The longest stretch of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 training camp just wrapped up. The team completed its tenth practice and sixth straight. They’ll be off Monday before getting back on the field Tuesday. It’s a game week, with their preseason opener kicking off Friday night. Let’s talk about what happened.
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Camp Notes (Day Ten)
– Team was in pads with several live tackling sessions. A physical day of work.
– Injury roundup. Lot going on. Not practicing today were: WR Roman Wilson (left ankle), OLB Jeremiah Moon (unknown), TE Rodney Williams (shoulder), and LB Patrick Queen (foot or ankle). Roman Wilson shed the grey boot that we saw him wearing Friday night, a sign of progress, and he caught a few stationary passes from quarterbacks during a special teams session. He had a small black wrap on his left ankle that stuck out just above his shoe.
Unfortunate for Williams to bow out after working in full, though Saturday’s session came without pads. Still, it’s a step backward.
Limited Saturday were: DL Larry Ogunjobi, FS Minkah Fitzpatrick, OLB Kyron Johnson (hamstring), and CB Grayland Arnold. Ogunjobi was dressed and looked fine. Looked like a veteran day and chance to give younger guys a shot. Johnson is making progress and dressed but didn’t work in team period, instead doing some running along the sideline. He wore a black compression sleeve on his left leg. Arnold was also working on the side and going full speed so he looks close to a full return. Players who rested Saturday worked in full today: DL Cam Heyward, OLB T.J. Watt, and OG Isaac Seumalo, though Seumalo and James Daniels had reduced reps to give younger players more opportunities.
For what it’s worth, K Chris Boswell wore shorts instead of pads while the other specialists were in pads. But he jogged around a bit in practice, and the team didn’t kick today, so maybe he could dress down knowing he had literally no role or part in practice.
Some good news for two of the players on the injured list. Real progress was made today by RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (NFI – hamstring) and DL Dean Lowry (PUP – pec). Both began with some jogging while Patterson was 1/2 speed running and changing direction through cones. Lowry went through pass rush drills on the bags on the far field away from the bleachers before hitting the blocking sled, working on his punch. That makes it look like he’s close to returning to at least individual work, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was activated off Active/PUP this upcoming week.
– Center Nate Herbig was the first player to hit the field today, walking down the stairs at 1:06 PM. LB Payton Wilson was next at 1:12 PM.
– Credit to the grounds crew. The football field looked good going into the team’s sixth straight day.
– Big crowd of fans attending today. There are only three Sunday camp practices this camp, so fans are making the most of it.
– As they often have, S Damontae Kazee and DB Cam Sutton hit the JUGS machine before practice.
– OLB Nick Herbig pumping up the crowd as he walked out the team facility doors and came to the top of the stairs.
– Cool jersey-spotting today highlighted by an Erric Pegram No. 20.
– DBs having some pre-practice fun. Playing soccer with the football, in a circle and kicking it around to each other. Damontae Kazee tried to bounce the football off his chest and then kick it but missed, falling on his back as he put out his leg. Small things like that to keep practice light when it can be.
– Referees here in camp and have been on the field for most practices-more than I’ve ever seen them before. I think most refs are local, but Tim Rice said he talked to Sarah Thomas, one of the refs on the field, and an NFL official. So there’s at least one employed ref in Latrobe in the last few days.
– O-line groupings the same though as mentioned above, the young linemen got some extra reps throughout practice.
– Warmups tell you what kind of day it’ll be. Lots of 21 personnel and FB Jack Colletto in the early going, running plays the team will call in the 11 on 11 sessions later on.
I mentioned in a couple of diary entries before that the punt returners held tennis balls during drills. I studied it more, and they all had them for their reps. I think that is to help curl their hands inward to basket-catch punts, landing between their hands/arms and chest. The tennis balls help with their hand/finger placement to bring the ball in.
