Ever since he arrived in the Steel City, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has always preached position flexibility as he believes the more a player can do, the more he can do. During the Friday night practice at Saint Vincent College, Tomlin had tackles Marcus Gilbert and Mike Adams switch sides so he could see what more they could do.
“We are looking for the very best combination of people, and that might even include within groups,” Tomlin said about the switch in sides. “Both guys are left tackle capable. Both guys were left tackles in college. We just want to provide an opportunity for those guys to show what they are capable of and find the very best combination. We will continue to do those things, not only with those guys but others.”
Even though the two switched Friday night, Tomlin said don\’t read too much into it.
“Read into it what you would read into it,” he said. “If Ike Taylor was playing left corner and then swapped to the right corner, it is about the same thing. I know we make more out of it than what it is but it is just that.”
Sooner or later you knew that Adams was going to need to get some work on the left side, because as of right now, he would need to flip sides should something happen to Gilbert. Will we see Adams play a little on the left during the preseason? I would be pretty surprised if he didn\’t. Will this switch be permanent? We shall see.
Both Gilbert and Adams have apparently had their moments through the first week of training camp practices, but we won\’t know for sure where they\’re really at until the preseason games get underway. However, outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley was a guest Friday on Movin\’ The Chains and he had good things to say about both young tackles.
“They\’re doing a great job,” said Woodley. “Ben, he won\’t get sacked as much this year. The quarterback\’s always going to get sacked. He wont get sacked as much this year, because those guys have been definitely doing a great job and with Mike Adams coming back from his stabbing, to come back that fast, we know that Mike took a little time to heal himself. He couldn\’t actually be in a weight room much, but he\’s getting back to where he was in OTA\’s.”
