Tim Benz: Mike Tomlin won't let James Robinson be a surprise for Steelers defense

During his Tuesday press conference, I think Mike Tomlin finally had an appreciation of what it’s like to be a sports talk show host. On light content days, sometimes you’ve got to say a whole lot about not much to fill the time.

Hence his glowing monologue about Jacksonville Jaguars running back James Robinson.

I don’t blame him. Tomlin should pump up every conceivable difficulty the Steelers might face Sunday to encourage his players to take the 1-8 Jaguars seriously.

That’s something the Steelers appeared to whiff on twice in 2017.

Don’t get me wrong. Robinson has been really impressive. An undrafted rookie who is fifth in the league in rushing with 689 yards? C’mon! That’s saying something. He’s one of my favorite first-year players of 2020.

But Tomlin made him sound like Leonard Fournette, dipped in Fred Taylor, served with a side of Maurice Jones-Drew.

“I cannot say enough about him and the respect I have for what he has done,” Tomlin said of the Illinois State product.

“When you look at the tape, his style of play is impressive. He is a deliberate one-cut guy. He is downhill. He is quick to holes. He has good vision. He finishes off runs extremely well with great pad level.”

Tomlin is right. And the more the Jaguars have leaned on him, the more competitive they have been as a team. Robinson went for 119 yards and two touchdowns against the Los Angeles Chargers three weeks ago, and the Jaguars had a 29-22 lead in the second half before falling 39-29.

He had 99 yards and a touchdown two weeks ago against the Houston Texans, and they only lost by two points, 27-25.

Then against the 7-2 Green Bay Packers this past Sunday, Robinson managed 109 yards as they stayed in that game for 60 minutes, leading 20-17 in the fourth quarter before the Packers won 24-20.

Not to mention the 102 yards he gathered in Week 2 when the Jags nearly upset the Tennessee Titans before dropping a 33-30 decision. In those games, Robinson averaged 21.5 rushing attempts per game.

During the four games in between, Robinson only got 13.2 carries a contest. And the Jaguars lost all of them by an average of 15 points.

Against the Steelers, Jacksonville may want to get him going in the short passing game more often. On a day when he had a season-low 11 carries, Robinson had six catches for 83 yards against the Miami Dolphins back on Sept. 24. But he only has six combined catches over the last three weeks.

“I think he’s a guy that — he can do everything, I mean, he can be a three-down back, he can protect, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, obviously he can run the football,” head coach Doug Marrone told Sports Illustrated about Robinson in the wake of the Dolphins game.

The Steelers rush defense rebounded a bit against the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday. Following two rough weeks against the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers allowed just 100 yards rushing to the Bengals on offense. That’s discounting 39 yards on a fake punt run by Shawn Williams.

Tomlin knows the defense will have to be sharp against a Jaguars team that will likely be dedicated to running the ball with rookie quarterback Jake Luton under center.

“There is a certain style of play that Coach Marrone likes, and that’s nuts and bolts,” Tomlin said. “Run first and control the game and the time of possession. That has always kind of been Jacksonville Jaguars football since he has been there so that is what we are anticipating.”

With Taylor, Jones-Drew and Fournette under various coaches in Jacksonville, that approach has caused problems for the Steelers over the years. With Robinson and three of the five offensive line positions still occupied by Jaguars who beat the Steelers twice in 2017, that could be the case again.

But based on the Jags’ 1-8 record, that should be the only problem for the Steelers. Or at least the only one to cause much of a stir.

For as much as this has “trap game” written all over it, I still say the Steelers win. I bet Robinson does some good things and may wind up with 70-80 yards. But expect Tomlin and company to come back with another victory.

Steelers win 30-15.

In Wednesday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast, TribLive Steelers beat writer Joe Rutter and I talk about the Steelers’ efforts to stop the run. We also debate how a potential return of Mike Hilton could help. And we get into the dicey topic of the Steelers’ own run game.