– Punt return lines were basically the same: Cam Sutton, Minkah Fitzpatrick, John Rhys Plumlee, Scotty Miller, and Calvin Austin III.
– Kick return lines: Daijun Edwards, Jonathan Ward, and Quez Watkins.
– Quick notes on some (though not a complete list) of the gunners in punt coverage skeleton work (no actual punts). WR Dez Fitzpatrick, CB Beanie Bishop Jr., WR Jacob Copeland, S Ryan Watts, WR Scotty Miller, and WR Jaray Jenkins.
WRs Quez Watkins, Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, and QB John Rhys Plumlee served as the returners.
First Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Seven shots. Ball on the two. Isaiahh Loudermilk at LDE for Larry Ogunjobi, Keeanu Benton, and Cam Heyward along the D-line with him. Justin Fields in at QB. 12 personnel. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are the OLBs. LB Elandon Roberts gets pressure. Fields spins left and scrambles for a touchdown, which goes as a win for the defense.
2. Damontae Kazee and DeShon Eliott the safeties. 12 personnel again. Calvin Austin and George Pickens both aligned to the right, Austin in the slot. Najee Harris up the middle, bounces and spins left, but T.J. Watt and Payton Wilson tackle him shy of the goal line for the defensive stop.
3. 11 personnel. Van Jefferson and George Pickens on the outside, with Calvin Austin in the slot. Watt hand down as his LDE. Fields touchdown to Van Jefferson in the left back corner for the touchdown.
4. Mason McCormick comes in at LG, with Spencer Anderson at RG and Troy Fautanu at RT with the rest of the 1’s. 11 personnel. RB Jaylen Warren up the middle and he’s stopped shy. Looked like Damontae Kazee flew in to meet him but I don’t have many notes on this rep.
5. Kyle Allen in at QB. 13 personnel. Dez Fitzpatrick the only WR. RB La’Mical Perine receives the handoff right side and just gets over the goal line before being stopped. Touchdown.
6. D-line of Jacob Slade-Breiden Fehoko-Logan Lee. 12 personnel. RB Jonathan Ward runs off left tackle. LB Tyler Matakevich flies in and gets a piece of Ward’s leg, tripping him up. Trying to stay on his feet, Ward stumbles for the goal line but LB Tyler Murray rocked a shoulder into him, sending Ward sprawling out shy of the end zone. Good defensive rep.
7. 11 personnel. Kyle Allen throws back right corner intended for WR Jaray Jenkins is incomplete and pretty much non-catchable. Incomplete. Defense wins seven shots 5-2.
One-On-One Drills
1. Was hoping to see WR/DB 1v1 today. Instead, they worked 2v2 with route combinations and pattern matchings. So a scattering of notes from there and from the LB/RB drill on the other side of the field, though no play-by-play like other periods here.
– LB Jacoby Windmon and LB Mark Robinson picked off passes in this drill. Windmon jumped a pass for Edwards while Robinson undercut one intended for Warren.
– Payton Wilson had a nice breakup against Najee Harris on a short out-breaking route. Harris spoke with Wilson after the rep, looking like he was talking about the play and maybe offering a pointer. This was constructive, not trash talk or anything. Harris has shown to be an on-field leader in this camp.
– S Nate Meadors had a nice interception in the back of the end zone working on WR Jaray Jenkins.
– And CB Joey Porter Jr. had a breakup on a jump ball in the back left corner against WR Jacob Copeland.
– The final two reps of the period were 1v1. TE Pat Freiermuth made a nice back-shoulder catch on SS DeShon Elliott, bringing it down after a slight bobble. Still, it was a good adjustment and track of the ball. Elliott wanted a push-off but the refs swallowed their flags. DBs Coach Grady Brown went over something with Elliott after the rep.
Connor Heyward jumped over Damontae Kazee on a 7-route and made a leaping grab, but the officials made a questionable OPI call on Heyward.
