Mark Madden: It'll take more than 'next man up' to stop Ravens' Lamar Jackson - TribLIVE

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One of Mike Tomlin’s longest-standing empty platitudes is “next man up.” If somebody gets injured, whoever sits below him on the depth chart goes in.

Inside linebacker Devin Bush got hurt against Cleveland a couple weeks ago, so Robert Spillane went in. He did fine in his first NFL start this past Sunday at Tennessee. Spillane played 43 snaps (75.4% of the Steelers’ defensive work) and made three tackles, including one that will long live in Steelers lore: that bone-jarring goal-line stop on 247-pound mega-back Derrick Henry.

Spillane came through. The Steelers won. That validates the notion of “next man up.”

But the Steelers must nonetheless ditch that concept at Baltimore on Sunday.

Spillane should be replaced by defensive back Cam Sutton, and either Sutton or safety Terrell Edmunds should play in the box. Spillane doesn’t have the speed to cope with Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson or the coverage ability to deal with Mark Andrews, an elite tight end who is second on the Ravens in both targets and receptions.

This isn’t about staying true to the depth chart and to a hackneyed, clichéd concept. It’s about game-planning for a specific foe, and the toughest game the Steelers play in the regular season.

It’s about doing everything possible to win the AFC North and perhaps get the top seed and a bye through the wild-card round of the playoffs. Settle for a wild card and you play a division champ on the road. Then it doesn’t matter what the records are.

Remember the playoffs following the 2011 season? The 12-4 Steelers visited 8-8 Denver. The Tim Tebow game, as it’s known. Not a happy ending.

Spillane (an undrafted free agent from the MAC) ran the 40-yard dash in 4.77 seconds at his pro day. Jackson has been timed at 4.34 seconds. Bush ran a 4.43.

At least Bush, when healthy, would have a chance. Jackson might lap Spillane.

As with any quarterback who defies convention, it’s thought that Jackson will be “figured out,” whatever that means.

That hasn’t happened so far.

Jackson’s stats to this point are startling: He’s 24-4 in the regular season as a starter, with three of those losses coming to Kansas City. He’s thrown 52 touchdowns vs. 11 interceptions. His passer rating is 103.5. He won three versions of the NFL’s MVP last season.

Oh, and Jackson has carried the ball for 2,247 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is the Ravens’ leading rusher this season with 346 yards and a 6.9-yard average.

Spillane can handle that. No problem. (Note to editor: Use the sarcasm font for this paragraph.)

Jackson has only started one game against the Steelers, a 26-23 victory at Heinz Field on Oct. 6 of last year. It was not his finest hour despite the win: Jackson served up three interceptions, got sacked five times and had a season-low passer rating of 54.9.

Bush played in that game. He got one of the interceptions. Bush won’t play this Sunday.

Tomlin has to make the right decision. Winning at Baltimore is a tough ask. The Ravens opened as a 6½-point favorite, but that’s down to 3½. The Ravens entered the season considered the class of the AFC, along with Kansas City. The Steelers are trying to break through.

This is a golden opportunity to do that, and more. After playing at Baltimore, the Steelers play at Dallas, at home against Cincinnati, then at Jacksonville. The Cowboys, Bengals and Jaguars have a combined record of 4-16-1.

If the Steelers win at Baltimore, it’s easy to see them starting 10-0 and ultimately getting that bye in the wild-card round.

If the Steelers lose, it’s easy to see the Ravens winning the division, the Steelers getting a wild card, and perhaps having to win three road games to get to the Super Bowl.

With all that at stake, “next man up” just isn’t a good enough reason to play Spillane.

No disrespect is intended toward Spillane. He’s just not the man for this particular job. His hit on Henry got him a seat in first class on the Steelers’ flight home from Nashville.

His time in the 40 should get him a seat on the bench Sunday at Baltimore.

Categories: Mark Madden Columns | Sports | Steelers/NFL