Training Camp Updates 2018

Yep we know exactly what we have in Jesse. James is a sure handed possession TE that has improved his blocking over the years. He stays healthy and is a consistent safety valve for Ben. He is what he is. And hes pretty good at doing what he does. I like our combination of tight ends. Jesse Vance, and even Grimble all compliment each other.

 

Pop sickle sticks. Duct tape. Just saying.

 

True.


However, finding even good TE depth is not easy. That being said, hope they resign him. As you said, good second string TE.

 

Still too early to analyze and dissect anything but here is what I have been reading thus far:


- Rudolph showcasing more and more processing capabilities that made him tops in the class. Not to mention today he did see more snaps. Overall, steady as she goes but the development is nice.


- Edmunds had a relatively quiet camp up until now. Granted, we did hear some of his abilities to stuff the run. Today though, he snagged up his first camp INT. Granted, he did give up a touchdown and has been 50/50 overall. Like Mason though, steady as she goes. Unlike Mason, his development is very nice thus far.



- Dupree is having himself a good camp. Continue to read of him beating one on ones. Granted, not all of them but a good portion of them. Good to hear since Pittsburgh will need him to be better than ever.



- Burns has had a solid camp. Routinely going up against AB will do that. Unlike last year though, he is getting more of the lionshare of chances. While AB has a touchdown on Artie, Artie has a takeaway. More of this needs to be seen in succession.



-Matthew Thomas has put together a string of quality practices. Showing good pass coverage and run stuffing abilities. Needs to have more of them though.



- Chukwuma Okorafor's reps seem to be more of getting him motivated than anything else. Fought with Chick yesterday and read that Dupree caught him in the facemask as well. Has had a decent camp but he is a project so that is to be expected.



- James Conner looks like a DIFFERENT player all together. Even the general consensus of his shortcomings with his pass protection he has vastly improved on this time around. His pass catching has also dramatically improved. Add the four days of camp thus far and James Conner has been the "Camp Darling". Let us see if he can continue this for the remainder of Training Camp as this is likely a prelude to our Running Back in 2019.


- James Washington has been progressing nicely. He has been showcasing that very unusual second gear of speed. Had a bit of a rough Day one but has improved.



- Joshua Frazier has been solid. Have not heard too many negatives about him. Keep it up big man. Your role on this team is far greater than you know.



Plenty more whom I would like to cover but only am covering some of the players I am very intent on perusing. Hope to hear more of good news regarding not just the aforementioned but all of the players.



Cannot wait for the season to start!!!

 

Ha, I get the sense Joshua Frazier is growing to be to @AskQuestionsLater what Isaac Redman was to PWP.

Apart from the inevitable injuries, camp is looking positive so far.

 

Any word on feilers progression? We really need him to take that step as a Swiss army knife.

 

So far so good. He is handling himself well. Had some issues with Heyward and Tuitt but I believe he did win a rep or two with both.

 

Good to hear. How is the center thing going? That's most of my concern.

Thanks AQL.

 

Tuch and Wolfe were talking about him the other day, said his footwork is great, he has the feet and hamhocks to be a great lineman but his hand placement needs work. He needs to put it all together and he would be a beast.

 

I'm more convinced now that 9-7 is the ceiling. This team is going to be an utter train wreck starting week 1 vs. Cleveland.

 

That appears to be going well the same. Have not heard him botch a snap thus far.

 

Why lol

 

Tomlin

 

? What did PWP think of Redman? The same mannerism he feels about DHB?

 

Like that, but a little more.

And I will always give PWP his dues on this - he started his Redman touting early on in his first camp, when he was an undrafted nobody, and he ended up starting a few games and being a serviceable back up. So it was a good call in the end.

Let's hope the same for Frazier...

 

Jeremy Fowler
2 hrs ·


Camp notes! A few thoughts from Pittsburgh Steelers' weekend of padded practices.

