There's no doubt about it. There was an altercation between Diontae Johnson and Mitch Trubisky during halftime of the Week 4 loss to the Jets.
But, throughout the course of this week, the fallout from the dustup becoming public knowledge taught us much more about the Steelers' No. 1 receiver.
Yes, the scuffle was reported. Yes, Mike Tomlin refused to flat out deny it during his Tuesday press conference. Yes, Trubisky refused to address reporters when we approached him Wednesday. But, just minutes after Trubisky politely told us "no," Johnson stood tall and answered questions as honestly as he often does in a formal setting, saying there was "no bad blood" between him and the veteran quarterback.
To be quite honest, it doesn't surprise me one bit that Johnson was the one to talk about it with the media. Say what you will about the drops or any other issues on the field. Johnson is as honest as it comes. Sometimes, that will rub fans the wrong way, and it wasn't that long ago that he did exactly that when he fired back at criticism from fans and ESPN analyst and former Steelers safety Ryan Clark.
But, even after stories like that are printed, Johnson is willing to step in front of the the cameras and answer all the necessary questions. That's becoming of a leader, even if it's not the easiest thing for him to do.
"Being a leader, that's something I had to come out of my comfort zone because I'm not very vocal. I'm a very quiet person. It challenges me at times," Johnson told me. "There will be certain times I want to say certain stuff. I speak more open about how I feel. If we're not practicing hard enough, I'll tell them we've gotta pick up the energy. I try to bring that spark that we need to get going."
That might explain why the altercation happened. Johnson has started coming more out of his shell, as he explained, trying to bring a spark when the team needs one. It's not hostile. Prior to this season, Johnson has gotten better every season. Last year, he caught 107 passes for over 1,100 yards. He's one of four Steelers receivers to accomplish that feat. In turn, he received a significant pay raise with the two-year, $36.7-million contract extension he received during training camp.
In our conversation, he told me that contract, in his mind, came with the expectation that he would need to become more of a leader on this team. Or, at least a leader in a very young receiver room.
"I've been here longer than a lot of guys. But other than that, I've been to where everybody's trying to get," Johnson told me. "Being in that position, I'm able to help them out on certain stuff, like routes, if they need coverages or whatever it is in the room, I'm there. I'm an asset. I'm going to help."
With that leadership comes a difficult line to walk. As we've witnessed, Johnson can't help but be open and honest when asking him questions. And having stood in the midst of a media scrum or talking to him one-on-one at his locker, that honesty is as consistent as everyone wants the Steelers' offense to be.
It can be quite chaotic to balance being naturally honest while also protecting the sanctity of what happens behind closed doors. So, when reports come out about something that happened behind those closed doors, Johnson's transparency can actually help extinguish the fire that burns on Twitter or elsewhere on throughout the media -- all without having to spill the gory details of what actually happened during that halftime against the Jets.
"Once you control that, nothing else really matters because you don't have to really worry about what everybody else is saying," Johnson said. "As long as you know what went down and what's going on around here, that's all that really matters. Because everybody's judge you off of their own perception. I don't really let that get to me. I know what happened. I know how cool we are still. We're not gonna let that get in the way of our friendship and our workspace. I'm not trying to bring that around here. That's not us. That's dang sure not me."
In talking with Johnson, it was really easy to see that the altercation really wasn't a big deal to them. At 2-4, the Steelers have much more to worry about than two football players showing emotion in the locker room.
"It is what it is. It happened. It's in the past. We're cool," Johnson told me. "Just focusing on the season."
