If you watched the first episode of Hard Knocks in Season with the AFC North, you might have noticed that Mike Tomlin stole the show. We got a behind-the-scenes look at the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach that included more than a few 'Tomlinisms' in a Tuesday press conference.
Episode 1 was recorded last week as the AFC North prepared for its Week 13 contests. Obviously, we already knew how things would unfold in the Steelers' divisional road game against the Bengals (Pittsburgh would go on to win a 44-38 shootout). But what we didn't see was the inside look at the preparation that went into the week.
One of the biggest moments from Episode 1 of Hard Knocks was when Coach Tomlin called out Nick Herbig for his upcoming matchup against Orlando Brown Jr.
Tomlin explained how Alex Highsmith had whipped the former Bengals left tackle (Jonah Williams) so badly that Cincinnati went out and paid Brown to step in and be an improvement. This time around, however, Highsmith is nursing his way back from an injury and it would be Herbig's job to win one-on-one against the Bengals left tackle.
At 6'8'' and 345 pounds with 35'' arms, Brown dwarfs the 6'2'', 240-pound Nick Herbig. This created a true David vs. Goliath matchup in Week 13. But Tomlin was adamant that Herbig could win against the four-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle.
"Herbig, we got Orlando Brown this week, and so let's work," Tomlin told Nick Herbig during a defensive team meeting.
The next day, Tomlin had a chance to speak to Herbig alone during practice.
"You and Zeus," Tomlin said. "You know what I mean? Alex had, what, three-and-a-half, four sacks on [Jonah Williams] man, in two football games. They had to go shopping. That's why Zeus is there. One-on-one on Zeus, man, you gotta kill 'em."
Herbig went on to record a game-wrecking strip-sack after dusting Brown off the edge. This forced fumble was scooped by linebacker Payton Wilson and returned for a touchdown. As a result of his rapid pass-rush wins against Brown, Herbig recorded a 91.9 PFF grade -- the highest mark of any player in the game.
Hard Knocks was the perfect look into Steelers' pre-game preparation
The first episode of Hard Knocks in Season with the AFC North delivered. We were given an inside look at what a Mike Tomlin pep talk looks like and how calling out a player in front of the team led to a massive performance.
Hard Knocks also bounced around to multiple positional group meetings and showed us what it looks like when Tomlin and his staff get together to study film in preparation for the next game.
Additionally, Episode 1 gave us insight into the preparation of AFC North rivals. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor gave a pep talk to his team before the game that you couldn't draw it up any better to get a win over the Steelers in Cincinnati, but that didn't happen in Week 13. Maybe next year, Bengals.