Guess what, folks. It’s training camp time. And that means it’s time for training camp questions. For the first time since 2019, the Pittsburgh Steelers are actually back at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe after having been forced to remain in Pittsburgh, where they held their past two training camps inside of the Field Formerly Known as Heinz.
Even though the Steelers are back on very familiar ground, more specifically on that of Chuck Noll Field, this is a training camp that is unusually full of certainty. After all, they haven’t had a genuine quarterback battle in a couple of decades, but they have one now with Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, and Mason Rudolph.
We’ve got yet another new offensive line, with some incoming veterans in James Daniels and Mason Cole. Myles Jack is in at inside linebacker, replacing Joe Schobert, and we’ll have to see if Devin Bush can return to form after last year’s dismal display.
There’s still so much going on, and training camp will only create more questions as we go along, even as it starts to provide some answers. We’ll be covering them here on a daily basis for the community to “talk amongst yourselves”, as Linda Richman might say on Coffee Talk.
Question: How do you feel about the 2022 Steelers as we exit training camp?
You only get one preseason game in by the time that training camp ends these days, so it’s hard for the layperson to make too much of an educated analysis based on personal experience. But with teams now concluding their training camps (and for the very few who actually conduct training camp at an off-site location, heading back to their own facilities), it marks a key point in the shift between offseason and in-season.
And it serves as a point of reflection. Again, we only got one preseason game in, but we do have first-hand accounts from every open training camp practice. What have we learned thus far, and how do we feel about this team going into the regular season?
I’m going to do my best not to offer too many personal opinions about this one here because I want it to be an open discussion, but we know what the key questions were. Whether or not the starting quarterback was in much question, there was the matter of how the starter—and the rest of the group—would look.
The offensive line, including two new starters via free agency, remains an ongoing evaluation. Rookie wide receivers will play a key role this year after losing three in free agency. The defensive line will have a new look with Larry Ogunjobi and DeMarvin Leal in the mix. The secondary is deeper, but also without Joe Haden as a steadying presence for the past five years.
There are also changes in the coaching staff, with new position coaches, coaches in new roles, etc. Brian Flores in a senior assistant position. Pat Meyer as the new offensive line coach. Frisman Jackson coaching the wide receivers. Teryl Austin as defensive coordinator. How these changes will affect the season are difficult to determine now, beyond seeing brief glimpse of how they coach up their players on the practice field at Saint Vincent.
