Steelers News: The key for the Steelers’ offense in Week 1? Spreading the wealth

The Pittsburgh Steelers just wrapped up the NFL preseason which means the exhibition games are over. This means the regular season is almost here, and the news surrounding the black-and-gold is starting to heat up. As the team prepares for the coming season, we continue to provide you with features, commentary and opinions to tide you over until the season starts!

Today in the black-and-gold links article we take a look at how for the Steelers’ offense to have success in Week 1 vs. the Patriots they need to spread the wealth around as much as possible.

Let’s get to the news:

• The Pittsburgh Steelers might be missing some pieces from 2018, but it doesn’t mean their offense can’t be successful. They just need to utilize as many weapons as they possibly can.

Steelers, Roethlisberger ready to spread the wealth against Patriots

By: Joe Rutter, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The last team to defeat the New England Patriots used a backup running back gaining 172 scrimmage yards and a diverse passing game to eke out a 17-10 victory in December.

Is it a formula the Pittsburgh Steelers might use again when they open the season against the Patriots on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium?

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn’t so sure that a duplicate game plan is the answer.

“You’re not going to get over on the Patriots twice,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday. “That coaching staff is pretty good and their players are pretty good, too. We’ll have to figure some new things out.”

The recipe for success that enabled the Steelers to beat the Patriots for the first time in six tries worked so well that New England essentially used an identical game plan to win their sixth Super Bowl championship.

With a renewed emphasis on the running game, the Patriots didn’t lose another game, reeling off five wins in a row and dispatching the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3, in the Super Bowl. In a league that has gotten so reliant on the passing game, it was an unexpected turn of events for the Patriots.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Is Javon Hargrave more Netflix, or Blockbuster?

Tim Benz: Steelers’ Javon Hargrave could be a ‘Blockbuster’ vs. Patriots

By: Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Tomlin’s description of Hargrave’s development over his three years in Pittsburgh was … unique.

“I like how he continues to add to his portfolio,” Tomlin said. “I often kid him that a nose guard is like Blockbuster Video. He better diversify. A nose doesn’t get an opportunity to play much so he better reinvent himself as a sub-package rusher. And he has done that over the last couple of years because of that challenge. Thus, he’s made himself more useful to us.”

I followed up by asking Tomlin if that means Hargrave has become more like Netflix and less like a VHS tape.

“Certainly, and he better.”

Yeah. Especially this weekend in Foxborough.

Watch how Hargrave handles whoever the Patriots center is. That will be a crucial matchup.

Usually, it’s David Andrews. But he is battling blood clots in his lungs and has been placed on injured reserve. Andrews is a team captain who played all 19 games last year. The Athletic reports that Andrews “allowed one sack, four quarterback hits and four pressures, all of which were the fewest among the Patriots’ starters.”

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• The Pittsburgh Steelers had a successful training camp, but then again they did last year too.

Mike Tomlin: We had a good camp, but last year was a good camp too

By: Josh Alper, ProFootballTalk

The 2019 Steelers will play their first game in New England on Sunday night and the hope in Pittsburgh is that it will be the first step toward a better year than they had in 2018.

During the offseason, one of the focal points of discussions around the team has been that things are more harmonious than they were when they were dealing with Le’Veon Bell‘s absence and Antonio Brown‘s assorted outbursts last season. During a conference call with New England reporters on Wednesday, Tomlin was asked about that notion and how it felt to have less drama at training camp.

Tomlin said he felt the team had a good summer, but noted that he would have said the same at this time last year as well.

“We don’t pay attention to the storylines,” Tomlin said. “That’s stuff that’s fed from the exterior. It was a good camp, but shoot, it was a good camp a year ago. But really you measure camps by how you perform over the course of the season, and from that standpoint stay tuned.”

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Ben Roethlisberger’s Media Session

• An update on the Steelers and Patriots Injury Reports

• Social Media Madness