The perfect execution of Opposite Day
From the notebook of a sportswriter who just witnessed a perfect execution of Opposite Day:
n You know, up is down, black is white, eating tuna on toast when maybe the salmon swims against the current. You know, Costanza, when he did the opposite of what his instincts told him and ended up with the New. York. Yankees.
n OK, if you鈥檙e unfamiliar with classic Seinfeld, Mike Tomlin did the same thing Sunday against the New England Patriots. He put his team in their rush-colored uniform, sent them out en masse sans introductions, took the ball after winning the toss, used five-WR sets like he was Chan Gailey, had a cornerback make the biggest catch of the game 鈥� with a toe tap, thank you 鈥� and beat the Patriots in a low-scoring game.
n Opposite Day worked for a coach who蘑菇视频 been under as much criticism as Costanza himself, and the Steelers find themselves back in this thing.
n Even Le鈥橵eon Bell may have stopped laughing, oh, about the time Jaylen Samuels went over the 100-yard mark. The rookie fifth-rounder who never, EVER carried a football as often as he did Sunday night, finished with 142 yards on 19 carries.
n By the way, David DeCastro, who is this Jaylen Samuels fellow?
鈥淵eah, I know, right?鈥� DeCastro said with a chuckle. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 heard him say a word all year. I like that from a rookie. He and James Washington are getting comfortable and making plays. That蘑菇视频 why you draft guys. And they showed up.鈥�
n Much of Samuels鈥� damage was done on a toss play that he countered himself with a cutback through the middle out of the line. DeCastro credited offensive line coach Mike Munchak with putting it in four or five years ago, and the Steelers pulled it out of mothballs for the Patriots.
鈥淟e鈥橵eon was really good at it,鈥� DeCastro said. 鈥淚t蘑菇视频 a good change-up play.鈥�
n 鈥淚 can read the whole front and take it any way I want based off how the linemen block it and what kind of front the defense is in,鈥� said Samuels, who蘑菇视频 apparently reading blocks and fronts now like he蘑菇视频 actually played the position before.
n Of course, Samuels came out of North Carolina State as a jack-of-all-trades on offense, but only a part-time running back. He explained Sunday night at his first NFL post-game podium gig that was the reason he was recruited by N.C. State, because he had done that exact thing in high school.
n Turns out you really can find 142-yard running backs anywhere these days.
n Of course, it was supposed to be Redemption Day for ex-Patriot Stevan Ridley. But, you know, Opposite Day broke out.
n Washington, the second-round rookie, also turned up his level of play at the most critical point of the season. He caught only three passes for a team-high 65 yards but proved he really is that deep threat with big-play skills whom the Steelers scouted at Oklahoma State. Washington went up over Jason McCourty to haul in a 32-yarder down the sideline to open the second half. He then broke a tackle on a 24-yard catch-and-run to put the Steelers at the New England 18.
n Washington蘑菇视频 obvious development has to please Ben Roethlisberger, who sat the rookie down for a long talk two weeks ago to make clear what he expects from him.
鈥淗e made some big plays for us today. He made some big plays for us last week,鈥� Roethlisberger said. 鈥淚 hope he continues to grow. He just needs that confidence in himself because I have confidence in him. It looks like his confidence is coming back, which is important.鈥�
n Washington蘑菇视频 development rounds out a Steelers receiving corps that put the Patriots鈥� corps to shame. Tom Brady at times was helpless as tight end Rob Gronkowski lumbered around the field, obviously hurting and not the same young game-changer he was even a year ago.
n It helped that the Steelers were conscious of Gronkowski the entire game and had another rookie, Terrell Edmunds, to help cover him, particularly in the final throes of the Patriots鈥� last drive.
n Yes, it turned out Edmunds was what the Steelers have needed all along to cover Gronk, right?
鈥淣ah, it wasn鈥檛 me. It was a team effort tonight,鈥� said Edmunds. 鈥淚 was covering him a few times tonight. I鈥檓 not gonna lie to you; he蘑菇视频 a tough guy to cover. It was a good experience for me and for the years to come.鈥�
n Was Brady everything Edmunds expected him to be?
鈥淓verything I expected,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e tried to look you off. He checked when he saw you in certain things. He was pretty much the offensive coordinator on the field. That蘑菇视频 exactly what I expected. But it蘑菇视频 different looking outside in, than actually being in that position. Man, that蘑菇视频 a great experience going against one of the greatest of all time. We might see him again.鈥�
n 鈥淲e might see him again鈥� probably sums up the Steelers鈥� lack of celebration after slaying this dragon, as Roethlisberger once called the Patriots. Even the rookies are smart enough to realize that while this win means so much to the fan base, and of course to a team that蘑菇视频 back in the playoff chase, it will mean little if the Steelers can鈥檛 keep their feet on the ground and they treat this as anything more than just another win within the weekly grind.
鈥淲e have a lot of old guys, a lot of guys who鈥檝e been through this before,鈥� said DeCastro. 鈥淣o one蘑菇视频 too overjoyed. We hadn鈥檛 beaten this team since I鈥檝e been here, so we鈥檙e happy. But we鈥檙e not overjoyed.鈥�
Opposite Day indeed.