MORE STEELERS
2. DeMarvin Leal first banged up his knee during the Bills game. Then, the knee gave out on him twice during the week in practice, though he didn’t show up on the injury report until the Friday before the Buccaneers game. Leal was placed on injured reserve prior to the win over Tampa Bay, which causes him to miss at least four weeks. He underwent surgery on his meniscus, and I’m told the prognosis for his return is 4-to-6 weeks, so he may not return until after Thanksgiving. -- Chris Halicke on the South Side
3. I fielded a question during my Live Qs this week of who would be the emergency quarterback is case both dressed QBs were to leave the game with injuries. I had a suspicion that it might be Zach Gentry, and it turns out I was right. As most of you probably know by now, Gentry was originally recruited to Michigan as a quarterback before switching to tight end after his arrival in Ann Arbor. Gentry said he has enough familiarity with the playbook to step in that role if it were to come up. But, laughing as he told me, "Hopefully that never happens." -- Halicke
4. T.J. Watt has been at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex every day this week, though he is still sporting only a hoodie and sweatpants. However, he doesn’t seem to be moving around with any issues. After undergoing the arthroscopic surgery on his knee, the Steelers still don’t expect him to return until after the bye week, but his consistent presence on game day and on the South Side is a good indicator that he’s getting closer to a return. -- Halicke
5. On the other hand, any optimism that Calvin Austin will return from injured reserve this season has rapidly vanished. He has been pretty scarce at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex this week, and he declined to speak to reporters Thursday when he had been far more eager to speak since he first returned to practice. I’m not ready to say all hope is lost for his return. The Steelers have until Oct. 25 to make a final decision to activate him or lose him for the season. Don’t expect him to suit up Sunday night in Miami. Then, hold your breath for a couple days. -- Halicke
6. Music in the locker room was not popular with veterans such as Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu. But, it’s a new era of Steelers football and some things have changed. Music now typically plays in the locker room -- sometimes very loudly -- even while it is open to the media. However, there are times the music is shut off so interviews can be done without audio issues. This was done during one of our locker room availabilities this week, and some players -- with Marcus Allen leading the charge -- were not happy when it was shut off. Cam Heyward was trying to answer questions from the media during that time, and had to stop and look over in Allen’s direction for a long while before continuing an answer. It’ll be curious to see how music in the locker room is handled from here on out. -- Halicke
7. Don’t bet on Steven Sims to suit up this week. He’s dealing with a hamstring injury and didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday. That is not a good sign for his availability. If Sims isn’t active, Gunner Olszewski will step back into the returner role, and he is salivating at the opportunity to earn back Mike Tomlin’s trust. "I’m excited. I really am," Olszewski told me. "I’m excited to get out there and show what I can do -- what I was brought here for." -- Halicke
PENGUINS
8. Before the Penguins’ 6-1 victory over the Kings on Thursday, Rickard Rakell ranked third on the team in shot attempts and shots on goal, and ranked fourth in expected goals. Outside of an empty-net goal, though, he hadn’t recorded any other points. “Sid and Jake have been really successful so far. I feel like I’ve put in the work, I just gotta put the puck in the net, too,” Rakell told me. “We’re only three games in. I know it’s gonna come and I’m not worried at all.” Even though the points weren’t there right out of the gates, Rakell was unquestionably a positive influence on the hot starts from Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. “To me, it just shows that I’m in the right areas and doing the right things.” The very next day, Rakell attempted four shots, all of which were on goal, and all of which were scoring chances. One of them resulted in a goal when he crashed the crease and slipped a gorgeous backhander into the cage as he was falling away. -- Danny Shirey at PPG Paints Arena
9. Rakell also told me that, while he’s been really happy with the way he has played, the one area he wants to improve right now is on the rush. “Put myself in position in our rush game a little bit more, where I can start finding pockets to carry the puck a little bit more through the neutral zone,” he said. “I’m trying to play fast and do the right things, and it’s been working so far, but I think just take my game and our game to the next level and be more of a threat out there through the neutral zone.” Rakell possesses some pretty nifty hands and has the ability to beat defenders one-on-one. Be on the lookout for some of that in the coming games. -- Shirey
10. When a player gets traded or signs with a new team, it's usual for players to catch up and have personal conversations with reporters after the morning skate before their first game against their former team. People just like to catch up, ask how the family is, all that. I don't think I've ever seen that happen as much as it did with Jeff Petry in his return to Montreal. He did a formal press scrum for about seven minutes after the morning skate, but then he stuck around for a long time after that to say hello and catch up with a number of Montreal reporters and seemed genuinely interested in how they have been. Just something that's cool to see. -- Taylor Haase at PPG Paints Arena
