Today was the first day of practice for the Pittsburgh Steelers at Saint Vincent’s College and while some may take it slow at the start of training camp, the Steelers are not. Expectations are particularly high for the two new rookie CBs, Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr., but many fans believe it may take some time for them to be ready. However, CB Patrick Peterson said because it is training camp, they need to be ready now.
“The training are wheels off now,” Peterson told Mike Prisuta of Steelers.com in an interview that was posted to Twitter by Steelers Live. “Now that learning process, we had six weeks to really get the playbook under your belt, to get the techniques under your belt, to get the terminology under your belt. So now we are getting ready for the season. There ain’t no more training wheels, it’s time to get down to football. And these guys are taking that responsibility to heart.”
The Steelers secondary saw plenty of changes this offseason, including the addition of Peterson, and because of that it is vital that the new unit begins to gel early in camp. People are particularly high on Porter, and he has a chance to earn a starting role in his rookie season, but he will have to prove it.
Since the NFL Draft in April, Porter and Trice have had a few months to get the playbook down, and have had rookie minicamp, OTA’s, and mandatory minicamp to work with coaches and other players to learn the system and walk through the plays. Now it gets really serious with full-speed practices and preseason games.
While pads haven’t been added to practice just yet, they will be early next week. But the players are already in Latrobe, three hard weeks of work just got underway. This is where boys grow up and get ready for the season. With expectations high this year, the Steelers need their rookies to show up.
Peterson, said that the young “Avatar corners” have looked great all offseason, including today.
“These guys are taking that responsibility to heart,” he said. “These young guys, Trice, Joey, you can just tell these guys love ball and every day they step out on the field they’re looking forward to putting their best foot forward.”
Talent is important, and both Porter and Trice have that, but what is really going to set them apart and make them stars is their work ethic. Peterson knows a thing or two about work ethi. He is at the end of a Hall of Fame career, and if he is vouching for what he has seen just throughout OTA’s, minicamp, and one day of training camp, good things should be on the horizon for the Steelers’ young defensive backs.
