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steelers training camp

Steelers Training Camp: Day 7 Recap

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Saturday’s practice concluded with what used to be one of the most exhilarating drills of training camp- the goal line drill. It seems to get less exciting every year, though. Mainly due to the fact that the top tier backs aren’t really involved anymore- which is completely understandable.

Coach Tomlin spoke briefly on the subject after practice. “What better way to get to know them (the young running backs), and that’s what it’s about. I think one thing the National Football League proves to all of us is that backs explode on the scene every year.” That could be part of it, but let’s be honest here- you don’t want your starting running backs to serve as tackling sleds for hard hitting linebackers like Vince Williams. Williams has been blowing people up, and laid some big hits in the goal line drill. Williams has always been primarily a hard-hitting run stopper, but the 2nd year linebacker seems especially hard hitting this year. I’m looking forward to seeing him in preseason.

With the temperature up, the team is starting to see more fights breaking out. Two more small scuffles broke out during Saturday’s practice. During a red zone drill, Kelvin Beachum and Chris Carter got into it and had to be separated. In a goal line session, Maurkice Pouncey and Hebron Fengupo exchanged a few punches at each other before needing to be pulled apart. The play resulted in a touchdown by RB Tauren Poole. I would expect more fights to ensue in the near future.

Early in practice, Todd Haley led the quarterbacks in the garbage can drill. Ben Roethlisberger didn’t participate, but instead served as commentator for the fans. “He’s so competitive,” Roethlisberger told the crowd. “He’s so mad I’m not playing.” The quarterback followed up with a bit of a double entendre adding, “He’s just glad you guys aren’t booing him.”

Rookie Wide Receiver Martavis Bryant may have been the star of practice. During red zone drills, he was unstoppable. His size and athleticism were no match for defenders as he leaped and twisted to make touchdown grabs. Dri Archer’s renowned speed was on display again as he was up against Lawrence Timmons in one on one drills. The rookie RB/WR made an over the shoulder catch on a wheel route then sped past Timmons. Timmons has lost weight and gained a step…he’s by no means a slow poke. There was more than one time during the drills where Archer sped by him. This kid is going to a match-up nightmare this season.

The Steelers Sunday afternoon practice may be impacted by inclement weather, as thunder storms are threatening the area.

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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.

joey-porter-they-soft

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 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.

steelers training camp

Steelers Training Camp: Day 4 Recap

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The Steelers were back to work today after having yesterday off. The weather was cool, which probably helped keep the fighting drought alive. After today’s practice, one reporter asked Mike Tomlin if he wished it were hotter, to which Tomlin replied, “I do, but I don’t have control over that, so I’m not losing a whole lot of sleep.” The reporter went on to ask if there was anything he could do to compensate for that, proving that sometimes reporters ask some really dumb questions.

Tight End Rob Blanchflower was sidelined with what Coach Tomlin labelled as a high ankle sprain. According to Tomlin, he’ll be out for at least a week. While the severity of his sprain isn’t public knowledge, I’ve never heard of someone returning to activity in anywhere near that short of an amount of time.

Ramon Foster was at practice today, the first time since training camp got underway. Coach Tomlin had the following to say about Foster’s return: “Glad to have Ramon back, not only is he a solid player, great person and leader, (he) does a good job within his group and outside his group. You just live day by day, and we’ll surround him with the brotherly love we have for him and move forward.”

Troy Polamalu sat out for the 11 on 11 live drills, but later he had the crowd cheering when he intercepted a pass from Landry Jones. Jones was running with the number 2 team, ahead of Gradkowski, and was doing well at first today according to reporters. The second year quarterback was looking comfortable in the pocket, and was avoiding pressure with a simple sidestep. Things apparently went downhill quickly though, as pocket presence and completions were followed by a sack and an interception.

Safety Jordan Dangerfield has been turning heads with his hitting ferocity. He also drew the ire of Dick LeBeau today after he intercepted the ball during 7 on 7 drills. After the interception, Dangerfield lateraled the ball to Isaiah Green, which had LeBeau yelling about jeopardizing a turnover.

During OL/DL drills, Steve McLendon laid out backup center Cody Wallace with a mean bull rush. During the same drills, Mike Adams got ran over. To the defense of Adams, it was the 6’7, 350 lbs NT Daniel McCullers who got the best of him. At least it wasn’t Shamarko Thomas. McCullers reportedly looked good all around today, and was repeatedly collapsing the pocket or getting pressure.

