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'Tomlin's Takes' on Diontae, balance, cohesion

Oct 12, 2021 at 05:19 PM

Teresa Varley

Steelers.com

Finding his rhythm: Coach Mike Tomlin stated during his press conference that receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster will be placed on the Reserve/Injured list and undergo surgery after suffering a shoulder injury against the Broncos on Sunday.

Losing Smith-Schuster will mean a handful of other players will be called upon to step up, including Diontae Johnson, who continues to grow and develop.

Johnson has caught long touchdown passes on the opening drive the last two weeks, including a 50-yarder from Ben Roethlisberger against the Broncos, and a 45-yarder against the Packers a week earlier. It's just part of his growth according to Tomlin, something he isn't surprised about.

"Diontae is just going through the natural maturation process that we expect guys to go through," said Tomlin. "He's no longer a rookie. He's been in some circumstances and situations. He is understanding the game better, which I think is allowing him to play faster.

"He's finding his rhythm as a professional. I just had a conversation with him in (the practice facility), he was laying on the training table getting his body taken care of. I see him every Tuesday before I come in here and visit with you all. I think he's finding the rhythm in his professional preparation process, whether it's formally like in practice settings, or whether it's informally like what he does with a Tuesday. So, it's reasonable to expect guys to grow and make more plays and develop better consistency as they find a steadiness in life and I think that's just where he is."

Balancing act: Tomlin often preaches about having a balanced offense and on Sunday they had just that against the Broncos, with a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver.

Najee Harris rushed for 122 yards on 23 carries, while Chase Claypool had 130 yard receiving on five receptions.

"It's about eliminating negativity in our run game so we don't get behind the chains," said Tomlin. "It's about not having unblocked people schematically and gaining cohesion to make sure that we can block any look. We're getting better there, improving in terms of our individual techniques, keeping our hands inside, being able to work and finish, but also doing it in a legal manner. We're developing skills associated with that day-to-day with our young guys, particularly in our individual work and the runner getting used to NFL football.

"I think staying on schedule is a big component of it. It keeps drives alive. It allows you to ring the scoreboard up. It allows the game to remain within striking distance or puts you ahead so you can thoughtfully maintain that balance that you look for not only in play selection but in personality.

"It all kind of runs together. We've been continually talking about it. It's not like some magical formula got met last week. The result of the game was a result of the game. We've been focused on those variables for some time, and we've identified those variables for some time. We've been working in those areas. Hopefully the fruit of that labor continues to show itself."

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A general view of Heinz Field during a regular season game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021 in Pittsburgh, PA. The Steelers beat the Broncos 27-19. (Caitlyn Epes / Pittsburgh Steelers)