Second Team Session (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 25. Payton Wilson and Elandon Roberts the inside linebackers. Loudermilk-Benton-Heyward along the D-line. Watt and Highsmith the outside linebackers. Justin Fields under center. Swift cut by Najee Harris from right to left, juking two defenders, and barreling ahead for 7 or 8 yards.
2. Fields fumbles the snap. Not sure if blame is on him or center. There’s pressure from Watt but the rep finishes out, Fields picking the ball up and hitting Van Jefferson for 11 yards, though this play would’ve been dead in a real environment.
3. Troy Fautanu in at RT with Spencer Anderson at RG and Mason McCormick at LG with the starters. Fields out of pistol. Power run with McCormick pulling left to right, Jaylen Warren following behind. He kicks out T.J. Watt. But there isn’t much running room overall, Elliott and others stopping him after 1.
4. Nick Herbig and Markus Golden the second-team outside linebackers. Payton Wilson and Mark Robinson the inside linebackers, with Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson the outside corners. “2nd and 5,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin calls out in this run session.
Play-fake. Fields hitches and finds a wide-open George Pickens along the right side for about 20 air yards. Pickens turns upfield and the defense chases after him, though they aren’t running all-out to tackle him. Might not have been sure if they should or not (there’s usually less tackling on pass plays in live sessions than run plays). But Pickens keeps going and steps out of a DeShon Elliott tackle and houses the ball from there, a 70-yard touchdown. Big-time play.
5. Kyle Allen comes in from the gun. Looked like jet action that caused some problems and the ball hits the ground. Mark Robinson dives on it.
6. Pistol. Carry for RB Jonathan Ward over right side. Dez Fitzpatrick blocks Nick Herbig, who sheds it and gets a piece of Ward. The D-line holds up well, and there’s no gain on this run.
7. 21 personnel. A lane for Perine right side for 6 before Nate Meadors meets him in the hole, cutting him down for a gain of 6. Don’t know the defender, but Zach Frazier served up some pancakes, burying someone.
8. 12 personnel. RPO, Fields hitting Pickens for 10 over the middle. Safety came in to knife Pickens at the knees, though the defender (unsure who) didn’t wrap, and Pickens stayed on his feet, though the play basically ended there. We’ll keep it a 10-yard gain.
9. Willington Previlon and Logan Lee the DT pairing. Julius Welschof at ROLB. Cam Sutton playing safety, Thomas Graham Jr. in the slot. RB Aaron Shampklin runs left side for about 3, Lee and others on the stop. Jet motion to the right on the snap with Fields on a read-option, presenting options and window dressing for the defense to deal with.
10. 11 personnel. Kyle Allen play-action to Dez Fitzpatrick right side. Clips off Fitzpatrick’s outstretched hands and incomplete along the sideline. CB Kyler McMichael covering.
11. 11 personnel. Shampklin up the middle for a gain of 5, LB Tyler Murray tossing him down. After the play, WRs Coach Zach Azzanni pulled aside WR Quez Watkins to coach him up on his run-blocking technique.
12. 12 personnel. Russell Wilson comes in. It looks like a run with a tight formation, but Wilson makes a check (Tomlin says it wasn’t an unplanned audible), and the offense spreads out to an empty formation. And would you look at that – a Russell Wilson pass!
He hits WR Duece Watts on a 5-yard curl on the right side. Watts breaks a tackle and gets about 10 more yards before Ryan Watts and another defender crunch him. A 15-yard completion. Russell Wilson to Duece Watts – like we all would’ve guessed at the start of camp. Pat Freiermuth taps Watts’ helmet after the play to congratulate him on the YAC.
Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 18. 11 personnel. DeMarvin Leal and Cam Heyward the DTs. Beanie Bishop Jr. the slot corner. Fields zips the ball over the middle, Pickens making a tough catch against Porter’s tight coverage. Gain of 15.
