Steelers News: replacement, warnings, scheme

The Steelers are counting down the days until this painfully long preseason is finally over. While they make roster cuts and mend the wounded we’ll be busy looking for mentions of your Black & Gold so we’ve got you covered. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Thursday, Sept. 3^rd.

Stepping up

With the suspension of Martavis Bryant for the first four games of the season the eyes of Steeler Nation collectively turned towards third-round draft pick WR Sammie Coates in a “oh that’s why they drafted him” moment but it’s Darrius Heyward-Bey who is getting the ball immediately in replacement.

Steelers’ Teresa Varley explains that Ben Roethlisberger has total confidence in Heyward-Bey to step in and step up in Bryant’s absence.

"“He works his butt off every day. He never complains. He never gripes. He goes about his job, and it’s grimy, running down on special teams, punts, kickoffs. He’s a former first-rounder. He doesn’t say, ‘Woe is me’ and worry about ‘I used to be this, used to be that.’ He does everything he can to coach the young guys and work with me as much as he can.” – Ben Roethlisberger"

Be a professional

Everyone has their own opinions about marijuana use and the resulting suspensions of Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant but the one thing that is universally agreed upon is that each of them let their teammates down with their actions.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler explains how Antonio Brown is trying to remind his teammates that there is a way bigger upside to handing their business correctly on and off of the field.

"“You have to be professional on and off the field. You have to take care of your business. You’ve got to make right decisions. I tell Martavis all the time, ‘it’s all about who you have around you.’ You want to have people around you who bring you up and put you in the right position.” – Antonio Brown"

Big plays go away

The Steelers switched defensive schemes this offseason. The PPG’s Ray Fittipaldo reminds us that the promotion of Keith Butler and moving towards cover-2 looks and a zone defense was intended to keep the big plays to a minimum.

Unfortunately for the Steelers so far, they’ve been giving up plays in the preseason like its Halloween candy. The Steelers aren’t actually running cover-2 looks on every single down so that’s certainly not the lone culprit in the downfall of giving up 43 points to the Buffalo Bills, it’s more of a combination of the plays and the execution on the field.

Something has got to give before kickoff in Foxboro, however.

Next: Steelers Antonio Brown can teach lessons

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