WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Notes, Quotes

The Sports Xchange

November 22, 2018 at 1:34 am.

–Head coach Mike Tomlin continues to be impressed by the development of a couple of players from the 2016 draft class. Safety Sean Davis, a second-round pick, is transitioning this season to free safety after playing strong safety in his first two NFL seasons. Tomlin has been impressed with Davis’ ability to call defenses and get his teammates in the right alignment

“He is a traffic cop back there,” Tomlin said. “He occupies the role that Mike Mitchell occupied before him and that Ryan Clark occupied before Mike Mitchell. There is a lot of responsibility that goes with that role. This guy has made a dramatic step in terms of what he brings to us. He keeps a lid on it. He communicates. He’s done a heck of a job of it. He is evolving. He’s done well, but he’s going to do better and he continually has displayed that, and we expect that.”

Javon Hargrave, a third-round pick in 2016, had a big game against the Jaguars. He recorded two sacks to boost his season total to five. Hargrave, a nose tackle, sees limited snaps because the Steelers don’t play much base defense. When Stephon Tuitt missed the game with an elbow injury, Tomlin gave Hargrave a chance to play in sub-packages as a defensive end.

“His job description is nose,” Tomlin said. “There’s just not a lot of opportunities for noses in today’s NFL. I’ve been really open about challenging him about being a sub-package contributor. You don’t want to be pigeon-holed in this game. His college resume is impressive in terms of getting after the passer. We wanted to give him an opportunity to show that versatility.”

–The Steelers could have the depth along their offensive line tested against the Broncos. Right tackle Marcus Gilbert is likely to miss a fifth consecutive game with a knee injury. His backup, Matt Feiler, is dealing with a pectoral injury that he played through in the Jaguars game. Should Feiler not be able to play, the Steelers would be forced to turn to rookie third-round pick Chuks Okorafor.

“I’ve been pleased with his growth,” Tomlin said. “We take the thoughtful approach with young swing tackles. We play them at tight end some. He gets to report as eligible and get in-game experience. We’ve done it with (Alejandro) Villanueva and (Chris) Hubbard. It’s a way for young developing tackles to get experience and play some. If he is called upon it won’t be the first time he’s played for us. We’ll expect him to play varsity ball.”

Villanueva is now the starting left tackle and Hubbard signed a $35 million contract with the Browns this past offseason to become a starter for them.

–Tomlin paid second-year receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster a high compliment when he compared him to former Steelers receiver Hines Ward, whom Tomlin coached from 2007-2011. Smith-Schuster is leading all Steelers receivers in yardage through the first 10 games of the season, but Tomlin is more excited about his development as a blocker in the running game.

“Just his attitude regarding his role in the run game, his knowledge and awareness in terms of blocking box defenders,” Tomlin said. “Not only does he have the physical attributes to do it, he’s got the mentality to do it. He’s got the intelligence to do it. He’s Hines Ward-like in some of those things. I realize what I said when I said that, but this guy enjoys it. He’s embracing it and I think it helps us. I don’t know that we’ve had a guy that I can even make that loose comparison to.”

BY THE NUMBERS: 15 – Number of victories for the Steelers in their past 17 road games. They are 15-1-1 in that stretch and 4-0-1 on the road this season.

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