Though training camp practices are winding down, the action at Saint Vincent College is not. Busy day today so let’s talk about what took place at today’s Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp.
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Camp Notes (Day 14)
– Injury roundup: Not practicing today were LB Nick Kwiatkoski (shoulder), S Tre Norwood (right leg), OG Nate Herbig (shoulder), DL Larry Ogunjobi (right foot), and LB Markus Golden (unknown). Norwood has graduated to jogging while Herbig had no sling or anything on his shoulder. Golden looked okay and moved around a bit. Ogunjobi wasn’t out there at the beginning of practice but I saw him midway through the day with a gray boot on his right foot. He did stand on it for an extended period of time so that’s one good albeit tiny sign.
Safety Keanu Neal practiced in full today. Ditto with CB Joey Porter Jr., though his reps were a bit limited and managed in team. Not the normal amount. Good news that NT Keeanu Benton practiced today. In full pads and went through individual period, his right foot taped pretty good, though he did not work in team. Still, it’s progress and proof his ankle injury is minor. He’s still got a shot to play Saturday night against Buffalo.
– Lots of new signings today. New CBs Lavert Hill and Nevelle Clarke, who will wear No. 25 and No. 33, respectively. New RB Xazavian Valladay is wearing No. 33, John Lovett’s old number. Hill and Clarke practiced in full. I’m not sure if Valladay did or not. I don’t have him in my notes during the team period. He did spend the start of practice meeting and talking with RBs Coach Eddie Faulkner while strapping on his shoulder pads.
– Patrick Peterson helping out everyone he can. He spent the first few minutes of practice talking with Clarke, going over something. He’s been a selfless guy since being signed.
– Pittsburgh was in pads today with a normal tackling session, going to the ground during the run period of the day.
– Positional coaches don’t just talk to the guys in their room. Pre-practice, C Mason Cole was going over something with QBs Coach Mike Sullivan. The center, after all, is a literal extension of the quarterback.
– As he normally does, Kendrick Green getting extra work with Assistant OL Coach Isaac Williams early in practice, taking center reps.
– As Dave Bryan and I have mentioned, had a feeling rookie Spencer Anderson would soon see center reps, especially with Nate Herbig’s injury. Anderson worked at center for bits of practice and was on the field early to take some reps with QB Mason Rudolph. Herbig came over and had a couple of minutes discussion about how to best grip and hike the football. Anderson did play center at Maryland but saw more time at tackle and hasn’t snapped in practice this camp.
– In warmups/install, the first and second-team lines.
First Team: Dan Moore Jr.-Isaac Seumalo-Mason Cole-James Daniels-Chukwuma Okorafor
Second Team: Broderick Jones-Kevin Dotson-Kendrick Green-Bill Dunkle-Le’Raven Clark
Will say that throughout the day, Clark was losing second-team reps to Anderson. I’ll note that throughout.
– Some familiar former Steelers faces on the field today. Saw Charlie Batch, who now is the color analyst for the team’s preseason games. Longtime trainer John Norwig, who retired in June after 32 years with the team, was also on the field for at least the second time this camp, receiving a big bear hug from someone on the staff. And former GM Kevin Colbert also took in practice today. It’s at least his second day at camp.
– There’s three fields in front of the bleachers. Sunday, the middle and far fields weren’t painted but received fresh paint today, though they weren’t used as much. During individual periods, the whole team practiced on the near field. Normally, the defense works on the far field. Not today. Despite rain and storms, the “main” field has been kept in good shape so shout out to the grounds crew.
– DBs Coach Grady Brown getting on CB James Pierre a bit as he coached up press technique. Wanted Pierre to play with his hands higher and to more forcefully “shoot” his hands on his punch.
First Team Session (Seven Shots)
1. The defense definitely gets more animated with each other than the offense. You’ve got Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt dancing, the group with more elaborate handshakes and moves. Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts are the inside linebackers with Watt and Alex Highsmith the outside linebackers. Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace the outside corners, Chandon Sullivan in the slot.
Offensive line of Moore-Seumalo-Cole-Daniels-Okorafor. George Pickens and Allen Robinson II the outside receivers with Diontae Johnson in the slot. Najee Harris in at running back. Harris gets the carry and runs off right guard for the 2-yard score.
