Steelers inside the ropes: Mike Tomlin bemoans, 'Can somebody block T.J., please?'

In full pads for the fourth time over the past five practices and sixth time over the past nine days, the Pittsburgh Steelers drilled some run-game plays in 11-on-11 play Wednesday at Saint Vincent College.

Outside linebacker T.J. Watt did his best to ensure the ball-carriers didn’t make it out of the backfield.

Later in 11-on-11, the Steelers repped some pass plays.

Again, Watt disrupted things.

It was enough so that coach Mike Tomlin loudly verbalized his frustration toward the offensive unit.

“Can somebody block T.J.,” Tomlin barked out, “please?”

Fans within earshot laughed. But it probably wasn’t funny to the linemen, backs and tight ends tasked with blocking Watt and fellow Pro Bowl edge rusher Alex Highsmith.

• During one rep of first-teamers in which a passing play was called, both Watt and Highsmith had clean breaks into the backfield, bracketing Kenny Pickett as he looked to pass. Of course, hitting the quarterback and sacks are prohibited in practice, so Pickett found Diontae Johnson for a completion of approximately 20 yards. But of course, in a game, if two premier pass-rushers had gotten that close to Pickett, the play would have been blown up.

• The defense also prevailed 4-3 in the “seven shots” 2-point conversion simulation that opens the team-drill portion of practice. The Pickett-led first-team offense split four reps, scoring on an Allen Robinson toe-tap in the back of the end zone and on a fade that George Pickens almost inexplicably came away with the ball despite good coverage from Patrick Peterson. Peterson also was also the player on Robinson when he scored.

• Mitch Trubisky’s lone touchdown in the drill was on a slant to Dez Fitzpatrick. Trubisky threw a nice ball to Calvin Austin III as he ran along the back of the end zone, but Austin did not get his feet in and (according to Tomlin, who stood nearby) bobbled the ball slightly. James Pierre also was able to break up a fade pass thrown by Trubisky to 6-foot-7 rookie tight end Darnell Washington.

• Kwon Alexander batted down a Pickett pass intended for Connor Heyward early in seven shots, a skill the veteran linebacker has shown an affinity for during his first week with the Steelers. This came on the second snap of seven shots after a Pickett incompletion to Robinson on the first, prompting Tomlin to twice say, “We don’t have time to warm up to it.”

• Washington had a couple of nice catches later during team drills. In seven-on-seven play, he outreached All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for a pass about 20 yards downfield in which Pickett hit him in stride. Later on, Trubisky lasered in a pass between three defenders from about 20 yards away while Washington stood just inside the goal line in 11-on-11s.

• Veteran Chandon Sullivan seems to be seizing the role as the first-team nickel/slot, increasingly playing with the starters. It appears to be on merit, too, as Sullivan regularly breaks up passes in team drills.

• Some of the best passes from Pickett were throws that went 20 to 25 yards downfield to Johnson (on a post route in seven-on-seven) and to a wide-open Pickens as he was rolling out in 11-on-11 red-zone work. The Pickett play that was most impressive, though, was after he had rolled left and thrown off his back foot while in motion — the ball still had velocity/zip in being delivered 15 to 20 yards downfield on target to Johnson.

• College running back-turned-tight end Connor Heyward again took a carry out of a traditional tailback spot, making a nice gain.

• Veteran running back Anthony McFarland stood out again. At one point Wednesday, he made a fine one-handed catch.

• Special teams work included situational live punting, including boots from a make-believe line of scrimmage of the 50-yard line and the 1-yard line. The former helped the coverage team practice downing punts in addition to returners fielding them. There also was a session in which Pressley Harvin III and Braden Mann were punting directionally.

• Only four open practices remain, the next one coming 1:55 p.m. Sunday at Saint Vincent.

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