2. Mark Robinson and Payton Wilson the inside linebackers. Porter and Jackson on the outside and Bishop in the slot. Elliott and Kazee the safeties. Fields spins around behind the line, designed and part of the play, and hits Pickens on a WR screen to the right. Got blocks out in front, including a key one from RT Broderick Jones. Good hustle from OG Isaac Seumalo, too, who ended up along the sideline here.
3. False start and they ding RB Najee Harris for it, running a half-hearted lap as his punishment. Fautanu in at first-team right tackle with Broderick Jones first-team left tackle, a configuration we haven’t seen often. McCormick in at left guard and Anderson at right guard. Empty set, Warren flexed out wide.
Fields complete to Jefferson short and underneath, Mark Robinson diving but just missing swatting it away. Jefferson turns on the jets and shows good YAC. We’ll call it a gain of 20 in this non-tackling period.
“That’s great run-after, Van!” Mike Tomlin yells out to him.
4. Fields checks to Warren right side for about 5, a nice grab by Warren slightly out in front of him. Payton Wilson on the tag.
5. 12 personnel. Kalon Barnes and Anthony Averett the outside corners. Kyle Allen hits Duece Watts for a strong gain of roughly 23 against S Nate Meadors, Watts breaking to the left sideline.
6. 13 personnel. Empty set. Nick Herbig with pressure. Allen throws in the general vicinity of Perine running down the left sideline, but Allen wants a back shoulder, and Perine runs straight ahead. This also felt like a partial throwaway. Either way, incomplete.
7. Defense mugs each gap with a heavy pressure pre-snap look. Payton Wilson the ROLB here. Screen right to Ward for 10 yards, Spencer Anderson out in front. Not 100 percent sure but might’ve been another Frazier pancake, this one on Leal who does a kip-up to get back to his feet.
8. 21 personnel. Fields is back in and checks down to Perine for a couple, shoved out by Leal, who dropped into coverage.
9. 11 personnel. Leal the LOLB, Welschof at ROLB. Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush on the outside, with Thomas Graham Jr. in the slot. WR Van Jefferson aligned as the wing and races to the flat on the snap of the ball. There’s pressure off the Fields’ play-fake and he floats it right side. It’s out front, but Jefferson makes an all-out belly dive to snag it, falling to the ground. Heck of an effort for a gain of 3. Leal had pressure here.
10. 12 personnel. Empty. Mark Robinson walks out to cover the RB. Allen wants Connor Heyward, but there was some miscommunication. Allen throws down the seam while Heyward bends his route toward the numbers. Ryan Watts covering.
11. 11 personnel. Welschof the LOLB with Windmon the ROLB. Cam Sutton and Ryan Watts, the safeties. Vocal communication from Watts to Sutton pre-snap. Allen scrambles as Welschof chases him out of bounds after a gain of 3.
12. Rep for QB John Rhys Plumlee, who hasn’t had many this week. 11 personnel. WR Jacob Copeland goes in motion. Plumlee hits Jenkins right side for about 6, Trice covering.
Fourth Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Short-yardage period. Third-and-short type of work. First play from the offense’s 45-yard line. 22 personnel with Jack Colletto in at FB. Najee Harris up the middle for 3, Cam Heyward on the stop.
2. Kazee and Elliott the safeties with Payton Wilson and Elandon Roberts the inside linebackers. 22 personnel again. Jaylen Warren left side and there’s a lane opening up. It takes a shoestring Kazee tackle to trip Warren up to save a sure touchdown. A gain of 10, though Warren remained facedown after falling, knowing how close he was to a house call.
3. 13 personnel but empty, George Pickens the lone wide receiver out there. Harris flexed out but the far ref throws a flag. Apparently, Harris moved early again. Heyward messes around and rushes Fields and knocks the ball out, though it was more in fun than anything serious. Harris taken out and replaced by Warren.
22 personnel. Fields play-fake trying to hide the ball, but Nick Herbig isn’t fooled, getting pressure. Fields just chucks the ball away.