In the linebacker group, Shazier continued to impress with his speed and awareness. He is going to be a problem for opposing offenses this year, both at the LOS and in coverage. Shazier did have a bad moment today, when RB LeGarrette Blount laid a mean stiff arm on him that put him to the ground. Blount had a nice gain on the play. You might consider it retribution of sorts for backs on backers. Sean Spence’s knee seems to be responding well to full contact practices. So far, so good. Vince Williams is quietly having a good camp. Terence Garvin is getting a lot of buzz. Today he had multiple stops at or just beyond the line of scrimmage. He’s also been “flying around the field” according to some reporters, and laying some heavy hits. ILB has some solid depth this year.

During end of line drills, TE Eric Waters put his blocking ability on display again. Jarvis Jones put on a good show during his sessions against Matt Spaeth, enough so to draw shouts from Tomlin, “I like it 95!” Jarvis Jones, Chris Carter, and Howard Jones all stayed after practice to work on pass rushing technique with Joey Porter.

Here’s Porter working with LB’s during individual drills earlier in the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WTJ3Jwhh-c

That’s all for today. The team will hit the practice fields again tomorrow at St. Vincent.

 

steelers training camp

Steelers Training Camp: Day Two Recap [Videos]

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The Steelers wrapped up their second day of practices 20 minutes early today due to storms in the area.

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/493503540266954752

“We got the bulk of the work in before the weather shut us down,” said Coach Tomlin after practice. “We’re not going to lose a lot of sleep over that. There’ll be plenty of opportunities for these guys to get better and prove themselves.”

Ramon Foster, who has been mourning the loss of his mother this weekend, is expected to join the team tomorrow. In his absence today, Chris Hubbard was the starting left guard. Cody Wallace had filled in for him yesterday, but saw time today as the #2 center. Yesterday, Mike Adams was the #2 left tackle, but today he was in at right. Here are a couple quick videos taken at practice today. You can see Coach Munchak working on technique and running drills with the linemen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rlf_vDo7WEk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAS4vSHMUWI

https://twitter.com/MarkKaboly_Trib/status/493485220482412544

Antonio Brown hasn’t had any return duty yet. Today’s returners were Dri Archer, Markus Wheaton, Lance Moore and Jordan Hall. While the rest of the team worked on special teams, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown worked on rollout throws to the endzone pylon.

Markus Wheaton drew lots of cheers as he split the corner and the safety to catch a deep touchdown pass from Roethlisberger. Archer was wowing the crowd with his speed on swing passes and check downs today. According to Scott Brown of ESPN, Justin Brown was “catching everything again today”. Here’s a quick video of some receiver drills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O9HkmKs2W0

Just because, here’s Heath Miller hitting a sled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARwI27_7TvU

Some things of note on the defensive side of the ball. DE Josh Mauro and DE Stephon Tuitt saw time at second team defensive end during sub-packages. Cam Thomas saw time as left defensive end during first team 11 on 11 drills. According to Bob Labriola, Stephon Tuitt was getting a lot of tough love from defensive line coach John Mitchell.

https://twitter.com/BobLabriola/status/493498224741986304

Last note on the defense today- Ryan Shazier put some of that renowned speed on display. Here’s a tidbit from Dale Lolley’s blog:

“(Antonio) Brown caught a ball in the flat that Jarvis Jones nearly knocked free before Brown re-caught it, split a pair of defenders and then raced down the sideline . . . where he was caught 25 yards downfield by rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier.” That’s not something you see everyday.

The Steelers resume practice tomorrow where they’ll be wearing pads and hitting each other. The NFL Network will also be covering camp from Latrobe tomorrow.

 

steelers training camp

Steelers Training Camp: Day One Recap [Video]

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Fans from all over descended upon St. Vincent college today to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers engage in their first (unpadded) practice of the 2014 training camp.

