Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth on pre-snap penalties: ‘We’ve had the same formations for 3 years’

Freiermuth made it clear that the Steelers offense needs to do a better job lining up correctly before each play.

The Steelers had a lot go wrong in their 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The team’s self-inflicted mistakes were one of the biggest factors in their loss, with the Steelers being penalized nine times for 77 yards.

A number of those penalties came pre-snap for the Steelers, with the offense not lining up correctly before the play. In his time with the media today, the Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth was asked about those issues.

“Yeah, it’s very frustrating. We’ve had the same formations for three years now, the names of them,” the tight end said. When asked how the team could fix those issues, Freiermuth replied, “Study the game plan longer, communicate, line up where you’re supposed to line up.”

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was similarly blunt in his post-game presser, saying the Steelers’ performance was “just JV football in a lot of ways” in his opening statement. He was asked more specifically about the penalties, saying, “It was just negligence on us.”

Later, when asked specifically about the Steelers’ pre-snap issues, Tomlin added, “No excuse there. I didn’t see that in practice, but I did see that in-stadium and we own it, for sure.”

The Steelers will have to find a quick fix to their struggles with penalties over the short week as they prepare to take on the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football.