On the hunt: Linebacker Patrick Queen spent the bye week out in the woods hunting, relaxing and getting his mind and body set for the second half of the season.
"It was good," said Queen. "I think the biggest thing is just trying to get your body back right. Knowing the teams that are coming up, especially this week. Just trying to be at 100% mentally, physically, whatever it's got to be, so we go out there and win."
Being in the woods, where there were no distractions, gave him the chance to as he admitted, overthink.
But it was something he feels he benefited from.
"A lot of time to think, a lot of time to overthink and try to do too much," said Queen. "I was hunting the whole time out. I don't know what everybody else was doing. So, I was just in the woods all the time. I had a lot of time to think about life, about ball.
"And I kind of enjoyed it, but at the same time I was ready to get back."
What went through his thoughts during the quiet time in the woods was a little bit of everything, including a little self-evaluation. And what he came up with about his play as of late, is something many would agree with.
"That I picked up my play the last few weeks, but knowing how that looks and knowing the consistency level that needs to come with it," said Queen. "I think the best thing for me is whatever I've got to do to mentally and physically prepare myself to do that every single week, I'm going to take full advantage and do what needs to be done."
While he did some self-evaluation in the woods, the team did some self-scouting when they reported back to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Tuesday.
"Just going over the film," said Queen. "Understanding what we can get better at, understanding situations where we've been successful, where we haven't been, and getting better at those things.
"And the things that we've been good at, just keep harping on those things.
"Bring the room together, bringing everybody together. Understanding all the details that's gone into what we're doing on defense. That way everybody has an understanding of the situations and whatever we can do ourselves.
"I think just be better. There's a lot of things that we can improve on. We went over those things today and it's just small details here and there that we're going hone in on."
Those details will come into play on Sunday night when the Steelers take on the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. It's a game where first place in the AFC North is on the line, and a game where the defense is going to have to slow down quarterback Joe Burrow, who has been on a tear as of late.
"Joe is the guy," said Queen. "If he knows what you're in, he's picking you apart. I think the best thing is to be stationary before the snap or everybody moving at once before the snap. If one guy is off the line or one guy is giving anything away, he is going to sit there and pick you apart.
"You know the guys they've got on that side, what they could do when they get the ball in their hands."
Then and now: Rookie Max Iheanachor's first NFL start coincided with the first of two meetings this season between the Steelers and the Bengals.
The Steelers' No. 1 pick will be a different player when he lines up at right offensive tackle in Sunday night's rematch in Cincinnati.
"I feel good," Iheanachor said today. "Definitely the confidence is a little bit up."
Among the absolutes Iheanachor has gleaned from his first six NFL starting assignments is "good and bad games happen so it's learn from it, just move on," he said.
The Steelers had a good game when they beat the Bengals, 30-27, back on Sept. 27 at Acrisure Stadium.
They ran for 138 yards, the first time they'd cracked the 100-yard mark in three tries. That included 127 yards on 22 carries by running back Jaylen Warren, the first time Warren was able to surpass 100 yards on the ground.
"I watched a lot of their games last year when I first came," to Pittsburgh, Iheanachor said. "He's been doing that his whole career so it wasn't like really new.
"But my first time playing with him, seeing it, it was special, yeah."
Warren has gone on to eclipse 100 yards on the ground three times in the five games that have followed the Steelers' first get-together with the Bengals.
And the Steelers are averaging 5.3 yards per carry, 24.8 rushing attempts per game and 132.3 yards per game on the ground in the six games Brock Hoffman has started at right guard and Iheanachor has started at right tackle.
"I think it's just the guys being bought in to attention to details," Iheanachor said of the Steelers' rushing resurgence. "Also, the runners are doing a phenomenal job trusting us, everybody hitting their landmarks, just playing fast, playing confident."
Warren and fellow running back Rico Dowdle have combined for 17 runs of 10 or more yards over the last six games (12 by Warren and five by Dowdle).
"There's no better feeling as an O-lineman, getting big yardage on the run," Iheanachor said. "Really happy for them, they're phenomenal players."
Iheanachor, the lone rookie along the offensive line, has also been getting a lot of assistance from the veterans up front.
"The guys do a really good job trying to help me, giving me tips and ideas on how to key and read before the ball is snapped, pre-snap stuff," he said. "I've just taken it and run with it and gotten better every week."
-- Blog entry by Mike Prisuta
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