LATROBE, Pa. _ There will be an agenda on Saturday night in Jacksonville, but it will be appropriate for football in August.
"Part of being a good team is not beating your own butt," head coach Mike Tomlin emphasized today.
So that will be Job One in the preseason opener against the Jaguars.
A laundry list of recognizable names won't be playing.
Among those who will be given the night off by Tomlin because "they need less runway to take off" are:
Kicker Chris Boswell, safety DeShon Elliott, tight end Pat Freiermuth, defensive tackle Cam Heyward, outside linebacker Nick Herbig, wide receiver DK Metcalf, cornerback Joey Porter Jr., inside linebacker Patrick Queen, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, guard Isaac Seumalo, cornerback Darius Slay, tight end Jonnu Smith, running back Jaylen Warren, and outside linebacker T.J. Watt.
Players who will be held out as a result of limited practice time do to short-term injury include wide receiver Calvin Austin III, outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, cornerback Cory Trice Jr. and cornerback Donte Kent.
Quarterback Logan Woodside, added to the roster on Thursday in response to quarterback Will Howard's "week to week" status due to a broken finger, will have "game availability" at Jacksonville.
"Whether or not he plays remains to be seen but that was the intention," Tomlin said.
The rest will be judged on specifics in particular.
"We're looking for guys to make routine plays routinely," Tomlin said. "We're looking for pre-snap cleanliness on both sides of the ball from a penalty perspective.
"I expect the offense to manage the play clock, to manage shifts and motions in a clean manner. I expect the defense to be ready if there are changes of pace in terms of how the opposing offense is operating. I expect the guys to ball-key, meaning to not be in the neutral zone and provide free yards and free plays or free possession downs.
"I expect situational knowledge and behavior to be on display. We've worked a lot in various forms of two-minute (offense) particularly this week. We've infused possession-down ball in a big way over the last week in a half in terms of our team development. I'm really excited about seeing situational knowledge and appropriate situational behavior based on circumstance."
Honing such things on the practice field is one thing, Tomlin allowed.
Executing them in a game atmosphere is the next step toward perfecting them.
"We've worked hard to simulate some of those things but there's no substitute for in-stadium or in-game action as you transition from unit to unit and coordinate some of those exchanges, matching personnel and so fourth," Tomlin said. "Coach and player engagement, how we communicate formerly and informally on the sideline in an effort to get the appropriate people on the field and ready to play will be something that has our attention."
Special teams performances will also be significant.
The players involved need to understand as much because the staff surely does.
"Special teams performance and awareness is a major component of this game," Tomlin said. "When you look at the process of going from 90 to 53, a lot of those decisions are made in that phase of the game. Offensive players who can tackle, defensive players who can block in space, the unique challenges and skills that are put on display in 'teams' are things that really have my attention, particularly on those guys that are new to us and new to the National Football League that are getting an opportunity to play.
"Often times you get a young guy and he thinks his performance is gonna be judged by his day job. Some of these supplementary things and things that they do outside of their home position often times is as critical or more critical than their day job."
