Category Archives: Steelers News

steelers training camp

Justin Brown Returns To Practice Today Despite Broken Nose

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Steelers wide receiver Justin Brown says he will return to practice today despite having a broken nose. The second year wide receiver didn’t even realize it was broken until teammates told him so after Thursday’s practice. The injury occurred when safety Shamarko Thomas’ helmet collided with his during a blocked pass.

Brown says that his nose feels fine, and he’ll keep it taped and bandaged for a week. According to Steelers.com correspondent Missi Matthews, Brown has had surgery to repair the break.  Brown doesn’t have any hard feelings towards Thomas. “Everybody is trying to make their mark. It happens. We know what we signed up for.”

joey-porter-they-soft

Steelers Training Camp: Day 6- Friday Night Lights Recap

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If you would have asked me a week ago who was going to be involved in the first fight of training camp, my answer would have likely contained the names of an offensive and defensive lineman. I would have been very wrong. Tonight’s skirmish took place during a feisty round of backs on backers.

The initial tussle wasn’t very newsworthy. Little fights break out all the time during these drills and throughout training camp. Heck, there were more fights in OTA’s than there have been so far in camp. Le’veon Bell was back in pads tonight and he was first up to defend the quarterback. The role of quarterback was once again played by Joey Porter. Porter was reportedly jumping and giving chest bumps to the linebackers when they’d get the better of a running back.

Back to the fight…Bell was going head to head with LB Vince Williams. The 2nd year RB beat Williams on the first match-up. On the second, Williams drove Bell to the ground. One reporter said that Williams was pinned on top of Bell, and was grinding his facemask into his. Another reporter said that Williams’ facemask had so much force applied to it, that it was pulled through two of the retaining clips.

Here’s where it starts to get interesting. The other half of the double LB backfield didn’t like what he saw. Even though he wasn’t practicing tonight, and was only wearing shorts and a shirt, LeGarrette Blount came running over and dove on Vince Williams shoving him off of Bell. From there a large scuffle broke out, which involved many of the linebackers, running backs, and tight ends. The highlight of it all was arguably when none other than Joey Porter went in and pulled Blount out of the pile. Various reporters said that the two were face to face jawing. A couple thought that Porter and Blount were going to throw down, but the two went their separate ways. Afterwards, Blount and Williams continued to express their grievances at each other from across the field.

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It’s awesome that Blount, a guy who is new to the team, is sticking up for his teammate. Blount has been known to have a bit of a temper though, so that’s something he’ll want to keep in check.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33yk_QzfyiI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZduAMyLIXoM

Bell was involved in the team drills tonight, and was a target of at least a few passes. Chris Carter filled in at ROLB for Jarvis Jones who was out tonight. Jones had his leg wrapped in a way that suggested he had a groin injury, and coach Tomlin later confirmed it saying it was nothing serious, and the team was just being cautious with him. There sure is an abundance of groin problems this summer. Jordan Zumwalt was seen doing sprints tonight, so hopefully he’ll return to action soon.

Referees were at practice again, and they weren’t conservative about letting the yellow hankies fly. Several flags were thrown tonight. Shaq Richardson, Antone Blake, and Ike Taylor were all reportedly called for interference. Taylor’s came while trying to stop Antonio Brown from making a big play. Several defensive holding calls were made as well. The offensive line units were reportedly much more prone to drawing flags, as multiple flags were thrown for what were mostly false starts.  Mike Munchak must have loved that.

Big Daniel McCullers was used as the special teams wedge tonight. He reportedly made his block on the first attempt, but got his feet caught up on the second, and went to the ground. DE Nick Williams has been hasn’t garnered very much talk so far, but he had a couple nice run stops tonight, and followed them up by pressuring the quarterback. Speaking of quarterbacks, I’m looking forward to seeing Jones and Kay during preseason games, because both have warts. I keep hearing how slow Landry is to get rid of the ball. That’s going to be a problem for him against real opponents. One throw of Ben Roethlsiberge’s had fans cheering tonight. He overthrew his intended target and Troy Polamalu made a awe inspiring interception by getting his fingers under it just before it hit the ground. Fans were also cheering when a pass found Markus Wheaton, who made a fingertip grab while dragging his toes to stay in bounds.

The Steelers resume practices tomorrow afternoon. The ever exciting goal line drills might take place, or they might wait until Sunday depending on how Mike Tomlin feels about tonight.

 

 

Steelers news

Justin Brown Has A Broken Nose And Other Injury Notes

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Steelers WR Justin Brown is sidelined today with a broken nose. No word on exactly how or when it happened, but his nose is wrapped up with tape. WR Darrius Heyward-Bey is out due to his head injury yesterday.