2. Kenny Pickett initially in an empty set before Anthony McFarland Jr. motions in. Pat Freiermuth standing up slot left with Darnell Washington the in-line tight end on the opposite side. Pickett looks for Freiermuth left side but it’s a little out in front, Freiermuth throwing a hand up and the ball hitting off incomplete. Minkah Fitzpatrick covering.
3. Johnson still in the slot with Robinson and Pickens on the outside. Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee the safety pairing. Pickett fires for Robinson on a back-shoulder throw left side but RCB Levi Wallace defends it well and breaks it up.
4. Joey Porter Jr. comes in as the second-team defense tends to filter in one rep ahead of the second-team offense. Pickett goes at him, throwing for George Pickens right side. Porter uses his rare length well and pokes the ball out. Incomplete.
5. Now Mitch Trubisky and the twos on offense take the field. Kendrick Green in at center. Jaylen Warren in at running back. Trubisky looks left initially before comes back to the right and hits Connor Heyward on the right seam. He’s pretty open and makes the grab in the back of the end zone, Kenny Robinson the closest defender but can’t impact the play.
6. Offensive line of Jones-Dotson-Green-Dunkle-Anderson. Pony grouping with Anthony McFarland Jr. slot right. Y-stick route to TE Rodney Williams for the easy pitch and catch, S Miles Killebrew grabbing him from behind but a step too late. Tough route to cover, Williams working against leverage.
7. Once down 3-1, the offense rallies back to tie it at 3-3. Normally, the second-team groups, offense and defense, would finish out the period. But Mike Tomlin stops everything and orders the first teamers on each side back in. Best versus best, winner take all. Pickett and the offense come up large, hitting WR Diontae Johnson on a pivot route right side for the score.
Offense wins things 4-3.
– Some notes during one of the skeleton periods. Wasn’t 1v1 but the defense 4 over 3 covering.
– Even vets like Patrick Peterson can be coached. DBs Coach Grady Brown urging Peterson to finish the rep and try to punch the ball out after a wide receiver caught a speed out on him. Peterson nodded and received the message.
– Finishing was something the defensive coaches called out throughout this period. DC Teryl Austin praised Toby Ndukwe for getting correct depth in his hook zone on one rep but wanted him to punch the ball out, too.
– Allen Robinson II getting some coaching from WRs Coach Frisman Jackson. Robinson ran a pivot route, sitting down on a curl before breaking out. Made the catch but after the rep, Jackson called out “You have some time, probably could’ve waited a little more.” Meaning, Robinson could’ve sold the curl better by holding it and getting the linebacker to drive on him before breaking out. Because the route is so short, the quarterback should be afforded the time to make this throw.
– Mitch Trubisky ripped a ball on a corner route complete to Rodney Williams, well-placed in front of S Jalen Elliott.
– Chandon Sullivan nearly had a pick on Trubisky a moment later, jumping a throw intended for TE Pat Freiermuth in the left flat. Hit off Sullivan’s outstretched arms.
– And RB Anthony McFarland Jr. heard footsteps on one of the final reps. LB Tanner Muse closing fast, and McFarland dropped the pass.
Second Team Session
1. “Team run,” the coaches call out, noting the full-tackle and run-heavy nature of this period. Ball at the offense’s 16. Kenny Pickett under center. Holcomb and Roberts the inside linebackers. Jaylen Warren the running back. Calvin Austin III jet run right to left but Holcomb isn’t fooled. He meets Austin as he turns the corner, swallowing him up for a loss of 2.
2. Armon Watts and Cam Heyward the defensive tackles. T.J. Watt hand down as the left defensive end with Alex Highsmith standing up opposite. Anthony McFarland Jr. gets the carry for about 4, a decent run, before Heyward and others chip in to take him down.
3. Three-safety “big nickel” packages with Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee, and Keanu Neal on the field at the same time. Only two down linemen with four linebackers and two corners facing 12 personnel. Warren gets the carry and bounces a run to the right. Patrick Peterson drags him down after a 5-yard gain. Appears Warren fumbled at the very end though tough to tell if he was already down. In camp, any question about a fumble is a no-no so I’ll put this down as a cough up.
