Mike Tomlin: Giants' new coaches have 1 big advantage in opener against Steelers

Oddsmakers have installed the Pittsburgh Steelers as nearly a one-touchdown favorite to defeat the New York Giants in the season opener Monday night at MetLife Stadium.

Mike Tomlin, though, doesn’t quite see his team holding an advantage as the Steelers prepare to play for the first time under the cloud of the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s not just traveling to a former covid-19 hot spot for the opener that has Tomlin concerned. It’s the fact the Giants have a new coaching staff in place after a 4-12 season in 2019.

With the NFL canceling all preseason games, it also eliminated any chance for teams to evaluate game tape of future opponents.

And that is why Tomlin is giving the upper hand to Giants first-year coach Joe Judge and new coordinators Jason Garrett and Patrick Graham. The Steelers, with their veteran head coach and established coordinators, have an identity that can be studied and dissected on film.

The Giants, even coming off a disastrous season, have none.

“To be quite honest, it’s going to be easier for Joe Judge and company to forecast what our ball is going to be on offense and defense and special teams because of that continuity,” Tomlin said Tuesday at his season-opening news conference.

Playing an unfamiliar opponent — one the Steelers see every four years — is just one of the challenges Tomlin will face as the Steelers try to return to the playoffs after a two-year absence.

Without the benefit of four preseason games — five, in the Steelers’ case this year — and with just three weeks of padded practices, players across the NFL will play four quarters of football this weekend for the first time in eight or nine months.

This could lead to generous substitutions in the early stages of the season as players try to get into appropriate game shape.

“We’re ready for that,” Tomlin said. “There’s an anticipation relative to that, but often times, that’s dictated by the total number of snaps, meaning if we are getting off the field effectively on defense, then fatigue sets in differently than if you are not.

“We are prepared to do it where necessary, but we also understand that certain in-game things are going to dictate whether or not it is necessary.”

This season, the NFL is allowing teams to carry two extra players on the active roster, as long as eight of the 48 spots are filled by offensive linemen. These players can be returned to the practice squad without needing to clear waivers.

Tomlin plans to take advantage of the rule.

“I’m not going to give them back,” he said, laughing. “I’m definitely going to use them for … this unusual environment in terms of what are guys are capable of. If we have available guys to us, we better use them, but also just a lack of in-game play and the number of snaps or the limited number of snaps people may be prepared to play or how fatigue may set in on us.”

When the Steelers take the field Monday night, it will end the strangest offseason in NFL history. Fans won’t be in the stands, but meaningful football will be played. For that, Tomlin is thankful.

“These opportunities are precious,” he said. “They are not to be taken for granted. We are just really blessed to put football on. I have that perspective, and I’m sure our players do as well. We are very passionate about what it is we do, and we are relieved that we are getting close to getting and opportunity to do it when there were probably times during the course of this development when we weren’t so sure.”