Daily 5: Brady playing in week 1 impacted Steelers decision to sit Thomas

TIOPS DAILY FIVE

*RUMBLINGS, MUSINGS, OPINIONS*

1. Guys like Sean Rodriguez have an expiration date. Hopefully the Pirates found that out Monday afternoon.

Rodriguez was excellent in the Pirates three game series vs the Cardinals, going 6-for-7 with a home run, 3 RBIs. Clint Hurdle has a great admiration for Rodriguez and has admitted that himself. It wasn’t a shock to see Hurdle reward Rodriguez by putting him in the lineup Monday afternoon with the quick turnaround, but shortstop?

A position Rodriguez has made zero starts at this season and just three starts over the last three seasons.

In a game where the Pirates with a win were guaranteed to gain a game on the Cubs or Cardinals.

Rodriguez had a nightmare day, two errors, getting picked off in the ninth inning with the tying run at the plate. Those days happen but there’s always this infatuation to over-play the backup and it’s only a matter of time before players like Rodriguez get exposed when they get over-extended.

What also happened here is the manager put the player in a very uncomfortable position and that’s what has so many baffled by Hurdle’s decision.

2. Once Tom Brady’s suspension was officially lifted Wednesday, Steelers coaches determined on Friday there was no way Shamarko Thomas was fit to start the season opener with Brady at the helm, a source with knowledge of the situation says.

One of the biggest issues for the fourth year safety is how quarterbacks out-smart him with their eyes. He has no grasp of playing a cover-2.

The hope inside the organization is for Thomas to still transition into the starting strong safety spot early in the season, maybe as early as week 2, but this is a matchup with Brady now involved the Steelers saw as a potential disaster for Thomas that he might never recover from.

In comes the veteran Will Allen.

“He’s [Will Allen] smart and knows [hide] the game. He’s challenged by the game and loves the competition,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said today.

3. No one in the league has figured it out but several Steelers believe they have the blueprint to stop Rob Gronkowski — Jam him at the line of scrimmage —

“He’s knowledgeable. He has really good instincts. He is big. He is strong. He has a wingspan, a huge wingspan,” Butler said of Gronk. “So he really muscles everybody a lot of times. If he gets the matchups that they want, then he is going to be quite a bit bigger than the person guarding him. He will body-up, and Tom Brady knows where to throw it.”

While Ryan Shazier has the speed, athleticism to run with Gronk, Butler feels putting someone with size on Gronkowski could be the best way to defend him once he gets free.

“You need somebody good enough to cover him, whether it’s a linebacker, safety, whatever. Sometimes it’s good to have size,” Butler said.

4. Is the Dri Archer era coming to an end? There’s certainly a sense among some coaches that Jordan Todman will not only bump Archer from getting a hat on game days once Le’Veon Bell returns, but potentially push Archer to the waiver wire. Todman has a great chance to take over as the Steelers primary returner and change of pace back Todd Haley sought in pushing to draft Archer. Management likely has a different feeling, though.

5. Pat Narduzzi put the best spin on it he could but the James Conner injury is just devastating for all parties involved. For Conner individually there was so much at stake and for any casual fan, Conner was one of the few reasons to tune into a Pitt game.

Special player and you could argue he didn’t get enough publicity for how good of a back he really is.[/hide]