If the off week came at a bad time for any Steeler, it might be rookie Benny Snell. He had momentum, coming off a breakout game with 75 yards rushing in the win against the Chargers, and he had opportunity, with backup running back Jaylen Samuels recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.
Now, the Steelers backfield is suddenly crowded again behind James Conner. Conner is healthy after ceding carries to Snell in Week 6. Samuels practiced in full all week and is questionable to play Monday night against Miami after missing just one game. Even fullback Roosevelt Nix is set to return for the first time since injuring his knee in the season opener. Are there enough snaps and carries to go around?
“Honestly, that’s not for me to answer, that’s for the coaches to answer,” Snell said Saturday after practice. “I’m very excited that Jaylen’s back. Jaylen makes the offense very versatile with how he can catch the ball and how dynamic he is. But i feel like we’re all dynamic in our own ways.”
Samuels, often considered the best pass-catcher of the bunch, is officially listed as questionable. But he claims to be “real close” to 100 percent. Snell, for his part, isn't satisfied with his performance in his first NFL game with more than three carries.
“I really look at it as an opportunity to build off of what I showed I could do. There was some opportunities I missed on special teams that I need to take advantage of,” Snell said. “Offensively, I felt like I did a pretty decent job, but I felt like I wanted my first touchdown to be in L.A.”
Not because Snell is pining for the limelight or anything; he just thinks he missed some reads that could’ve led to even more yardage and a score.
In fact, Snell has been intentional lately about letting his actions speak more than his words. Asked if his attitude or mentality has changed from training camp until now, the former Kentucky star took a few seconds to think.
“Hmm. I would say, no, my attitude has not changed. It’s all the same. I look for every week to get better, for the things that I missed. … I still want to take coaching, and just try to be a game-changer. I want to put it all on the field so the coaches know they can trust me, leave me in, and earn respect from the vets.”
But what happened to all that preseason chatter about “Snell Yeah” and “Benny Snell Football”? Well, Snell seems a bit regretful that he might’ve come across as a boisterous rookie full of bravado rather than just a young player enjoying life in the NFL.
“I know exactly what you mean. … The ‘Benny Snell Football,’ I took that as kind of a fun thing,” Snell said, adding that Mike Tomlin is a fan of the phrase. “Coach ‘T’ says it in practice all the time, and he motivates me and stuff, but I kind of was using it wrong with the media.”
So, in other words, do more and talk less?
“Yeah. Or, it’s, you understand that Benny is the fun kid that likes to just have fun, you know what I’m saying? Loves football in that kind of way,” Snell said.
That was the first time in a while he referred to himself in third person. There was no directive from coaches, no teammates leaning on him to cut it out, according to Snell. They like saying “Benny Snell Football,” too. Brand-wise, he wants to do more in the community, but will let those opportunities happen organically.
Tomlin, though, is holding him to a high standard elsewhere.
“Oh, definitely. Coach Tomlin has challenged me on making defenders miss in 1-on-1s in open field, on making sure I make the right reads, making sure I’m a splash player just like [Nix] on special teams,” Snell said. “That’s why I take pride in things like that. I take pride in my job. I love this job.”
And he’d love to run behind Nix, who took a fellow Columbus native under his wing from the moment Snell was drafted. Those two certainly will share the field on special teams. It’s the backfield that once again has a lot of mouths to feed, but if anything, that’s a good problem to have.
Between the Wildcat formation and a few other looks, Conner and Samuels have both been in on 15 plays this year. If they all keep producing, is the next step a “full house” formation?
“You don't ever see that,” Samuels said with a smile. “Hopefully we can come up with that in our game plan sooner or later. That would definitely be nice.”
No ‘weenies’ allowed
With Anthony Chickillo on the NFL’s exempt list and T.J. Watt managing an abdomen injury, Ola Adeniyi expects to be as busy as he ever has on defense in his two seasons Monday night.
Watt was a full participant for a second consecutive practice Saturday and does not carry an injury designation on the official status report, but Adeniyi is now the top backup at both outside linebacker positions. Does that mean Tomlin is paying twice as much attention to him now?
“Actually, he really has,” Adeniyi said. “There’s something that I usually say during practice to younger guys, just to play around with them, and he’s tried to turn around and use that on me a lot this week.”
Lest you were worried Adeniyi’s go-to motivational phrase would be crude or vulgar, it’s actually a reference from the “SpongeBob SquarePants” TV cartoon.
“At practice, I usually call guys ‘Weenies’ or ‘Weenie Hut Jr.,’ stuff like that,” Adeniyi said with a laugh. “And he’s been calling me that pretty much every day this week.”
Other injuries
Inside linebacker Mark Barron, the only player who was limited at Friday’s practice, was upgraded to full Saturday. Still, he’s officially listed as questionable with a hamstring injury.
The only other Steeler who joins Samuels and Barron with his status in question is rookie linebacker Ulysees Gilbert. Gilbert, who only plays on special teams, was downgraded to a limited participant with a back injury.
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: October 26, 2019, 8:54 p.m.