One can hardly be blamed for over-excitement during Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp. After a long offseason and disappointing finish to the previous season, the enthusiasm is palpable. As a long-time – and veteran – Steelers’ fan however I must caution you. I must caution you against being “too excited” over a play or a player.
A perfect example happened on the very first day of Camp. With Russell Wilson on the sidelines with a bad calf, Justin Fields got the first team reps. One play in particular garnered the majority of the attention at St. Vincent College and on social media. Fields floated a perfect ball to Van Jefferson for a score. Credit Fields for a perfect throw but there’s a larger picture here.
First of all, the defensive back covering Jefferson fell down leaving him wide open. Secondly, Fields’ play throughout the practice was erratic. He hit some throws and he missed some throws finishing the session right around 50% on his passes. This is not to knock Fields, this is to pinpoint the larger issue.
We as fans get far too caught up in one moment when what we need to do is take in the whole body of work. It’s like when you’re toddler plays three notes (totally by accident) on a piano and all the sudden you think you’ve got a prodigy on your hands. Never mind the fact that your toddler also slammed the keys for 20 minutes like he was King Kong whipping a snake.
In other words, it’s OK to be excited about a play or a player but take it with a grain of salt too. There’s likely a whole lot more to evaluate.
Other Camp News
The Steelers will announce the newest members of the Hall of Honor today. I would think Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro would be near the top of that list but there could be some guys from other eras too. Dwayne Woodruff would be a great selection as would Robin Cole, Gary Anderson or David Little. My personal hope is that the Big Snack himself, Casey Hampton gets the call.
You’ve heard us talk about him on the podcast and in some other recent articles but Rookie DB Beanie Bishop, Jr seems to have the pole position for the slot corner position. It is still VERY early but he looks solid.
The ‘burst’ of Najee Harris looks improved so far through a couple of days of Camp. Down about 15lbs this was something we hoped for in our offseason conversations.
Just as he was during OTAs, tight end Pat Freiermuth has been a huge target for the QBs so far. He’s been all over the formation as well.
One last note… Please bear with us as we make some changes to the website. Hopefully things won’t be any different but we are hoping to bring you a cleaner, more podcast-focused website.
