The issue keeping Sammie Coates from playing time on offense is a physical problem, but it’s one that offensive coordinator Todd Haley and the Steelers want Coates to solve mentally.
Coates has two broken fingers on his right hand, which is obviously an issue for a wide receiver trying to catch passes. He has tried to do so and been largely unsuccessful since first injuring his hand in a win over the Jets on Oct. 9. He has just one reception since then after catching 19 passes for 425 yards in the season’s first five games.

“It’s a big injury for a receiver,” Haley said Tuesday. “I’ve seen him out there on special teams making plays, but when you have a couple of broken fingers on your hand and you’re a pass-catcher it’s difficult. We’re just kinda trying to gauge each week. Mentally he’s doing well. Physically he’s doing well other than that, so we gotta just see how the confidence is going, because more than anything, that’s what gets you is confidence. Just trying to get him back to where he’s confident to go out there and make plays for us because we need him.”
What Haley is suggesting is that confidence could help Coates put mind over matter. Instead of waiting for the broken fingers to heal, the Steelers want Coates to learn how to catch the ball in spite of them.
“It’s focus and the mental toughness of blocking that out of your mind,” Haley said. “That you have something there that’s hard to block out when a ball is coming 50 miles an hour that you’re trying to catch. I think it’s just repetition and work like anything else. You have to catch your way back to confidence.”
The Steelers want that to happen quickly, because as long as Coates has been limited, the offense has not been operating at full capacity. Coates caught six passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns in that win over the Jets. The Steelers were 4-1 at that point and averaging 27.8 points per game.
They proceeded to lose their next four games after Coates’ injury before beating the 0-11 Browns 24-9 on Sunday to break the streak. They are averaging 19.8 points per game in the five games since Coates was hurt.
With Coates not producing, the Steelers have received little production from the outside receiver position opposite Antonio Brown. Markus Wheaton was expected to get time at the position, but his shoulder landed him on injured reserve after he appeared in just two of the first 10 games and caught four passes for 51 yards. Darrius Heyward-Bey has missed the past two games with a foot sprain after catching five passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for a 60-yard touchdown on a reverse.
Cobi Hamilton, who was on the practice squad at the beginning of the season, has been starting in the place of those men. He has eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown, and he doesn’t have more than three receptions in a game this season.
Eli Rogers has been effective as a slot receiver (27 receptions, 300 yards, two touchdowns). Le’Veon Bell has been a weapon out of the backfield (53-415-1) and the Steelers’ tight ends have produced. However, not having much to draw attention from the No. 2 receiver spot has made Brown’s life difficult. He has 77 receptions for 907 yards and seven touchdowns, but he’s often facing double coverage.
“When guys not named AB aren’t making plays, it means he’s probably getting doubled,” Haley said. “He’s beat plenty of double teams. But there’s more opportunity that he’s going to get double covered. Le’Veon obviously making plays out of the backfield helps, but as I’ve been saying for a couple of months now, other guys need to make plays. When they do, things generally go well for us. We’re going to continue to press the importance of that to these, especially young guys.”
So please tell me the reason for Haley remarks on why they need Coates