Steelers Excited to See Tone-Setting Guard in Start
PITTSBURGH — Nate Herbig is set to make his first start with the Steelers on Sunday. However, it will not be the only time that Herbig has started in the NFL. He has 28 games of starting experience under his belt. But this will be the first time in 20 games that the Steelers will have a member of their starting offensive line out due to an injury.
The Steelers signed away from the New York Jets this offseason, and they plan for Herbig to be the guy who slots right into the lineup without missing much of a beat. Herbig has more power than the athletic, finesse-based Daniels. That could change what the team looks to do against the Texans coming up this week.
“I have to approach every week like I’m going to play,” Herbig said. “You know, it’s always having the mentality to respond and be ready to go around the league. You see injuries happen all the time, so you have to be ready to fill in.”
The team has toyed with running more gap concepts with pulling guards, but they’ve never actually run the ball off that action. Instead, the team has employed play action to mess with defenses on those plays, but they have yet to pull out an accurate counter or power run. But that might change with Herbig in the lineup this week, which fits those gap concepts much more.
With more pulling concepts, Herbig will have a chance to make some impactful blocks on the move. That is not something that the team overlooks on his tape. He even did that in the preseason for the Steelers. So, it’s on the tape and it’s likely that Pittsburgh comes back to that concept this week given their success in spread run looks and how they seem to be setting up the pulling action.
“Nate Herbig has come in very well,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. “He’s a tough guy. See where we are when we get to game time. We were excited to acquire him and have him on our offense, our roster for opportunities if this does go the wrong direction in a sense, he’ll be ready to go.”
The game fits into Herbig’s hands better that way. This week has allowed Herbig to take it in as he will start against the Texans. It’s a whirlwind for any offensive lineman to step into a role at a moment’s notice, but that is something that Herbig has made a career of in the NFL.
Now, the team will look to open up the run game against a Texans defense that has struggled against the run for most of the season. They rank 28th in EPA per rush, and generally speaking, they have a template of success that worked against the Raiders that they can now follow.
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