Mike McCarthy
Mike McCarthy
During training camp, Mike McCarthy prepared for any injury possibilities along the offensive line. Through two games, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ front five has stayed healthy. Now, those players are feeling the pain of their limited reps.
Speaking to reporters Monday, McCarthy admitted a summer decision could be hurting the team as the season turns the page into the fall.
“Offensive line play, we touched on this a little in training camp,” McCarthy said via the team’s YouTube channel. “In hindsight, you go back and look, how many days did we line up with the same offensive line? We worked a lot of different combinations. No excuses, but they need continuity. They need reps, they need consistency. The consistency will come through the common concepts.”
Pittsburgh’s constant offensive line shuffling was one of several differences in McCarthy’s first training camp compared to how Mike Tomlin had done things in Latrobe. Not just in working players at different positions but the repeated rotation of pulling players in and out of reps during team periods.
For example, the Steelers would align with Mason McCormick at left guard one play before subbing in Brock Hoffman for the next play. It wasn’t a sign of a competition but a contingency plan of getting Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier familiar with Hoffman in the event McCormick was injured.
During one light practice early in camp, the majority of offensive linemen jogged from field to field during a dual 11-on-11 session that created plenty of combinations. It got to the point where reporting on a change in first-team offensive line was hardly worth noting or, at least, hardly worth reading into.
That process came at the expense of the front five working in tandem in its current form. Pittsburgh is paying that price that now. The offensive line has struggled to open running lanes and protect Aaron Rodgers.
“Our consistency, starting up front, we need to give our guys more laps,” McCarthy said. “More time on task and make sure we’re asking them to do things they have plenty of reps in.”
Based on that framing, McCarthy may not be quick to make offensive line changes and shake up the combinations even more. Still, if the group keeps struggling to protect Rodgers, a point of emphasis McCarthy made throughout his weekly presser, changes will need to occur.
The Steelers will face a Cincinnati Bengals defense on Sunday that looks far tougher than it did a year ago. Through two games, the Bengals are top 10 in points allowed and forced four turnovers in Week 1. New addition NT Dexter Lawrence has been a force and made an immediate impact after being acquired from the New York Giants.