Unfortunately the rain drove Friday’s practice at St. Vincent to another field which was only open to family members. The next day we met Lake McCree’s Dad at our hotel. He drove up from Texas to watch his son practice. Too bad we didn’t meet him the morning before, perhaps Christina could have convinced him to include us as relatives.

That left us with Friday, now Saturday Night Lights. From the get go you knew this practice would be different. For the first time since we have been going, the Steelers buses arrived on time. We have heard McCarthy was a stickler for having practices start and end on time. Here was the proof. During Tomlin’s time, the buses would show up when they’d show up. This would cut into the carefully orchestrated schedule of FNL.

Every year getting autographs in the VIP section is a crap shoot. Fans in that section complain they don’t get the star players, I on the other hand want to get the draft picks and prospects. I did get Mason McCormick to sign my 66 practice jersey. Other starters that came by to sign were Zach Frazier and the newly “minted” Nick Herbig. I was able to get draft picks, Everett, Wetjen and Rubio. I also got a few others including Robert Tonyan…more on him later.

Another concern from years past is that the players stand on the sideline in front of the VIP section. Well, as mentioned in other articles, there is no standing around in McCarthy’s camp.

1’s and 2’s went to one end and 3’s and 4’s went to the other. It was a well oiled machine. I watched the 3’s and 4’s since this is where Howard and Allar were. They ran 11 on 11 inside the 30. I noticed a lot of flag routes to the end zone trying to drop the ball in over the defender. Both QB’s looked very comfortable. There was an altercation between Rayshawn Jenkins and Ryan McCollum. Looked like McCollum did something Jenkins didn’t like since he went after the backup center.

Another new feature was the tackle dummies. They would place 5 of them on the field. A QB and RB on one side and an ILB on the other. The QB would hand off the ball to the RB, the RB would pick a hole as the 5 tackle dummies represented 5 o-lineman. The ILB would have to read which hole the RB would use. They then would reverse it to a blitz. The QB would drop back and the RB would have to pick up the ILB on the blitz. The third drill was the QB would fake the handoff and the ILB would have to pick up the RB out of the backfield on a pass pattern. Payton Wilson excelled in all 3 areas.

Payton Wilson was the star of the defense. He was everywhere, doing everything, with visible and audible emotion. I hope this translates to a breakout season. I won’t harp on coaching as you all know my opinion, but it seems like he has been freed. Was Wilson late to the hole or missing tackles due to being hesitant within the old system? Or is he now able to let his abilities take over in a system that allows him to do so. Stay tuned.

We all saw what Wetjen could do in open space during the preseason game. This was on display at F(S)NL. They ran a kickoff practice much different from the other camps. When it was Wetjen’s chance to return, it was like the other players were standing still. He hit the openings with speed and cut just enough to make people miss. That being said, I think he’s going to get killed, I swear he looked like a peewee player out there.

Oh, Robert Tonyan. He looked like what a TE should be. It looks like Rodgers will throw to him every play. He caught, he blocked, he hustled. He was a consummate pro. He will eat into snaps of the other TE’s if he continues like this. Freiermuth looked great too. He and Tonyan caught, get this, passes over the middle. Again and again and again. Tonyan had a nice sideline catch he had to comeback to. For some reason Washington looked like the odd man out however he had a nice catch going against Patrick Queen. Even Lake McCree, the aforementioned son of the father we met, had some nice catches over the middle.

Asante Samuel Jr and newly drafted Dayton Everette looked really sharp covering. As I mentioned, it was not easy to tell them apart since their rolled up jerseys made it hard to read 22 from 23. Everette is listed at 6’1”. He seemed shorter. But nonetheless, both made several plays and their abilities to adjust to the ball in the air was impressive. They were easy to watch since they were on my side. Dean was on the other side of the field. He did bait Rodgers into a pick 6 which was one of the highlights of the practice.

DK Metcalf made a nice catch which I caught on video. Drew Allar looked good hitting his deep routes. And number 28 was making plays and I wish I watched him more. I didn’t realize it was Robert Spears-Jennings until after the practice. I really didn’t focus on the safeties knowing the potential starters were out. I completely forgot about Spears-Jennings.

After practice I met Keeanu Benton. He seems just so happy to be playing football. I hope Benton and Herbig (which you can tell they are close) are a big part of our defense for years to come. As mentioned before, I also met Broderick Jones and Max Iheanachor. They are very large human beings. Jones also just seems like a big kid, and happy to be here. I am rooting for him. Max was signing for the kids and had a great demeanor. Fautanu was a few yards behind the two. Hopefully it was just the distance perspective but he seemed to be dwarfed by Broderick and Max. Drew Allar was talking with friends from Penn State as I just stood near and listened. He was describing the difference of the pro helmet he was now wearing vs the college one. I thought he is really skinny for his height compared to Ben, then I went back and looked at pictures of Ben when he was drafted…pretty similar. Fingers crossed we may have an answer at QB.