4. Steelers’ base 3-4 consisting of Armon Watts-Montravius Adams-Cam Heyward up front. Mark Robinson and Kwon Alexander at inside linebacker. Neal in the box opposite Fitzpatrick. Peterson and Wallace the corners. Nice job by Warren to avoid a tackle for loss/stuff and step out of a tackle around the line of scrimmage, motoring ahead for a gain of 9.
5. Not so nice of a run here. Counter run with Pat Freiermuth missing on rookie Nick Herbig, the right outside linebacker on this play. Herbig beats him and then grabs McFarland and yanks him down for a loss of 5. Great run stop here from the rookie.
6. Tough run for McFarland. Toss left. Kenny Robinson takes a decent angle but comes in too high and leaps and misses McFarland. He stays in bounds, not looking to duck out, and churns ahead and gets every inch he can. I’ll give him about 6 here. Good run.
7. D-line of DeMarvin Leal-Breiden Fehoko-Isaiahh Loudermilk. David Perales and Nick Herbig the outside linebackers. Offensive line of Broderick Jones-Kevin Dotson-Ryan McCollum-Spencer Anderson-Le’Raven Clark. Kendrick Green in at fullback. Connor Heyward takes a carry but Perales blows it up, dropping him for a loss of 3. Good rep here from Perales, who gets plenty of praise from teammates and coaches.
8. Leal and Loudermilk the defensive tackles. Chris Wilcox in at left cornerback opposite James Pierre. Quick wide receiver screen from Mitch Trubisky to Gunner Olszewski left side. Pierre comes downhill and tries to wrap him up but Olszewski steps out. Olszewski breaks another tackle but isn’t going forward, spinning around in place, Pierre doesn’t give up, trying again and pulling Olszewski down like a 1980s monster-movie creature pulling someone down into the quicksand.
9. Luq Barcoo and Madre Harper the third-string corners. Breiden Fehoko and Manny Jones the defensive tackles, with Forrest Rhyne and Tanner Muse the inside linebacker pairing. Miles Killebrew and Jalen Elliott at safety. Mason Rudolph comes in. Handoff to Darius Hagans. No room there and Quincy Roche and others make the stuff. I’ll give Hagans 1.
10. Offensive line of Clark-McCollum-Anderson-Dunkle-Cook. Screen left to TE Pat Freiermuth. Looks like he has a convoy of blockers in space with only one defender – Roche – in the area. Clark is trying to reach Roche in space but Roche ducks him and makes the tackle on Freiermuth. An outstanding play. Tons of praise for “Q” from teammates, one of them saying they thought that was going to be a big gain for Freiermuth. It would’ve been had Roche not made the play. Maybe 1 or 2 yards here from Freiermuth but it should’ve been at least 20.
11. And Roche gets right back to work. Tackle for loss on RB Greg Bell, basically taking Bell down as soon as he took the handoff. I’ll call it a loss of 3.
12. Last rep. Hagans carry right side. Safety Miles Killebrew drags him down after about 4 yards.
– Some special teams notes. Punting period today. Killebrew working first-team upback, Jaylen Warren working second-team upback. Elijah Riley and Kenny Robinson the first-team wings.
Pressley Harvin III had his coffin corner/pin-deep punt downed by James Pierre at the 4. Braden Mann’s bounced inside the 5 but WR Dez Fitzpatrick couldn’t find the ball and it took a quick hop into the end zone. Open-air hangtimes and distances.
Harvin: 4.71 seconds (52 yards), 4.93 seconds (50 yards), 5.07 seconds (53 yards), 4.75 seconds (53 yards), 5.07 seconds (57 yards), 4.97 seconds (47 yards).
Mann: No hangtime recorded (45 yards), 4.77 seconds (46 yards, ball landed out of bounds, hard to mark where it sailed out), 4.13 seconds (44 yards, bad snap from Rex Sunahara, Mann had to adjust to it), 4.85 seconds (41 yards), 4.70 (44 yards), 5.07 seconds (56 yards).
