Due to the Covid-19 issues affecting the Baltimore Ravens, their Thanksgiving game with the Pittsburgh Steelers was rescheduled three times. But the NFL’s battle with the coronavirus epidemic also put Jesse Hassenauer in the Steelers’ lineup for Wednesday’s game.
About three hours before the kickoff on Wednesday, Pittsburgh placed eight-time Pro Bowl center Morkis Paunsi on reserve / Covid-19, putting Hassenauer in the Steelers’ starting lineup for the first time in his NFL career.
The former Alabama offensive lineman has been in the NFL for three seasons. But before Wednesday, his playing experience was playing 26 offensive pics and 42 special-teams in 10 games.
In Pittsburgh’s 19-14 win over Ravens, Hassenauer took all 72 offensive shots for the Steelers.
“I can’t say enough about Jesse’s efforts,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomley told reporters on Thursday. His but ours in terms of communicating with others. ”
Tom Malin was not happy with the unbeaten Steelers’ performance against Baltimore as Pittsburgh struggled to put together a team that called in 10 practice-squid players for the game. Tomley called Wednesday night’s demonstration “really a junior university,” although he did not acknowledge Hasenour’s “readiness to respond to llnt and his overall readiness.”
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Rothlisberger doesn’t work much with Hassenauer in practice, but QB praised the center after Wednesday’s game.
“I think he did a great job throwing it into the fire,” Rothlisberg said. “This is not an easy defense with looks and things, and we don’t have CQ exchange problems, and that needs to be appreciated.”
Tomley said Thursday that Baltimore’s defense could test the offensive line. Pittsburgh’s 4th since Yards was the lowest place since his previous game against Ravens, while Statel’s Nov. Won 28-24 with 221 yards on the 1st.
“They did some things as planned, as they always do, which has raised some issues for us,” Tomley said of Baltimore’s defense. “They are a good group. He found consistency not only in the great players but also in the coaches. Coach (blink) Martindale has been around for a very long time and is able to do a few things, especially in those situational moments, which makes him a tough nut to crack. And sometimes if you find an experienced person like him among them, it is helpful.
“We didn’t have a mortuary (Wednesday), so that could have some consequences. But we understand that, and so we move on with the boys playing right now. Jesse, it’s fair to expect him to get better every day, and when Murrick comes back, he comes back to us. “
When the NFL moved the Ravens-Steelers game to Wednesday, it shifted the game from Pittsburgh to Sunday against the Washington Washington football team on Monday. If Paunci landed on the reserve / covid-19 because he was in close contact with an infected person, it is likely that it may be time for him to return to play against Washington.
If not, Hasnauer will face some of his former Alabama teammates on Monday. Washington Washington’s early defensive tackles are former Crimson Tide standouts Jonathan Allen and Darren Payne.
“They found quality Alabama guys on the inside who really ruined it,” Tomley said. “… Those people are interchangeable. They can both play in the gap. They can both play in B gap. They are both extremely talented. They can win more than one. They are now really comfortable playing together. That relationship dates back to his college days, and I’m sure he’ll benefit. “
The final game for Hassenauer and Penn came in Alabama on January 8, 2018, when the Crimson Tide rallied for a 26-23 overtime victory against Georgia in the BCS National Championship game.
Penn closed his two asons Tuo as a defensive MVP of the title game as a starter and entered the NFL three months later as a first-round draft pick.
Hassenauer made the third start of his four seasons at Alabama in his championship contest, then signed as a rookie free agent with the Atlanta Falcons after the 2018 NFL Draft.
After leaving the Falcons when they made the final cut for the regular-season roster, Hassenauer spent the first seven weeks of the 2018 campaign on the Atlanta practice squad.
In 2019, Hasannaur served as the starting point for the Birmingham Iron until the merger of American football after an eight-week game.
From the Spring Football League, Hassanauer went to the Steelers. When Pittsburgh adjusted its players’ roster of players within the regular-season limits of the season, after releasing them, he returned to the team on November 20, 2019, as a member of the practice squad before getting on the active roster for 2019. . The final.
Although Paunci was tied to the side for that game, Hassanauer was dressed but did not play in the contest.
Hassenauer returned to his second year of contract in 2020, and this time, he survived a regular-season roster cut.
Mark Injet is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter AMarkG1.
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