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LATROBE, Pa. -- When Mike Tomlin stepped to the podium Saturday afternoon, he admitted to dialing back the intensity of practice to let his players recover from a physical night under the lights at Latrobe Memorial Stadium on Friday. However, that didn't mean he wasn't expecting anything less on Sunday.
"You know the competition will be hot. We'll be right back at it," Tomlin said.
The players delivered Sunday afternoon at Saint Vincent College and the defense particularly answered the call of bringing both physicality and intensity. They dominated both seven shots and the goal line situation drills, which included several running plays that were stopped short of the goal line.
On the first play of seven shots, the defense brought a ton of pressure up the middle and Justin Fields "escaped" -- I use that word lightly given the quarterback isn't supposed to be touched -- rolled out left and ran for a touchdown. It was ruled a sack afterward, rightfully so.
Najee Harris then carried the ball up the middle on the next play and Isaiahh Loudermilk met him at the goal line. Loudermilk drove him back off the goal line before Mark Robinson or DeShon Elliott, it wasn't clear who, made the final stop. Jaylen Warren was stopped short two plays later when he tried attacking the middle of the defense. He was stood up by Montravius Adams Sr. and Elliott wrangled him to the ground.
"It was really a day that featured our bigs, offensive line, defensive line, the way the game is played in there," Tomlin said after practice. "We are not trying to trick anybody on a day like today. We want to see who can come off the ball, play with good pad level, defeat blocks, maintain blocks, just a really good day in terms of getting to know one another."
The trend continued in the goal line drill. Warren was stood up for a loss on the very first play when Miles Killebrew flew into the backfield for the stop. Harris did find the endzone when he leaped over the linemen for a score before Jonathan Ward tried to bounce one outside unsuccessfully.
I had the opportunity to speak with Isaac Seumalo after practice and he said, from his experience, when Tomlin dials it back a little, players are expected to show up the next day and he thought they did. He added that there are days when the defense has a good day, and the offense answers the next.
"That's just the ebbs and flows of camp," Seumalo said. "You have some good days and some not-so-good days. But coach Tomlin tries to breed that competition, so everyone is going to try and play with their hair on fire and I think it's a good thing."
Throughout the drills, Tomlin did pull guys like Keanu Benton and Larry Ogunjobi to allow younger players to prove themselves and they did for the most part. Tomlin said he was impressed with how Loudermilk and Logan Lee played throughout practice and especially in those drills.
"It’s always good when guys get an opportunity to do that and have some success," Tomlin said. "I thought some of those defensive linemen up front really represented themselves well."
Seumalo was impressed by the young defensive linemen after going against them for most of the day and said their development will be crucial for the team's success in the future as there needs to be depth on both sides of the ball, especially in the trenches. This day was a prime example of how that depth is developed.
Intensity and physicality weren't just displayed in the trenches, as the skill players also showcased some energy. Ryan Watts picked off Kyle Allen during the second-to-last play of the goal line drill and during the 2-on-2 coverage drill where wide receivers and tight ends take on defensive backs, both sides had flashes of success.
Nate Meadors picked off Russell Wilson on a pass intended for Jaray Jenkins. Then, a few plays later Joey Porter Jr. broke up Wilson's pass that was intended for Jacob Copeland. Wilson did find George Pickens streaking across the middle for a score on the very next play.
Lastly, Fields found Pat Freiermuth on a back shoulder catch against Elliott, that he fingertipped into his body before crossing the goal line.
It wasn't a perfect performance by any means and Fields admitted that he would've liked to come away with wins in both seven shots and goal line, but said the defense came with something extra Sunday.
"I feel like we performed good, we would've like a full sweep out of there (in goal line) but the defense came ready today," Fields said. "I think they got yelled at pretty hard in the meeting for the other night at Friday Night Lights so I think they definitely came with some energy today."
