Steelers 2023 Practices Under Mike Tomlin Draw Rave Reviews From Brian Baldinger And A Bold Prediction For Najee Harris

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had three head coaches since 1969. The current Head Coach Mike Tomlin has been in the position longer than his predecessor Bill Cowher and is one contract extension away from challenging Chuck Noll's tenure. Tomlin has led the Steelers to two Super Bowls in 16 seasons and has never had a losing record.

The Steelers have only played one regular season game under Tomlin where they have been mathematically eliminated from the AFC playoffs. On December 30, 2012, the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns 24-10 in the only meaningless game of his career. No matter what your opinion is of Tomlin’s tactical acumen, that record will be virtually impossible to duplicate.

Brian Baldinger is an analyst for the NFL Network and hosts the In The Huddle podcast with Carl Duke and Jason La Canfora. Baldinger dedicated a significant portion of his time this week to the Pittsburgh Steelers. During the Monday podcast, Baldinger shared he was visiting the Steelers later this week and his excitement to see the new version of the offensive line. 

“They brought in Isaac Seumalo,” Baldinger began. “Seumalo is an elite player, as smart an offensive lineman as you are going to get. They drafted themselves Broderick Jones. He is 21 years old Carl. He is 325 pounds and looks like he is a skinny power-forward. The guy is going to fill out.”

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Baldinger has raved about Broderick Jones and Isaac Seumalo separately during the offseason, but he is extremely high on the rookie tackle from the Georgia Bulldogs. Earlier in the offseason he favorably compared Jones to New York Giants All-Pro Andrew Thomas who is also from Georgia. The former offensive lineman who played for four teams over 143 career games is genuinely excited to see the two new linemen in action.

Baldinger has known Tomlin since he was a secondary coach under Tony Dungy. NFL Network analysts typically visit multiple training camp destinations as part of their job, but he recalled his visit to Pittsburgh last season and an interaction with Tomlin before a practice he was set to observe.

“I was in Latrobe last summer,” Baldinger continued. “I’m in the main office and Tomlin shows up. He says ‘You came to a good day Baldy. We’re getting after it. In fact, I want you to tell me, am I a dinosaur?’ This practice was full speed, full contact. I’m watching TJ Watt take Najee Harris to the ground. Mike T is everywhere. He is what coaching is all about.”

Baldinger completed his visit to Pittsburgh practice this week and on the Thursday version of the In the Huddle podcast reported back about his impressions from his time with the Steelers and his first interaction with Kenny Pickett.  

"Kenny Pickett comes right up to me and introduces himself," Baldinger said. "I never met (Kenny) Pickett but knew who I was. We are in the facility where he spent his entire college career. Pitt Panther banners, ACC Player of the Year, his picture and name are all over the place."

With the attention that he garnered as the only first-round quarterback in the 2022 draft, it is safe to say that Baldinger was aware of who the Steelers' signal caller is in 2023. The security in his position as a leader to stroll up to an NFL Network analyst and interact personally with humility is one of Pickett's strongest traits. He is comfortable in his own skin and is the genuine article. 

"Talking to Mike Tomlin," Baldinger continued. "He comes up to me and says 'Baldy, these kids you gotta understand these guys are in transfer portals, they don't know anything. I've got to teach more now than I have ever had to teach to get these kids up to speed.' I just had that in mind the entire day. 

When you are around this team, they are very youthful. You just start looking at key guys on this roster and you go man they are young. They have the right coach, the right culture and you could see these kids growing up very quickly."

Tomlin's experience with his son and the transfer portal is serving him well in communicating with younger players, according to Baldinger. He came away very impressed with the frenetic pace of the Steelers' practice sessions and stated that it was the most unique setting he has visited so far and it could lead to big things in Pittsburgh. 

"If Kenny Pickett takes any kind of a step," Baldinger observed. "He played really good the second half of the season won some big games for them. If he plays with the level of consistency that anyone needs from that position. The heavy competition on the defensive and offensive lines which both needed to be upgraded, this could be a highly competitive team."

Baldinger is not prone to hyperbole when it comes to playing in the trenches. He was highly critical of the Steelers offensive line, in particular the last two seasons even with the late season improvement from the group. The former offensive lineman came away impressed with the new group and what it could mean for Najee Harris in year three of his career. 

"I think they are going to get a pretty good five up front," Baldinger concluded. "We haven't seen his (Najee Harris) best football. He is not Jerome Bettis yet. He's got a personality like the Bus. He's a fun guy to be around, a lot of guys gravitate towards him. He is an enormously powerful man. 

I think it starts with the running game, they have huge tight ends. I think they are going to run the ball in a variety of ways. From that you've got (George) Pickens, Diontae Johnson and Allen Robinson, they have some dogs now."

The Steelers' offensive core is exceedingly young and if managed correctly could produce at an extremely high level for a long time. Harris has spent most of his career shaking off defenders in the backfield and if Baldinger's observation is correct he should be much more effective in 2023.

 One of the knocks on Harris is his explosion into a hole, but he is a big back who needs a couple of steps to build momentum. The Jerome Bettis comparison might be wishful thinking but Harris could be substantially more effective in the fall for the Steelers. 

The improvements that Omar Khan and Andy Weidl made in the trenches have given Tomlin the ability to play the type of offensive football he wants to play according to Baldinger. The question is can Matt Canada make use of the vastly improved weapons at his disposal? 

The NFL Network analyst is a huge fan of Tomlin and how he handles a football team he is responsible for developing. Critics of Tomlin do him a disservice when they say he gets outcoached in big games. He has indeed been outmaneuvered in too many big games, but it is almost impossible to envision anyone doing a better job coaching a group of men.

What do you think Steeler Nation? Do you believe Tomlin can oversee a Steelers renaissance in 2023? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.  

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