Kovacevic: Tomlin reams out awful O-line, but what really has to happen?

"Oh, we'll be fiiiiiiiiiiiiine."

I don't make a habit of feuding with 6-foot, 6-inch, 320-pound physical freaks, so I wasn't about to challenge Chuks Okorafor on this Monday afternoon following the Steelers' practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

Besides, he was smiling as he spoke.

For real.

"See who we got here, man," he kept going. He was facing my way after having initially fiddled with some personal fare on the top shelf of his locker stall. "We got good players here. We got good size. Strong guys. Big guys. Experience."

His eyes rolled slightly, and he raised his index finger.

"It was one game. One preseason game."

I like Chuks a lot. Respect him, too. And he's correct, obviously, that the Jacksonville debacle was just one debacle. 

But one individual who most assuredly didn't downplay what sure feels to me like the single most dire issue of the Steelers' summer to date -- they couldn't block their own grandmas from the buffet at Bob Evans -- was none other than the head coach: Mike Tomlin, according to multiple offensive linemen with whom I spoke on this day, was a visitor to their classroom first thing in the morning and ... let's just say he didn't come bearing attaboys. 

He was blunt bordering on brutal, depending on which player was doing the describing.

"That’s between them and I," Tomlin replied when asked after practice for specifics, "but I said what was appropriate."

Anything stand out on the film?

"It’s what we've talked about. Wasn’t enough detail from a fine-motor-skills standpoint, details relative to their position. They didn’t play with enough edge, individually and collectively. And the things that are on our tape, we’ve got to own. And I think we’ll be ready to do that."

Tomlin apparently wasn't alone to pipe up. Pat Meyer, the latest through the revolving door of offensive line coaches since Mike Munchak's departure, voiced his own displeasure with his group, those players further confirmed. 

There was noise from within, too, as Mason Cole would tell me:

"I wouldn't say we've got that one guy that really jumps out as a leader," he'd say. "But we all had something to say. We know what's up. We know what happened. ... We’ve got a lot of experience, and we know what it takes to be good. And when it’s going bad, we know what to do to fix it. We're gonna be special when we put it all together."

Special?

I mean ...

My Lord, imagine the gap between what's above -- not to mention everything else that went awry in Jacksonville -- and even being fiiiiiiiiiiiine, never mind special.

To his credit, when Kendrick Green was asked on this day if he'd earned starting duty at left guard in his officially ongoing duel with Kevin Dotson, he responded, "No. Absolutely not."

Green further acknowledged that, in Tomlin's dressing down of the offensive linemen, Green was singled out for the precise play shown above.

“He’s not cussing you out,” Green would elaborate. “It’s more like, ‘This is what you are. This is what you put on film.’ It’s not like it’s uncalled for. It’s completely fair.”

And how'd that feel, surrounded by teammates?

“The natural reaction, the comfortable reaction, is to get in the fetal position and say, ‘Don’t look at me.’ ” But you have to own it. You put it on film.”

Hey, at least the kid didn't whiff on the next-day dialogue.

Look, it's a lousy situation, one that could derail all else the Steelers aim to accomplish in 2022, even on the defensive side. That couldn't be more apparent. And it might well wind up being a lousy offensive line. It'll certainly be that if Jacksonville's left to serve as a prequel.

Speaking for myself, my hopes aren't high. To be kind.

Okorafor's been OK. As has Cole. And that's about it.

James Daniels ... wow, I'm not sure how he's gone so unscathed locally, to the best of my ability to weigh such a thing, but he's been my very biggest disappointment of the preseason, maybe on the entire roster. (Sorry, Devin Bush.) It's not just his "technique," as he's attempted to explain since Jacksonville. It's that he's being blown off the ball. He's being bullied.

Dan Moore's been a turnstile at, of all positions, left tackle. And he's never looked worse than he did Saturday, repeatedly allowing the Jaguars' edge rushers to capitalize on flat feet and shaky shoulder alignments on their way toward the quarterbacks.

I'm of the belief that both Daniels and Moore can and will be much better. They've shown it in the past. And specifically regarding Daniels, one would really like to think there's cause for the Steelers to have commissioned that $26.5 million contract. He's a five-year NFL vet at age 25, and it's inconceivable anyone could be so very wrong about his pedigree or prognosis.

Fair to hold onto happy thoughts on both fronts?

Yeah? Nah?

Well, regardless, it pales next to the problem at left guard, where Dotson's now in line to be the starter even as the coaching staff's seen him throughout camp as being barely better than Green, as evidenced by no starter having been named yet. I'm expecting he'll practice all week long with the first team, leading into the preseason finale Sunday against the Lions at Acrisure Stadium, and I'm further expecting that, barring anything unforeseen, he'll start the opener in Cincinnati, as well.

The one positive: Dotson insisted that the ankle injury that'd slowed him early in Latrobe has fully mended.

"I feel better than I did before the season started," he'd say Monday. "I’m not really worried about the ankle anymore."

They need to get better. Across the board. The key instructional point for the day, Cole told me, was "attacking with the hands." They weren't nearly aggressive or effective enough in that regard and, as a result, they made it far too easy for the opponent to gain the edge. Footwork also came up. As did communication.

Of course, there also could be other personnel options in play.

Internally, the Steelers have backups who, cumulatively, have way more experience than most in the NFL. And among them, John Leglue, J.C. Hassenauer and Joe Haeg showed up occasionally in 2021, though none convincingly. They're all still here, though Haeg, a swing tackle, missed this practice because of a concussion sustained in Jacksonville.

Not excited about that?

Right. Me neither, which is why the ideal scenario, as I see it, is for Omar Khan to be working his phone till his fingers bleed. Eric Fisher's out there in free agency. JC Tretter's out there. Both are on the wrong side of 30, and neither's what he once was, but don't try telling me they wouldn't be marked upgrades over what was witnessed over the weekend. Or that they'd be expensive. Or that Khan lacks the cap space. Or that the roster's too deep to dump someone else.

Trades don't often get discussed as options in the NFL, but that's got to be on the table.

Case in point:

The sooner the better, too. Learning an NFL playbook's no picnic with a full offseason, never mind a few days.

Word leaked out of Detroit earlier today -- from Dan Campbell, the Lions' coach, actually -- that Tomlin plans to play his starters for the entire first half Sunday. And that's awesome, if only for this reason: It's inconceivable that this line, in particular, could somehow transition from Jacksonville to Cincinnati without having achieved something concrete in the interim.

This team needs work. And this line ... man, they might need to find other work.