It was just a good, clean, crisp, organized practice. Will it translate? Maybe, maybe not. One thing that was not crisp was false starts in practice. That seemed to carry over into the game.

Stepping Out – Breaking Us In Two

For many, January 22, 2007 seems like a lifetime ago. For others, it actually was. 19 years is a long time period. It was too long to be a head coach for the same team. Especially a coach as stubborn to change as an Irish Mule.

Tomlin was my preference over Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm. Mostly for the reason that I wanted a complete change and not a promotion from within. The Steelers, it seems, made the right choice. 2007 was a good season, The Steelers finished 10-6 and won their division. They were rewarded with a home playoff game. I think Steeler fans were just happy that they were back in the playoffs after a down year. Jacksonville came to town with a 12-5 record but this didn’t matter. Steeler fans were excited to have a home playoff game for the first time in 3 years. Before you knew it though, the Steelers were down 21-7 and then 28-10 entering the 4th. How could this be on our home turf? But we still had Ben. Throw out the game plan, let Ben be Ben. Ben first pulled the Steelers to a 28-23 deficit pending the extra point. There was 10:25 left and Tomlin went for 2 which was the correct call. The Steelers 2 point try was good! However, Hines Ward was called for a penalty. With 10:25 left and all your timeouts, most coaches would kick the extra point to make it 28-24. I believe the announcers saw the predestined doom when they said you don’t want to leave points out there. The two point try from the 12 yard line was not even close. 28-23. More Ben magic was to come. With 6:21 left the Steelers scored a TD making it 29-28, a one point Steeler lead. Now, it was an obvious 2 point try. And it failed. Yes, hindsight tells you that if you kicked the extra point from the 12 on the previous TD and then you automatically go for the kick on this TD, you’d be up by 3 (remember extra points then were almost automatic). Going for the 2 point try from the 12 when it was NOT absolutely necessary seemed to be a harbinger of doom, not just for this game…but for a coach’s future. The Jags got the ball back and instead of kicking a game tying FG, the kick was a winner. When asked about why he went for 2 from the 12 after the penalty, Tomlin said these words, “You can’t live in your fears”. For the next 18 years, Steeler fans had to live with their own fears.

Read More “A Tomlin Epitaph”

The legend lives on from the Strip District on down

Of the confluence, they called the Three Rivers

The Steelers, it is said, always wind up ahead

When the skies of December turn gloomy

With a load of Cowher’s men, they won the Super Bowl again

And the other teams rosters looked empty

That good team and true other offenses they chewed

When the games of December came early

The team was still the pride of the city’s North side

With a loss to Green Bay, Wisconsin

As the veterans did go, the cracks did begin to show

With a team and a new coach not seasoned

We lost to some teams with losing records it seems

And they even got blown out by Cleveland

And in later years now with Tomlin’s gang

Could it be that the standard was no longer “Steel”ing?

Tomlin on the side lines never makes a damn sound

When the team on the field is a failing

And every fan knew, as the players did too

That the head coach of team was a reeling

The first downs came late, and the touchdowns had to wait

When the Hell of December came crashing

When January came, it was always the same

Not a chance for a team playoff win

With the end of the game, Tomlin came on TV sayin’

“Obviously, the barn’s painted red”

At seven pm, at the post game, he said

“Obviously, the only paint I had was red”

Tomlin stated again he had Hell comin’ in

And the good team and players would give all

And later that season when playoff chances went outta sight

Came the wreck of the Tomlin Fitzgerald

Pickens vs Miami 2022

Pickens vs Washington 2024

Friday Night Lights opened with a different feel for us…rain was not expected. The Steelers arrived late, but got right to the autograph session before practice. Muuuth darted straight for me, like he might have remembered me from last year’s camp. However, he was all business and signed for me, then off to the next. That was when I spotted Justin Fields just a few fans to my left. He came down the line and we had a chance to chat with him. I mentioned Christina worked at the High School where Jeremy Ruckert attended. Fields face lit up with a big smile, “That’s my boy!” I asked if I can get a photo with Christina so she can show Jeremey when he is back in town. He obviously obliged.

As he moved to the next group, I said, By the way, you won me my fantasy league. He just chuckled. I can only imagine he thought, well, I won’t be able to win one for you this year from the bench. Shortly thereafter Russell Wilson came by to sign, he was all business too, he didn’t have much to say. I did have a chance to talk with Mason McCormick. He sounds and looks like everything a Steeler guard should be, I hope he plays like it. JPJ came by again this year, I let others take the photos and chat with him this time. He did sign for me. Then came the guy that if he were in street clothes I would never have guessed he was a football player. I could look down upon Jaylen Warren. He was all smiles and the fans loved him. I told him to go have a monster year. He said, I’ll do my best!