TE Eric Waters is also out due to the back injury he sustained yesterday. Rob Blanchflower is still out with his high ankle sprain, though he’s reportedly walking about without his boot. RB LeGarrette Blount is sitting out after his maintenance day yesterday. Dri Archer is in shorts today with his left knee wrapped. Jarvis Jones is also out of practice today, though no word on why he is out. Lastly, Jordan Zumwalt is also still out with his groin injury.

RB Le’Veon Bell is in full pads tonight.

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Steelers Waive Alvester Alexander, Sign RB Jawan Jamison

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The Steelers have waived injured RB Alvester Alexander. The team has signed RB Jawan Jamison with the available roster spot. Alexander was originally signed by the Steelers last August, and later added to the practice squad. He started training camp on the PUP list due to a groin injury.

Last Friday Coach Tomlin said they’d monitor Alexander’s and Mitchell’s situations on a day to day basis. “[Alexander’s]  really in a similar circumstance. We’ve been monitoring both situations, and it’s nothing new to us, but obviously it’s not the type of start those guys are looking for. When they’re healthy and ready to go obviously we’ll put them back in the mix with the rest of them.”

Jawan Jamison was originally drafted in the 7th round of the 2013 draft by the Washington Redskins. At draft time, Jamison was listed at 5’7″, 203 lbs. He averaged over 4 yards per carry over his 2 year career at Rutgers, and left early in hopes to help support his mother who had breast cancer. He ran a 4.68 40 and 1.66 10 yard split at the combine which is less than good. While he doesn’t blow anyone away with a quick burst, he is a decisive cut-step lane runner. He was waived by the Redskins in March, after spending last season on their practice squad.

According to ESPN, “he did not report to camp in good shape” last year. You can view a couple of his college games below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRa1C6arprI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mi962zwWdA

steelers training camp

Steelers Training Camp: Day 5 Recap

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Thursday saw the first appearance of the no-huddle during the 2014 training camp and had NFL refs officiating throughout practice. While Le’Veon Bell made a partial return to practice, he didn’t participate for much of practice. With LeGarrette Blount sitting out for the day, the younger backs got more touches throughout practice.

During the no-huddle session, it was Tauren Poole and Dri Archer who spent a lot of time in the backfield with Roethlisberger under center. I half expected the first no huddle run through to have a good amount of rust, but that wasn’t the case. The offense had a positive play on every snap, with Ben displaying quick releases and lots of accuracy.

Later on, RB Miguel Maysonet was the work horse. He would end up taking his fair share of punishment from safeties Shamarko Thomas and Jordan Dangerfield. Dangerfield laid a monster hit on Maysonet, in fact, Dangerfield has been dishing out quite a few big hits so far this camp. While I don’t see him making the roster with the talent ahead of him, he’s a strong candidate for the practice squad. I liked Maysonet a lot coming out of Stony Brook. I could see his potential for success in a ZBS. The Steelers must have seen it, too.

During pass rushing drills, rookie outside linebacker Howard Jones got by Mike Adams twice on the outside. Adams has been the topic of discussion the past few days as he’s had some embarrassing moments, but those were during positional drills. He’s looked better in team drills. Veteran RT Marcus Gilbert has been quietly having a solid camp. A coach once told me as a lineman “if you don’t hear your name shouted, you’re probably doing it right.” According to Craig Wolfey, Gilbert has changed his stance with the help of Coach Munchak, and it’s making a difference. Coincidentally, Shamarko Thomas knocked Maurkice Pouncey down while blocking on a wide receiver screen Thursday.

NT Steve McLendon was very active against the run, and stuffed several runs at the line of scrimmage. NT Daniel McCullers was also putting his power on display. Landry Jones saw time leading the second team offense again. It might not mean anything, but there’s been more than one day where I’ve heard about his release being slower than that of Bradon Kay. Justin Brown spent time with the first team receivers during 7 on 7 drills. On one play, he drew cheers from onlookers when he contorted his body to make a catch in bounds over Anton Blake.

TE Eric Waters left practice early with a lower back of some description according to Coach Tomin. WR Darrius Heyward-Bey also left early after taking a knee to the helmet during a passing drill. Tomlin didn’t have any details about his injury, but said only that he was being evaluated. One reporter speculated concussion symptoms. We’ll have to wait and see.

The Steelers resume practice Friday night at 7:00 at Latrobe Memorial Stadium. Friday Night Lights always draws very large crowds. Coach Cowher used to close Friday Night Lights with goal line drills, but it’s not something Tomlin does. Typically the hard hitting goal line drills happen on Saturday or Sunday.

Cortez Allen contract

Steelers Sign K Shaun Suisham To 4 Year Contract Extension

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The Steelers announced this morning that Kicker Shaun Suisham has been signed to a contract extension. The extension will keep Suisham under contract through the 2018 season.

Suisham was originally signed to a 4 year contract by the Steelers in 2011. Last year, the 32 year old kicker made 30 of 32 attempts, and was 8 for 8 from beyond the 40 yard mark.

