(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Former Steelers' guard Ramon Foster was on with The Fan Morning Show Friday and he gave some high praise to Robert Spillane, who will fill in for Devin Bush after he suffered a season-ending ACL tear late in the second quarter against the Browns this past Sunday.
“Yes. 100%. The reason I say that is his ‘want to,’" Foster said when asked whether Spillane was up to the task of replacing Bush. "Some guys get their opportunities or just like being on the practice squad. He was one of those guys, man, that ran around during the week like it was his game day. So given his opportunity, I think he’s going to stand up to the challenge.
Is he Devin Bush? Absolutely not. Are they asking him to be Devin Bush also? No, not at all."
The Steelers will need Spillane to be on his A-game against the Titans, as Henry is the league-leading rusher with 588 yards and is second in rushing touchdowns with six. Henry is coming off a performance against the Texans where he had 264 total yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. The No. 1 priority for the Steelers' defense on Sunday is to not let Henry get going on the ground, as that will just open up the play-action passing game for Tannehill, who has been the best in the league off play-action since he became the Titans' starting quarterback in Week 7 of last year. Foster knows that the Steelers will not back down from Henry's physical style of play.
“Me knowing Vince Williams and the guys that play, Robert Spillane is another guy that just don’t care," Foster said. "They will put their face in the fan for the sport of, they just enjoy playing football. That’s the positives that I know the guys in Pittsburgh have. A lot of teams just aren’t fit like that.
You’ve seen the way we do our camps. People see us and think we’re in the stone age simply because we’re old school. We tackle to the ground, there’s backs on backers every day, there’s O-line vs. D-line every single day in camp."
Henry's stiff-arm on Bills' cornerback Josh Norman in Week 5 went viral on social media, similar to how Vance McDonald had his epic stiff-arm on Buccaneers' free safety Chris Conte in Week 3 of the 2018 season. The Steelers' defensive backs can't go high on Henry like Norman did or they'll face similar results. They'll have to be technically sound and come in hard with aggressiveness. Something that Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler expect from their defensive players.
"Coach Tomlin and Keith Butler’s defense is one that tolerates no softness," Foster said. "They challenge everybody from the DB’s to tackles to linebackers to run down guys during the game.”