Steely McBeam
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- Mar 20, 2019
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The Steelers have high hopes for rookie wide receiver Diontae Johnson, and think he can do a lot of things with the ball in his hands.
But it has to be there for that to happen.
Johnson, replacing the drop-prone Donte Moncrief, fumbled the ball away on the seconds snap of the game Monday.
Via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, coach Mike Tomlin replied to a question about what advice he had for the rookie by saying: “Don’t fumble anymore.”
The fumble led to a Bengals field goal, which was their only score of the night. Johnson bounced back, with six catches for 77 yards, and a 43-yard touchdown.
“These guys are at this level because they are able to bounce back,” Tomlin said. “You’re not a National Football League player unless you can stare adversity in the face and overcome it. It’s probably not the first time he’s put the ball on the ground in his life. You show me any successful person in any walk of life, I’ll show you a guy that’s failed a lot and found ways to overcome it and endure.
“I’m not surprised when these guys respond appropriately to negativity. I’m more concerned about how they respond to positivity, to success and their ability to remain singularly focused. That’s more telling about the man in today’s game.”
It’s not hard to read that as Tomlin’s view on some ex-Steelers, including the guy Johnson was drafted to replace. But as it pertains to the present, Tomlin knows he needs Johnson to serve as an effective complement this year, so he’s trying to offer him support, in his own way.