11. Usually players' partners don't really share their thoughts on the play of the team or individual players on social media. Evgeni Malkin's wife Anna is an exception, she's pretty active on the social network Telegram -- a platform that really isn't big at all in the U.S., but is pretty popular in some European countries. One example was after Danton Heinen's goal against Tampa, when she shared a highlight of the goal along with the note, "the guy has a great sense of rhythm," noting the way Heinen evaded three Lightning skaters on the way to the goal. Her message after the Penguins' overtime loss in Montreal was a brief one: "Jeff Petry is still playing for Montreal," a reference to Petry's three penalties in the game, including the one in overtime that led to the game-winning power play goal for the Canadiens. -- Haase
12. Last season Heinen managed to score 18 goals despite averaging the fewest minutes per game of regular Penguins skaters. When we discussed his current confidence level and decision to re-sign with the Penguins on such a cheap contract, I also asked him if he’s shooting for 20 goals this season. “Oh yeah, that would be nice,” he said, big smile on his face while he perked up. “That would be real nice.” Heinen has one goal through four games, but was an inch away from having a second in Montreal. With the way he's currently playing while getting consistent minutes on the third line and some action with the second power-play unit, 20 goals definitely seems like an attainable goal. -- Shirey
13. Players love playing in Montreal because so many of them have friends and family who can make it to those games. P.O Joseph ended up with over 20 people in the stands that game. It was neat to see Kris Letang's son Alex there with front-row seats, wearing his custom Penguins hoodie with his dad's No. 58 emblazoned across the front. -- Haase
14. Fully aware that I’m at least somewhat biased from being around it every day, but every time I’m in the locker room or hear Mike Sullivan speak, there’s just this overwhelming feeling that there’s something different about this team. In a good way. There’s a resounding confidence from top to bottom. There are so many accomplished players in the room and every single one of them share the hunger to win again, but they also embrace the massive hill to climb while understanding it won’t be linear journey. And every bit of that certainly drips down throughout the entire organization from the captain. -- Shirey
15. During Sullivan's answer to my question about the Kings Thursday morning, Sullivan referenced expected goals against, and specifically that the Kings graded out as one of the better teams in the league in that metric last season. According to the several public models I checked afterward, though, the Kings graded out much closer to average than being a top team in that department. It's possible Sullivan was actually referring to a longer timeframe that might be weighted more recently, but I find it much more likely that the Penguins' expected goals model simply has much more information and data to work with, making it more accurate than what you or I have available. As great and insightful all of the public data is, it's always important to acknowledge its limitations. And that's coming from someone who relies on and utilizes the public data every single day. Just something to keep in mind. -- Shirey
16. It's only fair to drop an extremely small sample advanced metric at you now, but get this: Going into Thursday's game, each of the Penguins' top three forward lines were inside the top six lines in the entire NHL regarding the rate at which they generated quality offensive chances, according to Evolving-Hockey. Perhaps even better, the top two D-pairings in the NHL in overall on-ice expected goals share (xGF%) at 5-on-5 are Penguins D-pairings. Brian Dumoulin-Letang ranked first (79.7%) and Marcus Pettersson-Petry ranked second (72.9%). That won't hold up forever, but it does speak to how great the Penguins have been to start the season. -- Shirey
17. It was really cool to see a couple of young kids come run up to Brian Burke with their hats extended during Thursday's morning skate. Burke grabbed the hats from them and then disappeared down the tunnel, presumably to go get some autographs from the players for the youngsters in Penguins jerseys. Morning skates aren't open to the public, so the kids were likely related to someone in the organization, or even Burke. -- Shirey
PIRATES
18. Nick Gonzales is having a good showing in the Arizona Fall League thus far, hitting .270 with two home runs in his first 10 games played. He also struck out nine times in 42 trips to the plate. Strikeouts were a problem all season long, and according to a scout, outside pitches were a major cause for those whiffs. -- Alex Stumpf
19. A friendly reminder to not put too much stock into Fall League stats. It is only about a month's worth of at-bats at the end of a minor-league season, so it's a small sample size and many players aren't used to playing that much yet. For example, Bryan Reynolds hit .300 at every step of his journey to the majors... except Fall League ball. It's a nice feather in a player's cap, but it doesn't make or break anyone. -- Stumpf
20. September was definitely an open audition for the bullpen. Someone who really has Oscar Marin's attention is Junior Fernández.The main focus with him was trying to develop his breaking ball, especially since the fastball registers in the upper 90s. He could be a sleeper going into 2023. -- Stumpf
21. Both Derek Shelton and Ben Cherington stressed their desire to get more swing-and-miss pitchers into majors. There's a clear need for it, as the Pirates finished 29th in baseball in reliever whiff percentage last year (11.9%). Cherington acknowledged that it can come down to fastball usage, as the sinker is more of a contact pitch than a four-seamer. A majority of the relievers they brought in midseason were sinkerballers primarily, so that low whiff rate can partially be attributed to personnel. -- Stumpf
