The New Orleans Saints arrived in Paris a week early, yet the Pittsburgh Steelers won’t cross the pond until Thursday, a decision coach Mike McCarthy said kept the team’s preparations as normal as possible.
The Saints left for Europe immediately after their game Sunday at the New York Giants, shortening their flight to Paris and extending their time in France to a full week. They arrived Monday morning at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The Steelers will practice Wednesday and Thursday in Pittsburgh before flying over.
“We’re on a seven-day week flow here,” McCarthy said Monday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “Playing (Sunday) in Tampa, travel back, that factors into it. We play again seven days later against Cleveland (on Nov. 1). All those factors go into this.
“Whether you’re playing in the Super Bowl or playing in a Monday night game that’s more than five or six hours in the air, you look at all of those things.”
The Steelers and Saints play at 9:30 a.m. Sunday (Eastern Time) at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris.
This will be the second year in a row the Steelers play an international game but the first for McCarthy as a head coach. He was previously an assistant on teams that played games in Tokyo and Mexico.
“I always try to stick to the basics,” McCarthy said. “The hydration, the sleep, and just to make sure you give the men the best opportunity to prepare, to perform, and then ultimately stay in as normal of a flow of preparation as you can. We looked at both options, and we clearly feel that this one, leaving Thursday, is the best one for us.”
Offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio took part in two international games last season as a Minnesota Vikings assistant coach. The Vikings played in Ireland against the Steelers in Week 4 and remained in Europe to face the Browns a week later in England.
In hindsight, Angelichio likes the international games, but he wasn’t a fan of the back-to-back weeks spent overseas.
“I hope I never have to do it again would probably be (my takeaway),” he said with a laugh. “No, I think the NFL does a great job with the trips in Europe and the scheduling, the hotels and the hospitality of the people. You have everything you need, and they do a really good job of making it as comfortable and as much like home as they can.”
There is a six-hour time difference between Pittsburgh and Paris, meaning Sunday’s game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. local time. Angelichio, who left for Ireland on a Thursday last year, said he hasn’t seen the time change be a problem for teams to overcome.
“I think you get some sleep on the plane, you wake up and then you’re working like it’s 9 a.m.” he said. “That’s the only way I’ve ever done it, and I like it. It’s really not that big of a deal.”
Elliott update
The Steelers aren’t up against the deadline yet, but they‘ll need to decide soon whether to add safety DeShon Elliott to the active roster.
Elliott, who returned to practice Oct. 8, began the season on injured reserve with a knee injury. McCarthy said Elliott could be activated this week and make his season debut Sunday.
“I hope so,” McCarthy said. “I thought he had a great week last week. So those are the conversations that we’re having.”
Once a player on injured reserve is cleared to practice, teams have 21 days to either active him or leave him on IR for the entire season. Elliott missed the final 10 games of last season with knee and hamstring injuries.
The eighth-year pro returned to the field for a preseason game Aug. 21 against the New York Jets but nine days later was placed on IR. Over the past two weeks, Elliott took part in five practices, each as a limited participant.
Source: triblive.com
