Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin thought his team’s performance in Saturday night’s loss to the Buffalo Bills was better in some areas but it was still junior varsity in too many others.
Tomlin credited punter Cameron Johnston for having a banner day, however. Johnston had two 60+ yard punts, a long of 65. Overall, Johnston averaged 56.8 yards per punt.
“An area of improvement I thought was net punting,” Tomlin said. “The field position component of play was flipped this time around. We were much better in this game than the last one.”
The Steelers have been in search of a top-flight punter for the last several years. They thought Pressley Harvin III was the answer, but the former Ray Guy Award winner could never put it together.
The Steelers signed Cameron Johnston to a three-year contract this offseason after he spent three seasons in Philadelphia and then three seasons in Houston. So far, Johnston has been an instant success.
While signing autographs next to Johnston at the Friday Night Lights practice, Mike Tomlin told fans, “Hey, you guys see our new stud punter we got over here. How about five right there?”
“I’m just trying to do my job honestly. Yeah, I mean, just trying to punt the ball as far as you can in those situations,” Johnston said after the game. “… (Special teams coordinator) Danny Smith does an incredible job, Coach Tomlin as well. They put me in the best position to perform, so I just got to keep it rolling now.”
Wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick, who’s also a gunner on the punt team, learned that you have to really run with Johnston’s big leg.
“Oh yeah, you got to make sure that you are running with him. I learned that the first week,” Fitzpatrick said. “Just continue to work with him. Me and him sit down and have lunch together. We talk and he tells me what he thinks I need to do, and I listen to him.”