From where we are, the backs on backers are too far away to see…but they are drawing the most attention and the most cheers. We miss this every year since the VIP section is on the other side of the field. I did get to see Troy Fautanu and Logan Lee go at it one on one. They both seemed to have an edge to their game. I was surprised a fight did not break out there. They’d both continue after the whistle. Hard to tell if Fautanu got the upper hand since I did not know if Lee was supposed to get by him or lock up in combat. Lee seems to be getting a ton of reps with Lowry out.

I would be surprised if he doesn’t at least make the practice squad. Also Lee worked a lot in the three man DL drills with Cam. My guess is you don’t put someone who is just a camp body in that group.

Fields gets most of the reps with Wilson and his quad watching. The play calls all seem like short or behind the line passes. Very few are downfield. Are they working on Field’s short game? I hope so…these plays will drive us crazy. Fields will have one of these passes batted down my Watt.

I mentioned a worse fate will happen the next day. JPJ and Donte Jackson are glued together. They are often followed by their baby brother, Beanie. The three amigos seem to be in step with one another. And this proves true with the depth chart coming out, and Beanie is right there with them. Beanie looks small, then again JPJ has length. Of course, Mike Hilton looked small. I am not sure Beanie has the pop Hilton had on hits…but we have time to see if he does.

This year I soaked up more of the FNL atmosphere (than getting soaked in the rain) so I did not move around much to check out 7 shots and other activity.

 

Saturday at St. Vincent began with a “Please return to your cars, a lightning strike has been reported in the area” announcement. What was interesting is the players still remained on the practice field. I did see they removed their helmets, it was mentioned somewhere that they could be conductors. The lightning stayed away, as did the rain, so we were soon let into the VIP section along the sidelines.

The team was not in full pads after FNL. They did some 11 on 11 drills early. Twice Jaylen Warren broke through the line, each time running all the way to the endzone.

Fields hits a beautiful sideline over the shoulder pass to Van Jefferson. The catch was equally as good. Tomlin breaks the team down to one on one drills which I have never seen at camp before. Dump off pass to a RB/WR and a D man has to attack and 2 hand touch him low before he gets around him. Some great one on one matchups with CAIII vs Cam Sutton. Tomlin made them run it 3 times in a row. I think CAIII won 2 of the 3. Watching CAIII, they need to get the ball in his hands in space. It is Beanie’s time to cover CAIII, he fails badly getting beat both times. He looks like he overpursues his angles.

Payton Wilson looks sharp in this drill. He gets matched up against Pickens which was not the mismatch you’d think (I guess in anticipation of our ILB covering the other team’s best receiver). He went full out at Pickens along the sidelines and just kept coming with his momentum. In his pursuit Wilson almost runs me over.

Also, Fields would sometimes just take off with the ball too. Payton Wilson also had to go against Fields. Again, it is not an easy drill for the D man.

Did I mention Mason McCormick looks like a Steeler prototype guard? Fautanu is not bad either…

Najee works on his own. He is not involved in any of the team drills.

The man of the day? Punter Cameron Johnston. Applause for a punter? Yep! Not only that, there were plenty of ooooh’s and ahhhh’s as he boomed several high and deep punts.

Overall, there were not many throws downfield. It is obviously tough to judge the running game. But it looked like a lot of short passes, swing passes…a very methodical approach. I guess if they can keep the time of position even, the D won’t wear down and they can lean on them. It is hard to judge Justin Fields, because what makes him dangerous doesn’t translate in practice. I did not see a lot of throws to the TE’s, or throws over the middle. They used CAIII a ton, but will he disappear come game day?

 

 

On Saturday I was able to get down on the field early, one of the first ones. I was looking for someone in the stands and continued to walk to the far end of the field. That is when I noticed #88 catching passes behind a tackle dummy. He was no more than a few feet from me. I took a selfie to show how close he was, but it did not do it justice. Eventually other fans caught on to my lone access and trickled down the field. Freiermuth continued to play catch with TE coach Roberts. A Dad came over and had his two sons with him, he posed the two kids with #88 behind them. The Dad then asked Pat to turn around for the picture which he easily obliged. However, Roberts had already released the ball and it was heading for, well, Pat’s head. It just grazed the top of it and landed between me and the Dad. Pat came and retrieved the ball, I just said, “and that is how Pat Freiermuth got injured at training camp!” He turned to me with a big smile, rolling his eyes and then chuckled. A security guard then came over to remind us not to interact with the players.

