For his third assignment as the Steelers' interim offensive coordinator/running backs coach, Eddie Faulkner has drawn Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
There will be no "quivering" on Faulkner's part.
"Obviously, respect to Coach Belichick, what an unbelievable career," Faulkner acknowledged today. "But from the standpoint of, like, quivering over the fact that he's over there, no.
"We're just gonna prepare for him the way we do everybody else."
So not much has changed from that standpoint, other than the need to work around the constraints of a short week as the Steelers get ready for Belichick and the Patriots on Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium.
But the execution, Faulkner stressed, needs to be better against New England than it was throughout last Sunday's loss to Arizona.
"A lot of the issues that came up in that game, we talked about and discussed, whether it was myself or Coach Tomlin (head coach Mike), in front of the room," Faulkner said. "And so now that gives you all the ability in the world to walk in there and be like, 'Guys, look, we talked about this and this didn't happen.'
"And so what happens with that? The accountability now falls on the players to make sure that they're executing and getting done what they need to get done. We'll just continue on that path but making sure they understand they gotta have some more urgency with how they go about their business."
Mitch Trubisky is in line to start at quarterback against New England after replacing Kenny Pickett (ankle) late in the first half against Arizona.
"The one thing I've noticed about Mitch is he hasn't flinched at all, going back to last year," Faulkner observed. "He comes in every day, has his hard hat on to go to work. That makes you feel good as a coach because you know he's preparing himself the proper way.
"He prepares every week as if he is starting."
The Steelers will be out to establish the run, Faulkner said, because of who they've become, not because of who is or isn't available at quarterback.
"I just think generally that's kinda what our identity has started to become," he said. "We run the ball well. We feel like we can run the ball when we have to, as Coach Tomlin likes to refer to a lot.
"So we're gonna lean on those guys (running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren) regardless of who's behind center. But when you have a run game you can lean on, you feel like, if it's a backup situation, whoever the quarterback is you can support that individual with the run game."
The Steelers will also be attempting to follow a loss with a win for the fifth time this season when they host New England.
Faulkner attributes that ability to avoid losing streaks mostly to "Mike Tomlin.
"Great leader," Faulkner continued. "He gets those guys refocused and about their business and everybody falls in line with that."