Overall, Harvin shined here. He’s outperformed Mann. Ditto with Christian Kuntz over Sunahara. There’s an even bigger gap between those two guys.
Third Team Session
1. Ball at the offense’s 34. Montravius Adams and Cam Heyward the defensive tackles. Minkah Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee the safeties. Kenny Pickett’s first throw of the session is complete to Diontae Johnson for roughly 10 on an out route. Here, Peterson does finish the rep and looks to punch the ball out, though Johnson holds on. But that’s Peterson absorbing the coaching point earlier from Grady Brown. That’s why he’s a wise vet.
2. Chandon Sullivan in the slot with Peterson and Wallace on the outside. Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander at inside linebacker as that group mixed and matched plenty today. Offense in the pistol, Najee Harris behind Pickett. Off play-action, Fitzpatrick blitzes. Pickett fires deep down the left sideline for George Pickens. Pickens doesn’t think the ball was coming to him and he slows up downfield. Seeing the ball, he speeds back up but collides with Wallace. In a game, Wallace probably unluckily gets called for pass interference but the pass here is incomplete, out in front because Pickens didn’t run through.
3. Holcomb and Alexander mug and press into the A gaps. Someone on the line moves and the play is dead. After everyone sorta looks at each other, the coaches pull out the culprit: RT Chukwuma Okorafor. He is replaced by Dan Moore Jr., sliding over to right tackle and Broderick Jones strapping on his helmet and coming in at left tackle.
“Bye, Chuks” one of the defenders chides him.
On the snap, Cam Heyward comes up the middle with a would-be clear shot on Pickett; it’s a good thing there’s no hitting the quarterback here. With the extra time, Pickett throws a pretty downfield ball to Calvin Austin III running to a corner route to the left sideline. Have it as a gain of 36 yards with the catch and a bit of run after.
Also watched Moore on the right side here. Defended T.J. Watt well, as Watt’s cross chop to gain the edge was unsuccessful.
4. Pickett connects with Johnson on a dig route over the middle, a gain of 11. Peterson on top of him covering.
5. DeMarvin Leal and Montravius Adams the defensive tackles. Gunner Olszewski in the slot. Weird play. Nothing open, Trubisky rolling left with two defenders escorting him to the sidelines because they can’t touch him. Everything slows down and Trubisky eventually just chucks it out of bounds.
6. Kenny Robinson and Trenton Thompson the safety pairing. Joey Porter Jr. and James Pierre the outside corners and Elijah Riley in the slot. Mark Robinson and Kwon Alexander the inside linebackers. Sprint left for Trubisky. Squares his shoulders and completes to WR Miles Boykin along the left side for a gain of 18, working on Pierre.
7. Perales and Herbig the EDGE rushers. Connor Heyward in the backfield. Trubisky looks right but Leal reads it, times his jump, and deflects the ball, causing it to fall and roll well short of the intended target.
8. Heyward again in the backfield as a running back. Kendrick Green at center. Trubisky hits Boykin on the button on a slant for a gain of 6, Luq Barcoo making the tackle to the ground from his left cornerback spot.
9. Fehoko and Loudermilk the defensive tackles. Offense in a pistol formation, Mason Rudolph in front of Anthony McFarland Jr. Rudolph with the play fake and hits WR Dez Fitzpatrick on the money working left to right. Safety Trenton Thompson buzzes his airspace with a hard smack upside his helmet on the stop, jostling Fitzpatrick so hard his mouth guard goes flying and falls to the ground. Hard-earned gain of 17. Fitzpatrick picks up his mouth guard as he walks back.
10. Play-action again and Rudolph has Gunner Olszewski open on a crosser. He runs a good route to gain a step on S Jalen Elliott but Rudolph’s throw is out in front where Olszewski can make the play. Not a good ball. Olszewski still praised by Diontae Johnson and WRs Coach Frisman Jackson, who high-fives Olszewski with Johnson giving a look of “Man, that was such a good route, it sucks the pass wasn’t the same.”
Elijah Riley blitzed from his slot spot on this play, causing Elliott, the safety, to cover Olszewski.
