PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers' practices for Sunday's season opener at Cleveland will resemble those at training camp, if new coach Mike Tomlin has his way.

Tomlin wants his backups pushing his starters, his starters working to keep their jobs and his rookies playing like veterans as quickly as possible. The only way to do that, he said Tuesday, is to keep practices just as competitive as they are when players are competing for jobs during camp.

Running back Willie Parker, for example, told Tomlin he'd like the linebackers vs. running backs blocking drill — a staple of training camp — to extend into the season. Most NFL teams back off the contact work in practice once the season starts to lessen the chance of injury.

"I've said repeatedly that we're developing a world championship-caliber team, and the only way to continue on that path is to continue to grow," Tomlin said. "That was the gist of my message to the team — we are moving into the season, but iron sharpens iron. We've got to continue to compete on a day-to-day basis."

To illustrate that, Tomlin isn't guaranteeing that Allen Rossum will return kickoffs and punts Sunday, even though it's obvious the Steelers traded for him Saturday to handle that job.

"We're not anointing anyone," Tomlin said.

Chukky Okobi's release Saturday may be proof of that. Tomlin dropped strong hints that he didn't like the way Okobi — the starting center when camp opened — handled himself after missing camp time with a rib injury. Sean Mahan moved ahead at center during Okobi's absence and has kept the job.

"Sean was our best option as a starting center," said Tomlin, a Tampa Bay assistant coach when Mahan played there.

Mahan's backup will be Darnell Stapleton, an undrafted rookie from Rutgers who also missed camp time to injury. If one of the game day roster spots is needed for another position, right guard Kendall Simmons will be the backup center.