 

Gentry, Washington and Heyward come over to join #88. It is like a trio with one of these doesn’t belong. Heyward is easily dwarfed by #80 and #81. #87 joins them shortly after. I shout to Rodney, “Hey #87!” He turns as I point to my #87 jersey and he gives me a thumbs up.

 

Freiermuth looks like a guy who wants to be perfect. His extra work, his enjoyment in doing so, shows through. He also has the tree trunk legs. He is no Najee, but he makes a good run at him. Speaking of Najee and Freiermuth, it seems those two are joined at the hip with Pickett once again. And once again their foursome consisted of Zach Gentry who seems to be a bigger part of the offense in camp.

 

Dionte Johnson looks like a man possessed. He digs in with each cut, battles after every catch (none dropped!) and gives 100% effort.

Pickens on the other hand looks like he is out for a Sunday Stroll, and I mean that in a positive way. He is fluid, he is effortless (again in a good way). You can see it in his preseason game touchdown. It looked like he was toying with the D-backs as he cut one way and slid past a DB the other way…effortlessly. Hit him in stride and the YAC will come.

 

#11 looks like a pro, but they didn’t seem to throw the ball to him much in the O v D drills. They love #19 deep. We may see that more than #14 going deep. The play #19 scored on in the preseason was run several times. I am not surprised it worked so easily.

 

Pickett looks fluid himself rolling both left and right. There is definitely a zip on the ball. I don’t have anything to compare it too as I did not see him in camp last year.

 

Rudolph looks so at ease. I truly wonder if his lack of relationship with Ben led to his disinterested demeanor these last few years. I feel bad for him as I thought 2019 would be his year. He seems happy now and at peace. Mitch looks ok, he is away from the other two as he puts in a lot of separate work as we are all aware he is one play away from being the starter. Mitch actually stays late and signs a ton of autographs. Fans are very pleasant with their interaction with him which is great to see.

 

For some reason I blanked on who #78 was. Wow, what a mountain of a man. I guess the #78 made me think OT. In one-on-one blocking drills he was a beast. Fast for a big man too. Oh wait! It’s James Daniels! I never understood why the national media thought he was getting replaced. He easily looked like our best lineman out there. New FA #73 looked like the perfect bookend surrounding the center position. Watched him go thru his reps, simply a pro. Another beast of a man, the long hair makes him look even more intimidating. However, when I had a brief chance to chat with him the night before, he was pleasant, polite and soft spoken.

I didn’t see much of our starting tackles or center, but I did watch #77 for a bit. He looked like he was having fun. His interaction with teammates did not look like a rookie at all. He looks like he could be a leader at some point.

The D practices on the middle field which in not easy to see from field level. My only time seeing them is when they go up against the offense.

 

#55 looks very mobile. They seemed to blitz him a lot up the middle, flushing the QB out of the pocket.

#95 has a soft cast on his wrist from the night before. Minor inconvenience. He drives back whoever they put in front of him, imagine him with the true use of both hands. The offense tries to get the younger Heyward into the action. #93 covers him downfield. The ball is perfectly placed, but so is #93. #93 contests the catch and comes down with the INT. The D rush on the field much like the O did for Pickens catch days earlier. #93 fires the ball into the air, the D shoots at it as it comes down. All fun and games, but that’s 15 yards during real action. #51 just beats everyone (I wish I put this together before the preseason game). He does not look small out there like Sutton Smith. He is everywhere. #56 looks like he swallowed James Harrison. Wow! He looks jacked! I wonder if he will use more bull rushes along with his spin move this year.

#96 looks to be lost in the NT competition yet he consistently takes on 2-3 guys. Adams still runs with the 1’s, wish #96 would get his chance.

Still too many WR screens and WR end arounds for my liking. They practice it way too much the day I am there. It doesn’t seem they like to attack the middle of the field much. They did run the ball more since they were in pads. #30 has the breakaway speed. Hopefully he can hit a HR or two when it counts. #22 watches mostly as the backup RB’s are fighting for a spot. They are practicing without their top 3 safeties, and it shows. Robinson and Riley are nice, but they are still lower skilled journeyman. They seem to like #37 a lot though. They pull him over to the sidelines for a chat, send him back in several times. I spot #39 in a hoodie. I am relieved he is back at camp even though he is not participating.

JPJ covers like a blanket. He makes a play but comes up limping. He looks ok but they are taking him out.

Chandon Sullivan is invisible, Luq Barcoo outperforms him. Levi Wallace just goes about his business. Right now, he is our best CB. Pat P gets some work in but is more of an extra coach out there.

 

#89 looks like our punt returner. He is desperately trying to win back his job, and it looks like he has. #19 is out there with #16. I am not sure they want #19 returning kicks/punts though.