While it was just “football in shorts” as Tomlin affectionately calls it, there was still plenty of excitement for those in attendance. Starting on the offensive side of the ball, Ben Roethlisberger was sporting a number 99 jersey today, to show support for his old friend Brett Keisel.

https://twitter.com/Teresa_Varley/status/493106697624248321

“That’s my boy,” Ben said regarding the jersey. “He’s been one of my closest friends (he) has been in my wedding. It was an honor to wear it. I miss him.” The gesture was noticed.

https://twitter.com/bkeisel99/status/493128030965862401

You might notice that Ben looks a little more svelte today. The quarterback says he lost weight, though he wouldn’t say how much specifically. He credits the weight loss to working with nutritionists and a personal trainer this offseason, the first time he’s ever done so. “You get 32 years old and you’re entering your 11th year, it’s time to do something extra.”

On to practice notes. Ben and the receivers put on a show today. Many media accounts contained phrases like “new hot arm” and “live arm” to describe Rothlisberger’s gun slinging today. Justin Brown was said to have a great practice, and is carrying the momentum from this spring well.

https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/493131814580396032

https://twitter.com/MarkKaboly_Trib/status/493154123525939200

Martavis Bryant didn’t garner a lot of talk today, but he did reportedly display a great show of his athleticism while snatching a high ball on a comeback route. He later would get some instruction from Roethlisberger after making an error in his route. From ESPN:

“Don’t come in that way!” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger yelled Saturday afternoon to the rookie wide receiver. Roethlisberger proceeded to gesture to Bryant how he should have retraced his steps and run back toward the quarterback instead of cutting toward the middle of the field.

Wheaton and Antonio Brown were the starters at wide receiver when the Steelers were running 11-on-11, and Lance Moore was the No. 3 wide receiver. Darius Heyward-Bey drew oohs and ahhs when he pulled in a deep touchdown pass from Big Ben, but he spent a good amount of time catching balls from Brandon Kay.

Antonio Brown was still Ben’s favorite target.

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AB was the punt return man in the early session, but Archer took over the duties later in the day, and had everyone excited. The small speedster had two youtube worthy runs in which he turned on the burners down the sideline. On his second dynamic return, he cut back and reversed to find the opposite sideline where he took it to the house. Archer also saw time at left slot receiver today with Bradon Kay under center.

Moving on to the offensive line. While Ramon Foster is out grieving the sudden loss of his mother, Cody Wallace is filling in at 1st team left guard. Mike Adams was 2nd team left tackle. Former Steelers lineman Jeff Hartings was at camp today giving direction, as he helps out as a coaching intern for the first half of camp. Here’s a quick video of Coach Mike Munchak running stretch zone drills with the linemen, courtesy of Mark Kaboly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZAjUBHpQZY

https://twitter.com/DVEMike/status/493120012085760001

On the defensive side of the ball, S Will Allen is with the 1st team defense while Mike Mitchell is out with a groin injury. Robert Golden backed him up, and Shamarko Thomas was #2 behind Troy. Cam Heyward was in at right defensive end, the position Brett Keisel long buttered his bread with.Cam Thomas got first team reps, and in the later session, Tuitt, McCullers, and Arnfelt all got some time with first team. Tuitt reportedly drew praise from John Mitchell on the sidelines after blowing up a run play by getting off the ball with a burst. McCullers reportedly had his hands on his knees after every play, ie. the work was harder for his big body than it was for his colleagues. Brian Arnfelt drew praise for his high motor as he chased Antonio Brown to the endzone.

The linebacking rotation looked like Jarvis Jones and Jason Worilds at OLB, and Ryan Shazier and Lawrence Timmons at ILB. 2nd team looked like Arthur Moats and Chris Carter with Sean Spence and Vince Williams manning the inside. Terrence Garvin took Kion Wilson’s spot on 3rd team, and Jordan Zumwalt rotated between there and OLB.

The team reconvenes at St. Vincent tomorrow for another day of padless practice per the CBA. The hitting starts on Monday.

Brett Keisel Tractor

Pics And Video Of Players Arriving To Training Camp (No Tractors)

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Slowly but surely, players filed into St. Vincent today as the first day of training camp got underway. To my knowledge, there were no little electric cars, or 20 ton dump trucks.

