There’s nothing worse than being referred to as “vanilla” in the NFL. Just ask Pittsburgh Steelers offensive players.
But Mason Rudolph did just that when comparing Pittsburgh’s scout team defense to the Cincinnati Bengals starters.
Rudolph was asked if practicing against guys like T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick benefited him during his years as a reserve.
“Yeah, it’s a great group to work against,” Rudolph said in a Wednesday press conference. “You know, we employ so many sorts of pre-snap disguise that it makes you play every snap with a sort of keen sense of awareness of where the safeties are moving… where’s Minkah Fitzpatrick. That prepares you a lot for other teams, other looks.”
The Bengals’ defense wasn’t a concern for Rudolph as it was for him practicing against the Steelers.
“And then when you get a team, Cincinnati was not using their disguise very well. When you get a team that’s maybe less, maybe more vanilla. You can take a breath and say, you know, I’ve seen harder looks at this in practice. So, one of the main benefits of playing here.”
Rudolph and Pickett both put up career numbers against Cincinnati’s 28th-ranked pass defense: Rudolph went 17-of-27 for 290 yards and two scores, and Pickett 24-of-33 for 278 yards. The offense would’ve had an even better outing the first time around if Diontae Johnson hadn’t dropped a touchdown and Jaylen Warren hadn’t fumbled in the red zone.
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