4. 22 personnel. Fullback dive to Jack Colletto but Isaiahh Loudermilk gets through and grabs hold of him. Others help take him down. No gain or at best, a half-yard pickup.
5. 22 personnel. La’Mical Perine left side. Tackles by S Nate Meadors and CB Kalon Barnes, a gain of only 1.
6. Kyle Allen in at QB with the third-team offensive line. 22 personnel. Offense flagged for too many men on the field, and Connor Heyward comes out as the apparent 12th man. Offense resets. Jonathan Ward right side. DeMarvin Leal busts through and grabs Ward, spinning him around. Ward stays on his feet and tries to make something out of it, but he’s swarmed and goes down for a loss of 3.
OL and DL 1v1
– Play-by-play of reps.
1. Alex Highsmith beats Dan Moore Jr. inside with a power rush.
2. Highsmith and his classic inside spin creates space against Moore, who is able to get some depth and stay square, but I give the win to Highsmith here.
3. Good bull to rip from Cam Heyward against Isaac Seumalo.
4. Nice anchor here from Seumalo against Heyward’s bull/long-arm.
5. Strong bull from Breiden Fehoko against C Nate Herbig.
6. Fehoko tries a club/rip, but Herbig seals it.
7. Pretty hump move from NT Montravius Adams against James Daniels, knocking him off his base and winning inside.
8. Adams active hand fighting and a good battle against Daniels. Adams swims him late.
9. Nick Herbig slips at the top of the arc against Troy Fautanu.
10. Herbig tries to cross chop, and Fautanu seals it.
11. They go again. A nice bull from Herbig creates some movement, but the two lock up. I’ll give Fautanu the edge here.
12. Dylan Cook stays square against DeMarvin Leal, and Leal is on the ground at the end of the rep.
13. Leal looks to swim against Cook, but I’m not sure of the winner.
14. Mason McCormick had a great rep against Logan Lee, using a strong punch and key first significant contact to shut down the rep early.
15. They go again. Lee a little more success but McCormick re-fits his hands and stalls Lee out.
16. Aggressive on-body set from McCormick to win easily versus Lee. Great showings from McCormick.
17. Zach Frazier stalls out Jacob Slade’s rush.
18. They go again. It’s a good battle as Frazier and Slade battle, but I’ll give the edge to Frazier.
19. Isaiahh Loudermilk inside spin against Spencer Anderson, but Anderson mirrors.
20. Better rush here with Loudermilk stringing together a bunch of moves. Long-arm to rip to inside spin to get past. Only issue is the ball probably would’ve been long gone in an actual game, though this drill helps work on moves and practice things.
21. RT Anderson Hardy seals OLB Julius Welschof.
22. Welschof can’t rip around Hardy, and his spin back fails, falling to the ground.
23. LT Devery Hamilton seals Jacoby Windmon along the edge, Windmon spinning on him late.
24. Aggressive set from Hamilton, allowing Windmon to corner and win the edge.
25. Willington Previlon trips and falls on this rep against LG Tyler Beach. Can’t tell what happened. He might’ve tripped up on Hamilton still standing at LT.
26. Nice corner from Previlon through contact to bend and get upfield to beat Beach.
27. McCormick’s great reps earlier let him graduate to the school of Cam Heyward. Heyward jolts him on his bull rush and sheds him late.
28. They go again. Even better bull from Heyward, leveraging and getting under McCormick and running him back.
29. They go one more time. McCormick is trying to be aggressive with his set to get hands on Heyward. But Heyward knows it’s coming and hits him with a dirty outside spin move, dusting McCormick as he loses his balance forward. Big oohs and ahhs from the defensive crew.
30. After everyone settles down, Ryan McCollum and Logan Lee lock up. Stalemate.
Fifth Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Goal line work. Ball on the defense’s 1. 23 personnel. Jaylen Warren run left side, but S Miles Killebrew is in there for the stop.