Brett Keisel Tractor

 

While no one matched the spectacle and extravagance of previous arrivals, some of the players descended on St. Vincent college in their own unique way. Here is an assortment of pictures and a raw video of some of the players arriving to camp today.

https://twitter.com/DVEMike/status/492703207605288960

https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/492710930103287808

Greg Warren (below) and Shaun Suisham showed up on bicycles. (via Matt Maisel of WJAC)

Antonio Brown rolled up in a Mercedes Benz van/mini-bus.

https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/492737311432376321

https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/492729315478360064

https://twitter.com/missi_matthews/status/492716938511269889

Ike Taylor probably took the cake showing up with his Google Glass recording and an HD Go Pro around his neck.

https://twitter.com/missi_matthews/status/492738864428359680

Some people were more focused on what they brought than on how they got there.

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/492722499260387328

https://twitter.com/BCTBradford/status/492717868606173184

https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/492722838470533120

https://twitter.com/MarkKaboly_Trib/status/492720323192565763

While Brett Keisel didn’t pull up on some sort of construction or farming equipment, he did share a pic of himself to show he was thinking about training camp today.

https://twitter.com/bkeisel99/status/492748430637162496

Here’s a raw video from WPXI capturing some of the players arriving today. When it’s done, there is more video to choose from at the bottom of the player. Enjoy.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”LatrobeArrivals”]

 

Steelers Training Camp- Day 10 Recap

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The Steelers wrapped up the tenth day of camp today with a few more guys on the sideline than yesterday. Steve McLendon, Jason Worilds, Jarvis Jones, and Le’Veon Bell were back today, but on a limited basis. Curtis Brown was added to the list of DB’s who were not participating, along with already sidelined Cortez Allen, Terry Hawthorne and DeMarcus VanDyke.

The rest of the list of non-participants:

Troy Polamalu, Ross Ventrone, Curtis McNeil, Adrian Robinson, Matt Spaeth, Nick Williams, Larod Stephens-Howling, Larry Foote, and Lawrence Timmons were out today, as well. Timmons was out due to a death in the family. Coach Tomlin only commented on Troy’s absence saying, “He’s got a contusion to the birth certificate. He’ll be OK”.

The team started with a ‘get right morning’ AKA- the morning off. During afternoon practice, the team worked on various one on one drills, followed by 11 on 11’s. Today featured another day of live tackling, of which both Ben Roethlisberger and Baron Batch expressed the same sentiments during different interviews- ‘it will make the guys better in the long run’.

There were no changes to the first team offensive lines today. Mike Adams was at LT and Marcus Gilbert at RT for the third consecutive day. 2nd team looked like- Whimper, Cheadle, Malecki, Batiste, Beachum.

Ryan Clark had a scare today when he got his fingers caught in David Gilreath’s facemask. Fortunately, they were able to untangle before any significant harm was done.

While some people have raised alarms about Big Ben showing signs of a limp and getting it wrapped, he was said to be moving nimbly and scrambling about just fine during drills today.

The team reconvenes again tomorrow before having Tuesday off.

Training Camp Injury Report- Day 8

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Here is a breakdown of the injuries and players who didn’t participate during today’s practice. Coach Tomlin didn’t provide any details or list the players who missed practice today, but these are the players who were listed through various reports.

Le’Veon Bell, Matt Spaeth, Brett Keisel, Jarvis Jones, Adrian Robinson, and Jason Worilds all did not practice today.

Le’Veon Bell had a wrap on his left knee.  He reportedly bruised it while running into another player at practice on Friday.
Matt Spaeth told reporters that he had his right knee drained on Friday, and said it was ‘no big deal’.

Brett Keisel said he was out on a vet vacation day. Jarvis Jones was out and the reason was undisclosed.

Adrian Robinson had his right knee wrapped. Jason Worilds was out again nursing his toe injury.

Ed Bouchette also mentioned Lawrence Timmons and Steve McLendon among the players who did not practice today.

In addition to those mentioned, Ben and Redman did not participate in the goal line drills today. Ben reportedly had his knee wrapped towards the latter part of practice.

CB Terry Hawthorne still out with his injured knee, but he was said to be able to jog around.

Nik Embernate Injures Knee During Practice

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Nik Embernate injured his right knee during one on one drills with Cordian Hagans.

The injury appeared to be serious, and he seemed to be in a lot of pain, and was ultimately carted off the field. Coach Tomlin says it appears to be a significant injury, but cannot give details until he undergoes medical evaluation. Embernate, an UDFA right guard out of San Diego State, was working with the second team today before injuring his knee.