*Terrell Edmunds is a bit grabby as a pass defender and gave up two scores in goal-line drills, but on Sunday he took full advantage of Morgan Burnett's absence. The first-round rookie intercepted Big Ben in coverage of Vance McDonald in 11-man and also shined in one-on-ones. Getting playbook down has helped play fast, he said. "Hopefully I block more (passes) than they catch," he said.
*Couple of fringe guys balling: RB Fitz Toussaint (good pass protection), CB Dashaun Phillips (physical coverage, eager hitter).
*James Conner's hands are showing up. Looks comfortable catching the ball. Has had a few nice snags.
*Mason Rudolph made slight improvements after a slow start to camp -- still has a tendency to float the ball over the middle, which won't work against first-team defenses. He's got a bigger arm than he shows but is thinking through normal rookie issues. Some positive moments, though.
*The Steelers' first-team offense ran an isolation play down the sideline for fullback Rosie Nix, who showed nifty footwork 20 yards downfield for the catch. Equal opportunity offense.
*The Steelers should hope Vance McDonald's foot issue isn't much. They are lining him up all over the field, and he's stout in pass blocking.
*More TE stuff: Jesse James and Xavier Grimble with slick downfield catches Sunday, with James running across the field to beat defenders and Grimble going high over the middle. Grimble stays around because of his stout blocking and athleticism but hands have plagued him. If he can clean that up, he'll improve his place in the offense.
*Steelers defense was getting pressure on the stout offensive line in the early part of camp, but on Sunday, Ben Roethlisberger had some really clean pockets. Protection looked better overall.
*Bud Dupree needs a big year and seems to know it. He's trucking dudes.

 

Please take it to one of the 50 or so threads bashing Tomlin. Thank you.

 

The change in Conner is nice to see. I was surprised to find that his pass blocking was such a concern just because showed the ability to be physical in college. Perhaps that was a matter of technique.

I doubt he will ever be a receiver like Bell, but he can be that guy who catches balls in the flat and screens well enough to make plays with the occasional wheel route in the mix. He did some of that at Pitt and seems comfortable enough with the routine catches. I would love to see him emerge as the lead guy in a committee once Bell is gone, but becoming useful in the passing game as a blocker and a receiver is a key part of that. The other part is regaining the burst and power he showed at Pitt before the knee injury and cancer diagnosis. Maybe reshaping his body, as Bell did early in his pro career, is what Conner needed to get back to what he showed during his breakout season with the Panthers.

 

Maybe its the articles I'm reading, but it seems there's more of an emphasis on one-handed catches in the drills for both the WRs and RBs. Not sure what to make of it. There's always a time and place for that but I guess I'm old fashioned and want to see them get 2 hands on the ball. This could have been going on for awhile and it was never mentioned but we have a new WR coach. I'm sure the drills improve eye-hand skills either way, but I hope we don't see a lot of drops because they are trying to be cute.

 

I don't know why you think that. Signs point to a more focused, more disciplined team to me. The more Tomlin and Colbert say that none of the buzz about them lacking discipline phases them, the more it probably has. I think Art 2 shoving his size 11 shoe up their behinds has something to do with it.

 

I'll believe it when I see it. I have a bad feeling about the Browns game, week 1.

 

Even if we s--t the bed that game, it could serve as a wake up call. You know we are going to lose at least 1 game vs a bad team as a given. It's one of 16 games.

 

I think you are right about AR2. I think he gave them new marching orders this year. Fix the run defense. Stuff the rUn force the pass. I'd be surprised if the number of 100 yard rushers didn't drop dramatically .

 

Finney did something to his elbow and had to leave practice today. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.

Going to have to bring in a couple G’s if this keeps up.

Edit: Finney came back into practice. Sigh of relief.

 

Definitely....he always chimes in with what he sees that doesn't make him happy and there is usually a strong emphasis on fixing it. That's why his comments about focus and not looking past opponents is also rooted in truth....even though there are some who don't believe those issues exist....