Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin continues to heap praise on former Harrisburg High School star Micah Parsons.
Tomlin, when discussing Parsons on Sunday, said the game-changing Packers star is ‘an alien talent’ that has to be worked about from all angles at this point in his career.
“He’s an alien. He’s visiting from another planet,” Tomlin said of Parsons to Steelers.com. “All of these guys in the National Football League are talented, but there are levels to this. Some people are freaky, even among the freaks, and he is one of those guys.”
In the past, the Steelers have taken great edge rushers like Myles Garrett out of the game with a concerted effort to run the ball and roll away from him in the passing game.
Yet, Parsons and the Packers will know that, and could have a plan to counteract just what the Steelers will want to do against Parsons.
“Micah Parsons, I can’t say enough about him and his talents. You saw just the other day what he’s capable of doing. I think that’s really indicative of the impact that a guy like him has. You better stay out of one-dimensional circumstances. You better stay on schedule. In doing so, man, you really limit situations where he has an opportunity to take over,” Tomlin said.
In his warning, Tomlin noted that the Arizona Cardinals, who allowed Parsons to have three sacks against them on Sunday, did not stay out of those situations, which allowed Parsons to tee off.
“Arizona was in that game, but they had to take some risk there towards the end in an effort to pursue victory. They got somewhat one-dimensional. When you get in those circumstances, they got an opportunity to really control the game. He shut the game down with two really big sacks,” Tomlin said.
The player who will likely draw that matchup the most is offensive tackle Broderick Jones. Jones has played well the last few weeks, especially after a Week 1 where he allowed three sacks to Jets star Will McDonald.
Jones and even right tackle Troy Fautanu are prepared for Parsons, who will move around the line of scrimmage.
“He’s just relentless,” Jones said. “He doesn’t stop like most people in the league. It sets him apart because he has a motor about him. He has a deep bag of tools. He has finesse to his game. The Packers do a good job of moving him around, from the inside to the outside to lining up at linebacker. We’ve got a lot of film to break down.”
At times, Fautanu noted that Parsons becomes ‘dominant’ in games, taking them over. The Steelers will not let him have one-on-ones. That is where someone like tight end Darnell Washington steps in, or even running back Jaylen Warren. Both players have been key cogs to slowing down star pass rushers.
Yet, Parsons is another test in the growth of the Steelers’ young offensive line. It seems it is going in the right direction, but they must prove it once again.
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