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Having a Pro Bowl back-up on the pitch could have helped the Pittsburgh Steelers overcome their few-meter defeats on Sunday night in a 33-3 loss to the New England Patriots.
It will not be a panacea for this weekend – and beyond – if the Steelers find themselves in a similar situation against the Seattle Seahawks.
Rear Roosevelt Nix, who did not play offensively against the Patriots, will likely not be available for a few weeks due to a knee injury.
Coach Mike Tomlin added Nix to his injury report Tuesday at his weekly press conference. Tomlin said Nix "could miss this game and another or two."
Tomlin said Nix was injured in the 30-point loss to the Patriots, likely playing in special teams given his absence in attack. Chosen one of the four team captains because of his role in the special teams, Nix played 18 times against these units against New England, the Steelers' third-ranked player.
Without Nix on the ground to block for James Conner, the Steelers failed to convert a pair of games running to third and one during the second quarter. Facing another third and one and a fourth and a later in the game, the Steelers have chosen to pass and not convert those opportunities.
"We failed miserably in this regard," said Tomlin. "Our efforts have been catastrophic. This did not allow us to support the readers. It did not allow us to own the ball. This did not allow us to play a number of shots. This obviously did not allow us to score points. Add to that a few drops, it allowed us to go sledding.
In the first short-distance attempt, Conner was stopped without a win in a center race. On the second, he lost 4 yards on a ground on the left. The Patriots used a 25-yard touchdown pass on the next possession to take a 17-0 lead.
"No excuses in this regard," said Tomlin to the question about the Steelers' inability to run without a back-up on the pitch.
In front of the Patriots 47's two goals, the Steelers sent a giant pack of attacks on Zach Banner as a tight end. But during the commercial break, the call has been changed. Banner left the field and the Steelers left with five wide receivers. Donte Moncrief could not keep Roethlisberger's pass and Stephen Gostkowski scored a goal late in the game to score 20 points at half-time.
The Steelers opted for a placement during their first half-time training, when Roethlisberger and Moncrief could not connect on a fade to third and a goal from the first.
"You can not afford to lose 4-5 assets by playing in a band like this," said Tomlin, "especially in circumstances where you have to win the vast majority of short-distance situations."
Running has been difficult regardless of the situation. Conner had 10 yards for 21 yards and goaltender Jaylen Samuels had 4 yards in two runs. A 5 yard run accounted for the long win of a half backstroke.
The Steelers used Nix at the back on 16% of their offensive games in 2017, while Le'Veon Bell was the half-offensive. Last year, Nix's playing time was less than 10% with Conner as the main runner.
If the Steelers wish to use a backback to provide an additional block to Conner or Samuels during the home opener against Seattle, they will turn to someone who has no experience of the NFL at office. Sutton Smith, an outside linebacker who had taken a few representatives to the spring coaching position, was cut at the end of the pre-season and was not re-signed with the team. # 39; drive.
"We have candidates," said Tomlin. "We spent time, as we always do, looking for other options in areas where we do not have much depth. The backback position is an area where we do not have much depth.
"We are not opposed to watching others. We spent time watching defenders in the spring and summer. We are also able to look at difficult situations, which we have done regularly in the past. "
Tomlin has swept the questions about specific players filling the backstage.
"We are just at the beginning of the debate," he said. "If we need a backback, there will be someone who will represent that position on Sunday, I assure you."
Joe Rutter is an editor of Tribune-Review. You can contact Joe by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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