11. Awkward play here. Hard count. Everyone moves…except Spencer Anderson who has that “Your PS5 controller has been disconnected” moment. Difficult to say for sure but I assume this is Anderson’s fault. After the team period, Assistant O-Line Coach Isaac Williams said a couple words to him as Williams jogged by to the next period on a different portion of the field.
12. Anderson remains in at center. Rudolph complete underneath to WR Hakeem Butler, who makes a tough grab for about 8 yards.
Fourth Team Session
1. Ball on the offense’s 34. Fitzpatrick and Kazee the safety pairing. Good cut by RB Najee Harris, who gets 5 here.
2. Three-safety package with Neal-Kazee-Fitzpatrick on the field. Pickett throws a missile over the middle complete to Johnson for 9.
3. Pickett complete again to WR Calvin Austin III for a pickup of 12, Peterson covering.
4. Watts-Adams-Heyward the three down linemen. Neal and Fitzpatrick the safety duo. Toss right to Harris. T.J. Watt knifes in but Harris gets past him. Neal takes Harris down to the ground after a gain of 2. Rare time Harris has been tackled.
5. Second team offensive line of Jones-Dotson-Green-McCollum-Anderson. Empty set initially with Jaylen Warren motioned in. Trubisky complete to WR Cody White for a gain of 8, James Pierre covering.
6. Herbig and Perales the EDGE rushers. Leal and Watts the defensive tackles. Robinson and Thompson in at safety. Chris Wilcox and James Pierre the cornerbacks. Trubisky complete to Olszewski for 14 yards. Would-be sack for Watts, who came up the middle. Wilcox had the tag on Olszewski.
7. Mark Robinson and Cole Holcomb the inside linebackers. McFarland slot left in a Pony grouping. Warren runs ahead for 3 yards, cutting to his right after Isaiahh Loudermilk forced the cutback. Peterson on the tag.
8. Split backfield with the running back and WR Calvin Austin III – standing on each side of Trubisky. First time I’ve seen Austin in a running back alignment in camp. He runs an angle route over the middle and Trubisky looks for him but nickel back Elijah Riley undercuts it, steps in front, and seamlessly picks it off. Good play here, on Austin no less. Cole Holcomb with a good blitz on this play, earning praise from Mike Tomlin.
9. Screen left to TE Darnell Washington. Good blocking in front. CB Madre Harper tags Washington after roughly 10 though Washington keeps on motoring downfield. Good design.
10. Barcoo and Harper the cornerbacks. Killebrew and Elliott the safeties. Pony grouping with – for the first time – McFarland in the backfield and Warren split out as a left wing. Lots of window dressing the other way but McFarland gets the handoff to the right. Manny Jones gets under Ryan McCollum’s pads and forces McFarland to spin off inside. Only a gain of about 1.
11. Anderson in at center. Manny Jones and James Nyamwaya the defensive tackle pairing. Hard count nearly gets Quincy Roche to jump, his leg flying up in the air, but he’s able to stay onsides. Rudolph with a heavily contested ball to WR Hakeem Butler. Madre Harper all over him and Butler has to play defensive back just to knock this one down to avoid a pick.
12. Toss to the right with RB Greg Bell on the carry. But seemingly the entire defense is beating their block, forcing Bell on a cutback. Basically no gain here.
O-Line vs D-Line 1v1
1. Alex Highsmith swipes inside on Dan Moore Jr. and then I think tries to cross chop him. Kinda a weird rush.
2. A new move? Highsmith testing out the DeMarcus Ware fake spin, half-spin inside before spinning out, though Moore isn’t fooled and mirrors it. But keep that in mind on Highsmith.
3. Cam Heyward wants to test out his spin cycle and spins to the inside of Isaac Seumalo, who stays square to it.
4. Looks like Heyward tries to push/pull Seumalo, Seumalo doubling forward with a flatback but he hangs on. Heyward rips through him very late in the rush but nice job overall from Seumalo.
5. Mason Cole seals Montravius Adams upfield.
6. Good burst off the ball by Adams to jolt Cole back, who has to hop step to try to slow him down. Adams is explosive, no doubt.
