We've become used to being let down by Mike Tomlin's responses during his Tuesday press conferences. After promising to make 'big changes' following a humiliating Week 4 loss to the Houston Texans, Tomlin clarified that he meant that the Steelers needed to practice harder. He also assured the media that he has no intentions of getting rid of Matt Canada.
Now Tomlin has followed up the bye week with another questionable decision. Just before the bye, first-round pick Broderick Jones made his first-ever start at left tackle. Jones more than held his own and was arguably the best offensive player on the team against the Ravens in Week 5. But despite what the film suggests, Tomlin is considering going back to Dan Moore Jr. as the starter.
This news had Steelers fans enraged, as Moore has been one of the worst offensive tackles in the NFL early in the season. Now we are just days away from Pittsburgh traveling to Los Angeles to face the Rams in Week 7, and even the players don't have a clue as to who will be starting at left tackle this week.
According to reporter Chris Adamski, Broderick Jones says, 'We still don't know yet' when asked who will be the starter at left tackle on Sunday.
Broderick Jones says no one has been told who’s starting at left tackle for the Steelers on Sunday in LA pic.twitter.com/h2byosCCjq
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) October 18, 2023
What is Mike Tomlin doing here? Why is he leaving his players in the dark? Is a few more days of practice really going to tell you something that fans don't already know themselves?
Tomlin must make a decision at LT (and it must be Broderick Jones)
I know that Tomlin probably thinks he's increasing the competition level by waiting on a decision at left tackle, but how does this help Jones or Moore prepare for the game? The decision truly is an easy one: the starting left tackle needs to be Broderick Jones.
Isn't this why the team traded up to the 14th overall pick this past April to select him? Though Jones only has one NFL start under his belt, the game we witnessed from him against the Ravens just before the Week 6 bye was arguably as good as anything we have seen from Dan Moore Jr. since he entered the league as a fourth-round pick back in 2021.
There's no reason to expect Moore to suddenly become a top-notch tackle at this stage of his career. We have seen Moore start all 37 games that he has been available for since entering the league, yet the results this year have been worse than ever.
On the other hand, we should only expect an uber-talented Broderick Jones to improve with more reps. Sure, his lack of experience could open him up to being exposed from time to time, but how is he ever going to get the experience by watching from the sidelines?
The talent gap between these two tackles is very easy to notice, but I think fans would have more respect for Mike Tomlin if he would just come out and name a starting left tackle for the Rams game this Sunday. It needs to be Broderick Jones, but the fact that he is leaving both players in the dark isn't helping anyone.