Tag Archives: Steelers Training Camp

From Camp Cupcake To Camp Crack Down

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No one can forget the infamous “Camp Cupcake”. The playful nickname given to the training camp of 2009 by a national sports columnist who stopped in to camp for a few hours one day. The name stuck, because well…who doesn’t like cupcakes? This article isn’t about that training camp though, it’s about this one, and you can rest assured that the camp of 2013 won’t be garnering any such nicknames. This year Coach Tomlin is setting a tone. A tone that implies, “The battle for the AFC North starts in July!”.

Wednesday’s practice featured a live, full contact 11 on 11 drill. “That’s the first time we ever did that.”, said Larry Foote when asked about it after practice. The drill featured several run plays, some of which showed off Le’Veon Bell’s talents. On one play, Bell took a handoff to the left, but cut back to the right and turned it into a 30 yard gain. At the end of the play, Bell bulled over Curtis Brown according to Mark Kaboly.

On top of adding contact into practice, Tomlin is reportedly no longer allowing players to take golf carts to and from the locker rooms- another sign of a change in atmosphere this year. Coach Tomlin is also making changes in an effort to prevent injury. This year, he’s mandating that offensive linemen wear knee braces throughout camp. Speaking of linemen, I continue to hear that Mike Adams is doing well. Jim Wexell reports that he drove Woodley to the ground twice on Monday, and pancaked Ziggy Hood during Wednesday’s practice.

During team drills, Ben was said to be ‘real crisp’, connecting on several of his passes. Gradkowski made a nice connection to Plaxico Burress on a 55 yard TD pass. Shamarko Thomas bit hard on a play action fake, which contributed to the success of the play.

On Steelers live, Bob Labriola was singing the praises of OLB Alan Baxter, the rookie from Northern Ill. Baxter has been making an impression the past few days, and if he continues to do so (and shows prowess during special teams play), he could very well be in surprise contention for a roster spot. Definitely someone to keep an eye on.

https://twitter.com/MikeTanier/status/362682289852911616

Coach Butler had the following to say about him on Tuesday:

“Alan’s a smart kid, and he’s been working hard. He obviously has some things to learn, but he’s made a few plays so far.”

On the injury front, DE Nick Williams sat out the end of practice with an unspecified knee injury. DeMarcus Van Dyke, Cortez Allen, and Terry Hawthorne did not participate.

Steelers Training Camp- Day 4 Recap [Video]

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The Steelers wrapped up the first day of padded practice at St. Vincent Monday evening, one that drew large crowds and reporters from the NFL Network. Sadly, the network’s coverage left much to be desired. Below in the article, I’ve included some footage taken by an attendee at camp that blows away the brief warmups shown on the NFL broadcast yesterday, but I digress…

Terry Hawthorne was out with what’s rumored to be a sore knee, as he was seen favoring it after Special Teams drills on Sunday. Hawthrone missed spring activities due to knee surgery. Cortez Allen and DeMarcus Van Dyke were out again, as well. Mike Tomlin wasn’t concerned about depth at Cornerback, though, when asked after practice. “Not really concerned about the depth at this point. One man’s misfortune is an opportunity for others.”  When asked if Hawthorne being out was just a precaution or necessary, he said, “No, it’s not good to give a guy who’s fighting for a job precautionary rest. It was necessary, but hopefully not long term.”

Reggie Dunn, J.D. Woods,  McNeal, and Larod Stephens-Howling were fielding kicks towards the beginning of practice, and Wheaton, Gilreath, Dunn, J. Brown, Sanders, and A. Brown were fielding punts. J. Brown reportedly almost caught one while holding 5 balls.

In positional drills, the offensive line continued working on techniques for the Outside Zone Scheme. Le’Veon Bell said after practice that the line is getting used to the outside zone, and they’re getting better and better at it. During team drills, there were two variations of 2nd team offensive line units according to Ken Laird:

Kelvin Beachum – Chris Hubbard – John Malecki – Justin Cheadle – Guy Whimper

and-

Joe Long – John Malecki – Kelvin Beachum – Justin Cheadle – Guy Whimper

1st team was the expected cast of: Gilbert – Foster – Pouncey – DeCastro – Adams

Adams is said to be looking healthy and reportedly contained Woodley well during the Oline vs Dline session.

The highlight of the day of course was the Backs on Backers drill. The running backs spent some time preparing for the battle by going over technique with ‘Big Bertha’.

 

No one went airborne like Chris Rainey did last year.  While the drill favors the backers by design, most of the backs held their own. Bell, who had the most match-ups at 11, preformed well for the most part. Clearly, the coaching staff wanted to put him to the test. Woodley dominated Bell a couple times, but that’s completely expected. The feature showing was Bell versus Jarvis Jones. After facing off four times, they were said to have split the battle evenly 2-2. After practice, Bell spoke of the contest. “It was 2-2. The first one I won. The next two Jarvis got me. He kept hitting me with that bull rush”. Bell added, “He got his hands on me. He’s thick. Don’t know how to explain it… he’s strong, knows how to use his hands”

Baron Batch was reported to have had a rough go of it. A few backers were said to have used their speed to edge around him. Marshall McFadden laid a mean hit on Batch. A frustrated #20 retaliated, and a scuffle ensued. Coach Wilson was quick to break it up, yelling- “We don’t fight here!”. In Backs on Backers, sometimes you’re the dog, and sometimes you’re the hydrant.

Here’s a great video account of the Backs on Backers drill taken by an onlooker in the crowd yesterday:

According to reports, Jarvis Jones was not only impressing with his rushing abilities, but in pass coverage as well.

New special teams coach Danny Smith, who was added this offseason, is said to be very loud, fiery, and animated in practice. Hopefully that fire is contagious, and carries over to the field this season.

Blocking Instructions

The team reconvenes for practice on Wednesday.

Friday Night Lights Moved; Rescheduled

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The Steelers announced that the annual Friday Night Lights scrimmage that’s held at Latrobe High School, will be moved to St. Vincent College, and at a new time. Diseased field grass was given as the cause of the move, as the team did not want to jeopardize future high school games there. The event will now be free of charge and at 5:25, with autograph signings starting at 5:00. Fireworks will be held at St. Vincent campus at 9:15.