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无毛视频檙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 无毛视频� with a toe tap, thank you 无毛视频� and beat the Patriots in a low-scoring game.
n Opposite Day worked for a coach who无毛视频檚 been under as much criticism as Costanza himself, and the Steelers find themselves back in this thing.
n Even Le无毛视频橵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?
无毛视频淵eah, I know, right?无毛视频� DeCastro said with a chuckle. 无毛视频淚 haven无毛视频檛 heard him say a word all year. I like that from a rookie. He and James Washington are getting comfortable and making plays. That无毛视频檚 why you draft guys. And they showed up.无毛视频�
n Much of Samuels无毛视频� 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.
无毛视频淟e无毛视频橵eon was really good at it,无毛视频� DeCastro said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a good change-up play.无毛视频�
n 无毛视频淚 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,无毛视频� said Samuels, who无毛视频檚 apparently reading blocks and fronts now like he无毛视频檚 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无毛视频檚 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.
无毛视频淗e made some big plays for us today. He made some big plays for us last week,无毛视频� Roethlisberger said. 无毛视频淚 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.无毛视频�
n Washington无毛视频檚 development rounds out a Steelers receiving corps that put the Patriots无毛视频� 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无毛视频� last drive.
n Yes, it turned out Edmunds was what the Steelers have needed all along to cover Gronk, right?
无毛视频淣ah, it wasn无毛视频檛 me. It was a team effort tonight,无毛视频� said Edmunds. 无毛视频淚 was covering him a few times tonight. I无毛视频檓 not gonna lie to you; he无毛视频檚 a tough guy to cover. It was a good experience for me and for the years to come.无毛视频�
n Was Brady everything Edmunds expected him to be?
无毛视频淓verything I expected,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淗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无毛视频檚 exactly what I expected. But it无毛视频檚 different looking outside in, than actually being in that position. Man, that无毛视频檚 a great experience going against one of the greatest of all time. We might see him again.无毛视频�
n 无毛视频淲e might see him again无毛视频� probably sums up the Steelers无毛视频� 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无毛视频檚 back in the playoff chase, it will mean little if the Steelers can无毛视频檛 keep their feet on the ground and they treat this as anything more than just another win within the weekly grind.
无毛视频淲e have a lot of old guys, a lot of guys who无毛视频檝e been through this before,无毛视频� said DeCastro. 无毛视频淣o one无毛视频檚 too overjoyed. We hadn无毛视频檛 beaten this team since I无毛视频檝e been here, so we无毛视频檙e happy. But we无毛视频檙e not overjoyed.无毛视频�
Opposite Day indeed.