Art Rooney II recently said that the team wanted to extend some players whose contracts were expiring soon, and Suisham would have been a free agent after this season. Other players who are potential extension candidates are CB Cortez Allen, RT Marcus Gilbert, LB Jason Worilds, and perhaps even Cam Heyward. Suisham’s contract details aren’t immediately available, but I’ll update when I know the specifics.

Rob Blanchflower

Rob Blanchflower Has Foot In Boot And Other Injury Notes

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Rookie Tight End Rob Blanchflower is sidelined today. He has his left foot in a walking boot.

https://twitter.com/MarkKaboly_Trib/status/494568019020877826

RB Le’Veon Bell is still recovering from his hamstring “tightness”. He was warming up with the running backs at the beginning of practice, but was not in pads and is not participating today. WR CJ Goodwin is not participating due to his shoulder injury.

LB Jordan Zumwalt is also out due to his groin injury. Ramon Foster has returned from bereavement leave, but Punter Adam Podlesh is still out. His wife is expecting a baby.

I’m sure we’ll get some updates on the injuries from Coach Tomlin later this afternoon. Stay tuned.

Joe Greene

Steelers To Retire Mean Joe Greene’s Jersey Number

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The Steelers annouced today that the team will retire Joe Greene’s number 75 this year. During a press conference in Latrobe this afternoon, Dan Rooney and Art Rooney II told the crowded room of reporters that the hall of famer’s number will be retired in a ceremony on November 2nd. The Steelers host the Ravens on primetime that night, and Joe Greene picked the date personally. About choosing that date Greene said, “Probably because they have emerged as the No. 1 antagonist,” Greene said, laughing. “During my days it was Cleveland and then it was Cincinnati and then Houston. It’s been the Ravens for a while. I did it knowing that it’s going to be a hotly contested game.”

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Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney said that Greene was the cornerstone of the Steel Curtain. “Joe was the cornerstone of the Steel Curtain. He was the first (player) that we drafted (with) our first pick after Chuck Noll was there so it was Chuck Noll’s first pick. He made it what it meant to be a Steeler. He made sure as he got older that people stayed in line (and) that they weren’t going to cause trouble, and he took care of that. When we went to the first Super Bowl in 1975, he just made sure everybody did what they were supposed to do.”

The last and only time the Steelers retired a jersey was in 1964 when they retired number 70- Ernie Stautner. Just over 50 years later, they’ll be honoring one of the greatest Steelers of all time in front of a sold out audience. The Steelers have so many players who are deserving of a number retiring, that it can become tricky business. Art Rooney II addressed that notion during the press conference. “The question of retiring a number, we’ve talked about for a number of years. I think we always had the feeling that, well it would be nice but where do you draw the line, and are there too many guys that you would wind up having too many numbers retired.

“Really coming into this year with Joe retiring and coming up on the 40th anniversary of the first Super Bowl (victory), we felt it was a perfect time. We talked about it and came to the decision that it was the right thing to do (and) the right time to do it. When you look at the 1970s there are a lot of different words that have been used to describe what Joe meant to that team – cornerstone, heart of the team. It just really got to the point where it was the right time to do it and Joe obviously is the right, first person from that team to have his number retired.”

Steelers news

Ramon Foster Is Back With The Team Today

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Steelers left guard Ramon Foster has returned to team activities today after missing the start of training camp due to the loss of his mother. Foster’s mother, Wyvonia “Jeanell” Foster-Morgan, passed away unexpectedly last Tuesday. She was only 49.

Foster told media members today that he appreciates the support of the organization, coaches, teammates, and fans on social media. He said the supports has helped him a lot, and that he’s excited to return. With his return, Chris Hubbard and Cody Wallace will return to their back up spots on the line.

David-Snow

Steelers Waive C David Snow, Sign RB Josh Harris

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The Steelers have waived offensive lineman David Snow injured today. Snow fractured his foot in practice on Saturday, which will require corrective surgery. The way that the waived/injured list works is that the player will go on waivers. If no team claims him in 24 hours, he will either go on injured reserve or the team will reach an injury settlement with him, leaving him free to find a landing spot with another team. The injury settlement is the more likely scenario for Snow in my opinion.

To fill the available roster spot, the Steelers have signed former Wake Forest running back Josh Harris. Harris is listed at 5’11, 210 lbs in the Wake Forest media guide. He was with the Wake Forest track and field team for 3 years. According to Harris, there was some confusion about his 4o time at the Wake Forest Pro Day. “Several scouts had me running the 40-yard dash in 4.28 seconds, but the NFL Network reported me at a 4.46. So I was upset about that.” He did the bench press 28 times, had a broad jump of 9’11”, a 35.5″ vertical, and a 1.57 10 yard split.

Harris finished his college career with 489 carries, 2,230 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. He also has some very limited experience with kick returns. While not really the best way to evaluate a player, here is a highlight reel to see him in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo7Df2HuY9U