2. Goal-line defense has four defensive linemen: Logan Lee, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Montravius Adams, and Cam Heyward. Fields play-action, Lee and Watt getting pressure. Fields throws to FB Jack Colletto right front pylon, but the ball is through his hands. SS DeShon Elliott good coverage.
3. 23 personnel again. Najee Harris carry up the middle, leaving his feet and leaping over the goal line for the touchdown. Always a little scary to see Harris dive in practice but he got the job done.
“Way to go, 2-2!” Mike Tomlin calls out to Harris.
4. 13 personnel but an empty set. Fields looks for Connor Heyward left corner of the end zone. He makes the catch looking over his left shoulder, but can’t get both feet inbounds. Incomplete.
5. Kyle Allen in at QB. Perine up the middle. Believe he was stopped short.
6. Kyle Allen rolls right and tries to fire the pass to TE Matt Sokol. Terrible decision and it’s easily picked by S Ryan Watts, his second pick of camp, the first coming on Friday night.
7. Offense struggling and Tomlin wants the starters back in, though Spencer Anderson is in at LG for Seumalo. Fields at QB. 22 personnel, WR Dez Fitzpatrick the lone WR. Jaylen Warren left side for the score, the offense saving a bit of face. That ends the day.
After practice, I saw Art Rooney II drive a golf cart up the hill to the team facility.
Camp Recap (TL;DR)
– QB Kyle Allen’s forced throws the last few days, especially in the red zone/goal line. Bad decisions that a vet like him shouldn’t make.
-It’s interesting to see Jaylen Warren get more goal-line work than Najee Harris. The sample size is small, but maybe Warren will get more goal-to-go work this year under Arthur Smith.
-Justin Fields continues to heat up with George Pickens. Van Jefferson was also active today. It was small, but his diving catch for 3 yards in that one team period was a heck of an effort for a small gain in practice. Props to Jefferson for not treating it as a throwaway and making the play. He’s in the driver’s seat for the No. 2 job in terms of internal options. He’s clearly ahead of Calvin Austin, Scotty Miller, Quez Watkins, and everyone else.
– Still no running back really standing out behind Harris and Warren. Pretty tightly bunched.
– Mason McCormick took his lumps against Cam Heyward, but the fact he’s even seeing those reps and the Steelers are giving him the chance is a promising sign. He looked really strong and sound with his technique against Logan Lee.
– No question about Zach Frazier’s nasty streak. He likes putting players into the ground in team drills every chance he gets.
-DL DeMarvin Leal was active again, but he does get to beat up on the third-stringers quite a bit. I want to see him against some elevated competition during the preseason. It’s worth noting that the team treats Isaiahh Loudermilk as the starter in base whenever Heyward/Ogunjobi aren’t out there, while Leal is the first man to rotate in sub without No. 97 or 99 in the lineup.
– OLB Nick Herbig has been a nightmare for quarterbacks the last few days. Constant pressure.
– Overall, good team run defense today for the Steelers.
-There are not as many notes on the DBs in this run-heavy/big personnel day, but Ryan Watts takes advantage of bad QB decisions and makes them pay. He’s also been vocal and communicated well. I like the job he’s done.
Saint Vincent Snapshot
O-line receiving instruction early in practice.
Steelers Short Kings
A series on the shortest and smallest players in team history with large stories to tell.
RB (?) Dri Archer: 5-8, 173 pounds (2014-2015)
A big miss on a small man. Archer was electric at Kenn State but was position-less at the NFL level. Too small to play running back and an ineffective returner, he didn’t even last two full seasons with the Steelers before being cut. He effectively retired after failing to report to Bills camp in 2016. These days, his social media shows him playing in flag football leagues.
As a Steeler, he had just 17 offensive touches, along with 10 returns.
Norm MacDonald Quote/Joke Of The Day
“The Statue of Liberty is setting a bad example for young women. When times get tough, you can’t just stand motionless for centuries holding a torch.”
