Steelers notes: T.J. Watt, team eager for Ireland trip

Though he is “really excited” to visit Dublin, Ireland, this weekend, T.J. Watt doesn’t have any plans to tour the Guinness Factory and go on a county drive to see some centuries-old castles.

“I mean, I’ve (already) been to Dublin. I think it was in, like, 2015,” Watt said Monday from UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “So I got all my fun out of the way there. So I can just be business a little more this time.”

The business trip for Watt and the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers begins Thursday evening. It will end after Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park Stadium.

“I’m really excited,” Watt said a day after having two sacks during a win at the New England Patriots. “Obviously, the Rooney family is huge over there, and (that late team president Dan Rooney held) the ambassadorship is incredible.

“I’m just looking forward to seeing the fans over there and spreading the game. It’s gonna be fun.”

Resting up

The Steelers intend to take a “red eye” flight and will arrive at their hotels in Dublin not long before the 48-hour mark in advance of Sunday’s kickoff that will take place at 2:30 p.m. Ireland time (9:30 a.m. Eastern).

Until their chartered departure Thursday, the Steelers have a regular work schedule for a week between two Sunday games: meetings were Monday, Tuesday an off day for players, a walkthrough-and-practice routine Wednesday and Thursday.

“I’m trying to get as much rest as possible,” Watt said in looking at the week ahead. “Hopefully, I can sleep on the flight over there and just try to enjoy the culture and try to soak it up as much as possible because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Deep team

Three games into the season, the Steelers already have used 85 combinations of players on the field at any given moment on defense. They’ve used a different starting lineup every game.

Three starters were out Sunday, two of whom have been limited to roughly a half of football this season. Another starter missed the season’s first two games. Two other significant reserves are on injured reserve.

Players who either joined the team after camp opened and/or were not projected to have significant roles have stepped in and stepped up in their stead.

The ability to plug in players who have been longtime NFL starters and/or high-caliber backups such as Chuck Clark, Jabrill Peppers, Cole Holcomb, Nick Herbig and Daniel Ekuale has proven to be a luxury for the Steelers.

“It’s really cool. I’ve never really had that in my life,” inside linebacker Payton Wilson said. “At N.C. State, we had some really good teams but maybe not the deepest teams. So to be able to experience that, like, ‘Hey, I need a breather, but if I go out of the game are we gonna drop off a lot?’ It’s really cool for that not to happen.

“Sometimes, you see these fresh guys come in, and the play elevates a little bit. So it’s really cool to be a part of it. One of the first times in my life that I’ve been around it, so it’s just a blessing.”

No time to celebrate

Watt’s older brother, J.J., was on the CBS color commentary for this past Sunday’s Steelers-Patriots game. The elder Watt made note of how it can be fatiguing for defensive players who take part in a “turnover celebration,” a phenomenon that can lead to trouble in cases during which a play is reversed via video review.

J.J. Watt made note of this after a second-quarter interception by Clark on Sunday was nullified via expedited replay. Happy Steelers defensive players who had sprinted to one end of the field for a group photo suddenly had to re-focus and take the field for a second-and-10 play.

“It’s hard to celebrate,” J.J. Watt said with a smile. “It’s hard because it’s so hard to make plays in the National Football League that it’s my belief that you celebrate. Like, you should have fun. You enjoy it because it’s so hard to do.

“But when those penalties and stuff like that happen, you have to play another down.”

Watt is known for his high leg kick after his sacks. But he didn’t show off that signature celebration after a sack of New England’s Drake Maye with 1 minute, 31 seconds left in Sunday’s game. That’s because the Patriots were in a hurry-up, desperate to tie the score.

“It’s a fine line there between celebrating,” Watt said, “and being ready for the next play.”