7. Good bull to swim here from Armon Watts on James Daniels, though it wasn’t a quick one. It seems Mike Tomlin gave the advantage to Daniels.
8. Here, Watts wins clean and swipes past Daniels.
9. “Rubbermatch,” Tomlin calls out as Watts/Daniels go again. On-body, aggressive set by Daniels but Watts again knocks his hands down and wins. Good work here.
10. Good rep by OT Chukwuma Okorafor to win against T.J. Watt.
11. But Watt wont’ lose twice, using a ghost move to dip and corner under Okorafor to gain the edge.
12. “Ok, let’s do it again,” Tomlin says. Watt tries an inside spin on Okorafor whose hands are a little high and hit Watt up top to where his Guardian Cap slides off. Watt goes to the ground.
13. Broderick Jones easily seals Nick Herbig’s cross chop upfield.
14. Herbig is late off the ball here and Jones isn’t. Easy win for Jones to the edge.
15. They go again. And Jones goes three-for-three, defending Herbig’s inside spin attempt. Jones winning these reps with ease.
16. Breiden Fehoko bull rush on Ryan McCollum. Good fight.
17. McCollum and Fehoko disengage before locking up. McCollum stays square.
18. Fehoko puts all his power into this bull rush and walks McCollum back. McCollum hung on but I hope he enjoyed the trip into his quarterback’s lap.
19. Good punch by Kendrick Green, winning early on Jonathan Marshall and shutting the rush down early.
20. Marshall beats Green to the inside shoulder here and gets upfield.
21. “Rubber,” is all Tomlin needs to say for these two to line up again (I’m unsure of the context but at one point, Tomlin also said “I love it when you talk dirty” so this was a colorful session to witness). Green slides and seals and wins on Marshall to take the three-match series.
22. DeMarvin Leal’s rip move fails on Bill Dunkle.
23. Dunkle wins again with Tomlin playing referee. “It’s over,” he says as Leal disengages and walks back.
24. Leal gains an advantage inside on Dunkle here.
25. Good set by Spencer Anderson on David Perales, though Anderson went to the ground late in this rep. Still, I like the showing from Anderson.
26. Great rep by Anderson, who has an easy win on Perales.
27. One more time. Perales is trying to edge, but Anderson has the feet to push him up the arc, running with him as Perales circumnavigates the globe, running the whole way at the top one side to the other with Anderson sliding with him.
28. Leal on Le’Raven Clark. Seemed to have the advantage inside but tried to spin back outside. Not sure why.
29. Leal bull rush but Clark stalls it out.
30. Kendrick Green from a left guard alignment, the first time I’ve seen him do anything at guard this camp. Good punch and win on Isaiahh Loudermilk.
31. They go again. Green again with a good pop and punch on Loudermilk and he wins.
32. One more time. Green has a clean sweep with three legitimately impressive reps on Loudermilk. Whew.
33. Dylan Cook seals Manny Jones upfield.
34. Jones tries to rip inside and Cook holds and grabs his jersey.
35. Cook wins the tiebreaker, in control of this rep on Jones.
36. Good hand fight by Ryan McCollum against James Nyamwaya.
37. Another win from McCollum over Nyamwaya.
38. Nyamwaya’s punch is too high, and McCollum has his number again.
Fifth Team Session
1. Ball on the offense’s 30. Perales and Herbig the outside linebackers. Pickett hits Allen Robinson II left side for 10 yards.
2. Kazee and Fitzpatrick the safeties. Peterson and Wallace on the outside with Sullivan in the slot. Watts and Adams the defensive tackles. Three-by-one formation with three receivers to the right, the tight end backside. Harris carry with Roberts knifing in for just a gain of about 2, though no tackling here. Pickens in the slot here to help block.
3. Holcomb and Alexander the inside linebackers. Defense jumps. Pickett flushed right and tries to fire to Harris down the right sideline, but Fitzpatrick is underneath and knocks the ball away.
4. Green at center. Wilcox and Pierre the cornerbacks. Toby Ndukwe and Quincy Roche the outside linebackers. Leal-Fehoko-Loudermilk the defensive line trio. Mitch Trubisky under center, Jaylen Warren the back. Good hole up the middle and Warren gets 5 before Wilcox tags him.
