Kovacevic: The stage is set for Najee, Steelers to hit the ground running

Each gameday through this NFL season, I'll offer up a special edition of 10 Takes that'll be more akin to a two-minute drill, a collection of final thoughts to consume with the morning coffee.

Or the morning beer, depending on where one spends his or her football Sundays.

• Najee Harris' NFL debut a week ago in Orchard Park, N.Y., was like a lot of the Steelers' 23-16 victory over the Bills: One needed to dig up the underlying reasons for success.

On the surface, it was 16 carries for 45 yards. Nothing special.

Beneath the surface, it was this:

That's a 9-yard gain. Again, on the surface, nothing special. And if anything, the bulk of the credit should go to the blocking of all five members of the offensive line -- note Kendrick Green's comical pancake of Buffalo linebacker A.J. Klein -- as well as the tight end, Pat Freirmuth, driving his dude halfway to Albany. In the same breath, I can attest from being there that this single play felt like it settled things down for the visitors. It was the first snap of the second half and, with these 9 yards, Najee not only topped his first-half total of 8 but also sparked the offense's first scoring drive.

Not any easier to quantify than this:

Ben Roethlisberger had just begun -- finally -- flinging the ball deep, the preceding play having seen Chase Claypool draw a pass interference flag. But as Buffalo's alignment illustrates above, the Bills, who'd been hellbent on stopping the run, weren't about to back out of the box. As such, this one's far more to Najee's credit. Sure, there's credit to the O-line and to both tight ends, Freiermuth and Zach Gentry, and to a wide receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster ... but the patience, the cutback, the eventual acceleration, and then the carrying of three defenders ... that's all running back. And the very next play was Diontae Johnson's gorgeous touchdown.

This could be viewed as beneath the surface, as well, but 35 of Najee's 45 yards came after making initial contact with a defender, a 75% rate that was the NFL's highest in Week 1. The same way he ranked third in the NCAA in that category as a senior at Alabama. The same way that, without him, the 2020 Steelers ranked 30th in this category.

Maybe more important than any of that: He got the opener over with.

"There are a lot of things you can't coach or practice," the kid was saying a couple days ago on the South Side when asked about the general experience. "The way holes are there, and then aren't there anymore ... the way you take what you can, from my standpoint. And really just understanding the Xs and Os of the game, what to expect on certain downs. It's really just getting a feel for the game. That's really what it is. Just slowing things down."

Yep. He slowed it down, as almost all rookies in all sports will attest is a critical step. Now, it's time to speed it back up.

Today at 1:02 p.m. inside Heinz Field, the Steelers and Raiders will kick off Pittsburgh's 89th NFL opener, as well as our city's first return to a full house for the beloved football franchise since 2019. And it's printed right here that it'll all be accompanied by a richly welcoming atmosphere for the franchise's first-round pick.

Put bluntly, the Raiders aren't the Bills. The former gave up 189 rushing yards this past Monday to the Ravens, who were without their top two running backs and whose offensive line was being beaten all night long. Only two teams, the Giants and Washington, allowed more rushing yards, and that's probably because they were two NFC East teams going head-to-head.

I'm not about to suggest the Steelers can run steamroll anyone. If Najee's a work in progress, this O-line's in the pre-natal stage of that.

But I'm plenty comfortable predicting he'll find a lot more room and a lot more above-the-surface appreciation.

DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS

Heinz Field, as seen across the Ohio River, from Station Square Drive.

• I re-watched the Bills game not once but twice, every snap, took notes, the whole deal. And I'll stand by my criticism/concern about the O-line expressed from the scene, while also acknowledging they weren't nearly as bad as I'd thought live.

Except Chuks Okorafor. Still bad.

At least there'll be an answer for that in two weeks with the expected return of Zach Banner. But that's two long weeks at the right tackle position and, yeah, two more weeks of utilizing Gentry and the tight ends principally in blocking roles. Which is a shame considering how Freiermuth, in particular, could contribute to the passing game.

• Want to know when the O-line will be back to league-average?

When Ben stops leading all quarterbacks in fastest release time, as he did for all of 2020 and again in Week 1 of this season at 2.3 seconds.

It feels forgotten now, but when Ben and Antonio Brown were still doing their thing, he had a ton of time, could plant himself in the pocket and surveyed the field for multiple options before finding his target of choice. I'll stubbornly insist that's the biggest change in his game since then ... and it's got nothing to do with him.

• Throw deep, dammit. Just lay it up for these gifted wide receivers, and watch the flags fly. Old-school Joe Flacco offense, baby.

• In addition to this ...

... Darren Waller was called "the best player I've ever coached" by Jon Gruden this week.

So, gimmick coverage or not?

Eh. Ideally, no. Part of what's made the Steelers' defense so dynamic for several years now is that they've dictated the terms. Specifically, their pass rush has done that dictating. And I'd rather not see, at least at the outset, any of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith or Melvin Ingram distracted by Waller. Just go get Derek Carr.

Some will recall Keith Butler using Justin Gilbert to chip Rob Gronkowski and other fun fare when facing a dominating tight end. And maybe it'll come to that. But that feels like a smarter Plan B than Plan A.

• Also this: The Steelers will be facing a second consecutive opponent that can't run, the Raiders having ruled out No. 1 running back Josh Jacobs (toe/ankle) and now, as of late Saturday night, No. 2 quarterback Marcus Mariota (quadriceps). The latter was hurt on a 31-yard called run up the middle Monday and had been set to offer a running option at the position.

Quick, name the most recent one-dimensional opponent that gave the Steelers' defense trouble.

Yeah, me, neither.

• I'll admit to an inherent bias against thinking of people who use a term like "dadgum" as being brainy, but I'm not sure I've ever been as impressed with the sophistication of a Butler defense as what's being shown now.

And let the record show that, two days after the opener, Buffalo coach Sean McDermott observed to reporters in Western New York: "Mike Tomlin and his team came here and outcoached and outplayed us."

Both things were true.

• I'll never not call them the Oakland Raiders. Not as some silly protest. I just can't process Las Vegas Raiders anymore than I could Los Angeles Raiders ... anymore than I can Los Angeles Chargers. It feels stupid coming off the tongue.

The NFL had better watch it. Shut out enough markets where a franchise is genuinely loved -- and yeah, I'm looking at Buffalo, not just Oakland, San Diego and St. Louis -- and that risks uprooting the sport's very foundation.

Move the Jaguars to London, and leave everyone else alone.

• The Browns will beat the Texans today, and it'll be a really, really big deal in Cleveland, you guys.

• The Steelers will win, too.

• It'll be beautiful beautiful having the place packed. Even better if/when 'Renegade' pumps through the speakers and all those Towels twirl through the deafening din. Every bit of normalcy we can win back feels like a W in and of itself.

I'll also be thinking of everyone's dear, departed friend Tunch Ilkin on this day. And hoping most fans are at their seats for what's sure to be a moving tribute before the ball flies.

Enjoy the day, everyone!