By: Michael Stiffler, @Stiffeezy_ on Twitter
SteelerNation.com
In no way shape or form am I saying a week 4 bye is good. A week 8 bye is much better for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and every player would agree with that. The 13-week gauntlet that lies ahead for this team will undoubtedly be a test for how great this team can truly be. While this isn’t ideal, there are a handful of Steelers who will benefit from an early bye week.
There isn’t a Steeler who needed the early bye week more than Diontae Johnson. Right now he is in concussion protocol and time is the best thing for him. Without having to rush back or possibly miss a big matchup versus what would have been the Tennessee Titans, he gets a couple extra days rest. This is huge for the Steelers offense as Johnson has been Ben Roethlisberger’s favorite receiver having 25 targets, even though he only played 19 snaps before leaving their week 3 matchup. Johnson is slowly starting to become the Steelers number one receiver moving forward and the Steelers need him on the field as much as possible if they are to contend with the top teams in the AFC.
Speaking of Roethlisberger, he is going to benefit from the early bye week. You might be thinking, isn’t it better the more live reps he gets, the better? While that is true, Roethlisberger was quoted saying he felt like he got hit by a car after his first week of play. His body is going to take some time to adjust to the natural bumps and bruises that come along with playing the sport and the Titans matchup would’ve been extremely physical. He gets a bye week and a game versus the extremely battered Philadelphia Eagles before diving into the meat and potatoes of their schedule. Hopefully by then he will no longer feel like he got hit by a car but rather fell off a bike.
Lastly, I think head coach Mike Tomlin is going to benefit from the early bye week. These first three weeks they played teams who are all defeated, while I will dispute the Houston Texans as a bad team, the others I will not defend. This has served as a kind of preseason for this team and Tomlin will have the ability to go back into the film and really see how his team is performing. I think this will allow the team to really maximize their strengths while improving on the weaknesses they have shown early on.
How are you handling the bye week SteelerNation? What are your thoughts a quarter of the way through the year? Drop a comment below!
