Kovacevic: A cautious approach with Kenny would make zero sense

Oct 9, 2022 • 3:02 am

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- "I expect he'll be doing James Harrison-like things."

Impossible to forget that one. A handful of years ago, Mike Tomlin had been asked how much he'd anticipated to get out of a then-aging Deebo, and rather than insult the intelligence of everyone in that setting, he responded, verbatim, with what's above. And in the moment, at least as I saw it, he'd summarized in a few syllables the scope of his forever curious, often contentious relationship with one of the most mercurial figures in franchise history.

In essence, I know who he is, everyone knows who he is, and let's all just get out of the big man's way, all right?

Same with the head coach's approaches over his decade and change with immensely varied personalities ranging from Ben Roethlisberger to Troy Polamalu to Heath Miller to Ike Taylor to Ryan Clark to Vince Williams to ... hey, even Antonio Brown. It's taken all kinds, and it's been all kinds. And with each kind, whether silent or vocal, whether leading through words or deeds, Tomlin's adjusted to them all ... and let them be their best selves.

No, he's pushed them to be that.

Sunday, beginning with a 1:02 p.m. kickoff here at Highmark Stadium between the Steelers and Bills, Kenny Pickett's NFL career begins in earnest.

And in eagerness.

And it needs to happen in the same spirit.

"It’s the attitude in which you go about it," Kenny'd say at midweek when it was broached that Buffalo was a two-touchdown favorite at the time. "You guys and everyone else think we’re underdogs, but we don’t. We’re going to go in there with some confidence. We know how great we can be when we’re detailed and we execute at a high level. That’s something that we need to take care of during the week or we won’t have a shot. So, it’s the details, it’s the little things. Guys run at the right depth, I’ve got to be on time. Give a great ball. They’ll make the plays. The line will protect. They’ve been doing an unbelievable job all year. I have a ton of confidence in those guys. It’s really everyone doing their part, and we’ll be OK."

The final score probably won't, truth be told. The Bills' defense has given up one score -- touchdown or field goal -- in 20 total second-half possessions for their opponents, and that's outright insane. Oh, I wouldn't bet against the Steelers, in general, given the Bills' voluminous injuries and the legit energy Kenny'll bring. Plus, it's the NFL, and all things are possible.

But so's this ...

" "

... because it's more than possible. It happened. The whole thing. Including the laugh in the face of the Jets' Quinnen Williams. Not to exaggerate it. Not to extrapolate the effect, since it all wound up a loss, anyway. But the narrow window's the only one with a view right now, and it's the one that needs embraced.

Which is to say: Let the kid play.

None of the glaringly transparent leashes that'd been placed on Mitch Trubisky. None of the grotesquely simple wide-receiver route trees. None of the fear, or however one might care to term it, of throwing to vast swaths of the field.

And eventually, if not soon, it'd be wonderful if he'll gain the experience and permission to audible out of a dubious play-call. He's a high-pedigree quarterback. First-rounder. Heisman finalist. Leader of a collegiate conference champ. He throws with poise and precision, he's a student of the game, he scans for actual options, he'll call his own protection at the line, and he's hardly shy about taking a pop after all that to ensure it gets done. You know, 'the attitude' he was referencing.

We should all expect he'll be put into the best position to do Kenny-like things.

• If it seemed like all of the above was a preemptive strike on what all we might witness from Matt Canada here, hey, let's see some precedent to the contrary.

He's held the coordinator job for 21 games, and he's overseen a first-quarter touchdown in four of those. FOUR.

Any and all excuses just expired.

• Same applies to most of the offensive starters, by the way. And for all the (fair) focus on Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson the past few days, allow me to be maybe the only one anywhere still waiting for Najee Harris to rise up and display his own first-round pedigree and start stealing the occasional game.

Sure, he was fine against the Jets with 18 carries for 74 yards. And sure, he had no hand in being held to two stinking carries in the fourth quarter, despite the Steelers leading. But here's a neat undercurrent slice of info from the NFL's Next Gen Stats: Najee was one of only five running backs across the league who never once faced an eight-man box, and yet he was credited with minus-2 official Rushing Yards Over Expected. Also, he's picked up only 10 total first downs on the ground through four games. And his next run of 20-plus yards will be his first in 2022.

And anyone still blaming the offensive line hasn't seen much football over the past month.

• Believe it or not, T.J. Watt having his knee scoped isn't that big a deal and, in fact, could be a blessing. If it's only a week or two added to his recovery period, as the ESPN report suggested late last night, that'd mean it's a routine cleanup. Which obviously is better to have done while already on the shelf.

As I saw it all along, he wasn't going to return before the bye week. It would've been nuts, given the apparent degree of the tear to the pec. This way, he takes care of both and returns on a safer timetable.

• The Bills' defense, fueled by a maniacal front line, has allowed an average of 3.1 yards per run, third-best in the NFL, and they haven't allowed anyone to touch 300 yards of any kind for eight consecutive games -- I know, right? -- so the bar can't be excessively high. But man, there's not much point to drafting a running back at No. 20 overall if it isn't to ascend to challenges like this.

• There can't be a more astounding Buffalo stat than Josh Allen accounting for all 12 touchdowns to date, 10 through the air and the Bills' only two on the ground. Except that Allen's also the team's top rusher with 183 yards, and that he's got the most rushing first downs with 15, or five more than Najee.

Special player. And easily, with all due respect to Jalen Hurts, the league's MVP to date.

• Always, always, always grow your own quarterback and, from there, start 'em young. Not just because Allen, Hurts, Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert all fit that mold, but also because they don't have to be cap-killers in their early years. Whereas, as football fans everywhere but Denver were gleefully pointing out Thursday night:

Russell Wilson's cap hit in 2028 is $54.4M.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) October 7, 2022

• Say what one will about Trubisky and/or Mason Rudolph, but I'll reiterate my summer-long stance that the smartest plan for replacing Ben was to maximize both quality and quantity, rather than pursuing some older stopgap. Now, that couldn't have taken into account that Kenny'd fall as he did in the first round, but maybe he gets bypassed by the Steelers, too, if they'd already committed untold billions to some veteran.

• Anyone anywhere realize Myles Jack's third in the league with 43 total tackles?

On that note, anyone anywhere realize what it says of Devin Bush and/or Robert Spillane that the inside linebacker position's still seen as a sore spot?

• Glass half-full: As I'm typing this sentence, the Steelers are but a single game out of first in the AFC North.

• Nothing equalizes like injuries ...

BUFFALO BILLS

... but don't underplay Terrell Edmunds being ruled out Saturday to a concussion. With Damontae Kazee already out, Minkah Fitzpatrick's going to have to play more center field than Bryan Reynolds, thus largely removing him from his best positions to make picks.

To say nothing of not having T.J.

• Speaking of concussions, the NFL and NFLPA jointly absolved the Dolphins of their reprehensible conduct in the Tua Tagovailoa debacle, instead painting them as having followed the rules and issuing new ones to be followed effective this weekend.

I'm OK with protecting players, obviously. I'm not OK with the absolving. Any human being witnessing Tagovailoa stumble as he did does the human being thing and removes a human being from the field of play.

• Don't be getting those hopes up, if only because it's been confirmed that they brought this guy along on the team flight Saturday: