing a Dolphins team that has De'Von Achane at running back, who ranks third in the NFL with 1,126 rushing yards.
So, what does Harmon do so well that makes the run defense play exponentially better?
"He's a first-rounder. That's why you draft first-rounders. He's really talented," Tomlin said. "But you know, it's not a one-man gang, certainly. I knew we were in for a tough run day last week when Malik [Harrison] went down, because that's also a component of his job description in terms of being a 9-on-7 run-stopping type linebacker for us. And so, it's never a one-man discussion. Usually it's a multiple-man discussion. But certainly, Harmon is an asset to us in that space."
There's no denying that. And it's not like the Steelers have faced a bunch of poor rushing teams in Harmon's nine games played this season. They held the Colts and Jonathan Taylor, the NFL's leading rusher, to just 55 yards in Week 9. Then they held a very run-heavy Bears team to only 99 yards, far below their average of 152.6 yards per game.
So, yes, run defense might not just be a one-man gang. But, there's no question this defense is significantly better with Harmon on the field. Getting him back would be a huge shot in the arm.
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