5. Nice snag by Calvin Austin III left side over his right shoulder with Robinson covering. Gain of 7.
6. End around to Austin but Roche reads it well, stringing him wide and chasing him to the sideline. Only a gain of 3.
7. Cody White and Austin on the outside with Gunner Olszewski in the slot. Elijah Riley the nickel back. Trubisky complete to White for 20. Good pocket provided by the line.
8. Jaylen Warren carry right side only for about 2. Leal got under Green’s pads and had control of the block, giving him a little love tap on the side of the helmet as the rep ended.
9. Tanner Muse and Mark Robinson the inside linebackers. Trubisky looks for Miles Boykin on a curl right side. But Boykin doesn’t have his head around when Trubisky fires. The pass is incomplete.
10. White and Boykin the wide receivers. David Perales beats Le’Raven Clark around the edge. Trubisky is throwing to I’m not sure who — White and another eligible in the area — and the pass is incomplete. Sloppy end to play.
11. Watts and Adams the defensive tackles. Neal and Fitzpatrick the safeties as the starters come back in to end practice. Think there was a lot on the line here, maybe a nice dinner. Pickett wants Diontae Johnson on a curl, but Levi Wallace drives and breaks it up.
“I like it, Levi!” Tomlin yells out.
12. They try it again. Pickett for Johnson but Wallace again is the man. Pickett is flushed left and fires but Wallace again gets a hand in there to knock it away from Johnson. Defense loving it, Cam Heyward singing “hey, hey, bye bye” to Johnson, Tomlin grabbing Johnson with a smile, as the defense gets their laughs in. Fun end to the session.
Camp Summary
– Kenny Pickett struggled early in seven shots but had a good practice. Really zipped the ball underneath. Not as good of days for Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. Overall, the offense looked sluggish and sloppy. They had their moments but some fundamental stuff that were issues today haven’t been for most of camp.
– Connor Heyward is seeing a lot of time as a true running back. He’s a real option to be used there this year, potentially as a No. 3 type who can play on passing downs.
– No one talks about CB Levi Wallace. But he just stacks good days. Three breakups in this practice. One in seven shots, two in highly competitive moments to end practice.
– Spencer Anderson getting some second-team reps at offensive tackle ahead of Le’Raven Clark. Anderson at center was a bit shaky today, though the actual snaps seemed good. The Steelers are getting a long look at him to make this team. I’m liking his chances.
– I know it sounds insane, but Kendrick Green has looked more comfortable with his punch the last two practices in offensive line/defensive line. At least defending power rushes down the middle. He still has trouble when defenders get on his edges and he’s gotta slide and punch.
– Nice day for Broderick Jones, who easily handled Nick Herbig. Dan Moore Jr. has also been looking solid. I don’t know if a guy here will “lose” the battle. Both have performed well.
– Like I mentioned above, Pressley Harvin III has punted better than Braden Mann and Christian Kuntz has snapped better than Rex Sunahara.
– Very good day for Quincy Roche, who was everywhere in the run game. Haven’t mentioned him much this summer but today was a much-needed good day.
– An excellent day for Minkah Fitzpatrick in coverage, though you don’t need me to validate his coverage ability.
– Liked what Armon Watts showed as a pass rusher, though this late in camp, you know how offensive linemen defend you so it’s a little bit easier to figure them out. Still, increased reps with Larry Ogunjobi out and Watts took advantage. The defensive line looks deep in Pittsburgh.
Saint Vincent Photo Of The Day
Offense getting ready to break the huddle in a team period.
Better Know A Steeler
A daily blurb offering a brief bio of an interesting former Steeler.
Center Chukky Okobi spent six years in Pittsburgh, appearing in 77 games but only starting seven of them as the ultimate Steelers backup. He was part of the team’s 2005 Super Bowl-winning team and began a Pittsburgh-centric rap career after his playing days were over.
Bill Burr’s Quote Of The Day
“Once you do a joke and it works, it’s only good for so long, like shooting fish in a barrel.”
