Happy Friday to all of you once again and I apologize for this post being late this week as time seemed to get away from today.
The Pittsburgh Steelers annual rookie minicamp got underway on Friday and it’s good to see some football in shorts taking place once again. I’m sure we’ll be treated to several interviews with the new players over the course of the weekend so that’s something to look forward to as well.
Thank you to those of you who said a quick prayer for my father. His Thursday surgery went well in general, as far as I can tell, but in addition to having one of his kidneys removed they needed to take his spleen as well. I think he’ll be hospitalized for several more days and at some point will need to start chemotherapy after being released.
As usual, I have five questions for all of you reading this to answer on this Friday evening and I hope several of you can do just that in the comments below.
Have a great weekend and an early Happy Mother’s Day to you ladies who might be reading this.
Peace and love, peace and love!
1 – Which new Steelers player, free agents included, are you most excited to see play on special teams during the preseason?
2 – Name me three players destined to land on the Steelers practice squad at the start of the 2017 regular season.
3 – I’ve been criticized by several for not posting enough positive things about new Steelers quarterback Joshua Dobbs since he was drafted. With that said, what area of Dobbs’ play from 2016 would you like to see broken down after I’m done with his third down incompletions?
4 – Which team will first-round selection T.J. Watt register his first career sack against during the 2017 regular season?
5 – Have you ever bought into the ‘Madden Curse’ before? In case you missed the news, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will be on this year’s cover and below is what he thinks about the infamous curse.
Tom Brady reacts to being the Cover Athlete for Madden 18. pic.twitter.com/UefvNZ0jvX
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) May 12, 2017
Question 1 – Five different draft picks were named who Steelers Depot readers feel more comfortable with now than when originally selected. JuJu Smith-Schuster led the pack with 14.5 (one respondent named two draft picks) votes or exactly half. The consensus seemed to be that it was a surprise that a wide receiver went so high when many preferred defensive help. Once people started focusing on his tape and the potential he has the choice became more palatable. T.J Watt & Joshua Dobbs both garnered four votes. James Conner got 1.5 votes and even two people expressed more of a comfort level with the selection of long snapper Colin Holba.
Question 2 – Respondents gave the edge to JuJu over Cameron Sutton 16 to 12 when it came to predicting which rookie would play the higher percentage of snaps this season. Jason Campbell made the boldest prediction that they would both have an equal percentage of snaps on their respective units – or was he just hedging his bet?
Question 3 – Three folks predict only five of the Steelers eight draft picks making the initial 53-man roster. Two said all eight would make it. Everyone else said six or seven would make it with some discussion of whether Keion Adams or Brian Allen would be poached from the practice squad. The median response from the 29 answerers was SIX.
Question 4 – All four AFC North teams were mentioned as having the best draft in 2017. The Cleveland Browns were far and away the favorite with 76% (22) of the vote favoring their draft both in quantity and quality. Well, at least that is one thing they will win this year. The Cincinnati Bengals were a distant second with 17% (5) of the vote. The Bengals will likely be a winner when it comes to which team has the most arrests this season.
Question 5 – James Conner is going to have to prove himself in uniform before folks start buying jerseys according to this poll. Twenty-five gave a flat NO to buying his jersey. There were three maybes but Steeler-Drew said he’d be willing to buy one for his son. I wonder if the switch from #24 to #30 has swayed anybody’s mind.
BONUS Question: Yoi. We better keep to football handicapping and not the horses. Only eleven people braved a prediction: Jaybird went with Thunder Snow who DNF. Irish War Cry was the most popular choice and finished 10th. Chris92021 rode his hopes on McCracken who came in 8th. PaeperCup had a Practical Joke that laughed to a 5th place finish. Two had Classic Empire that finished 4th. No one picked the horses that placed or showed. But RickM and Beaver Falls Hosiery Company (yours truly) did pick the winner; Always Dreaming. Bill Cowher would probably describe Always Dreaming as a real “mudder.”
I’m sure we’ll all keep dreaming for another Lombardi in the Steelers trophy case. In that spirit, instead of music; here is a look at that mudder Always Dreaming making his run at the Kentucky Derby.
