Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Thursday.
The Kickoff
Boomer alert. I’m not a boomer but I’m going to sound like one… Yesterday in Latrobe “The Pat McAfee Show” rolled onto the campus of St. Vincent College. The scene looked much more like something out of ESPN’s “College Gameday” which for most fans is pretty cool. As McAfee paraded several Steelers up to the stage – T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Aaron Rodgers among them – the crowd grew in its fervor and energy. Someone thought it would be a good idea to start chanting “Fuck Myles Garrett.” As like-minded crowds usually do, they joined in creating quite a chorus. Had this been an event held at Stage AE or perhaps at a local watering hole near Training Camp, I would have understood the chant a bit more. This however was Training Camp where families often gather to make memories and enjoy their passion that is the Steelers. My first thought was that this was something I’d expect from Browns’ fans but nope. It was us going at a guy who apparently lives rent-free in many Steelers fans’ heads. This isn’t the worst thing in the world these days by any stretch. I’ll be the first to admit I drop more F-Bombs than a World War II B-17. I guess the difference is that I’m not doing it around kids or on television. OK. Rant over. Time to talk some football.
Collision Sport
After a 24-hour delay the Steelers finally got their first fully padded practice in yesterday. Mike Tomlin specifically mentioned both Troy Fautanu and Joey Porter, Jr as guys who had strong showings. This is especially important for Fautanu who is really kind of starting his rookie season over again. While the offense struggled overall in team activities, Fautanu held his own against Watt in pass protection and opened a few holes in the running game… As for Broderick Jones, he participated in individual drills but did not participate in team activities. He’s dealing with that soft tissue injury to his hip area… Aaron Rodgers admitted yesterday that there’s still a lot to work on for him as far as locking down the entire offense. Which leads me to believe that I think he’ll get some snaps in at least the first two preseason games… My surprise roster guy for this year took a big step back yesterday. JJ Galbreath, the athletic rookie tight end has looked great as a receiver but when the pads came on he struggled as a blocker. It was no secret that he needed to add strength when he arrived.
The Latest Podcast
If you’re a regular, Thursday night viewer then I apologize. We went a night early due to me needing to be out of town. Lots of great Steelers talk as always with plenty of opinions and laughs. Episode 432 of the SCB Steelers Podcast presented by DEK Roofing Inc is right here!
Pretty High Praise From Breiden
Jumping to Conclusions
Social media can be a real positive or negative depending on the post. Here are two such examples of how things can get blown out of proportion. First was a video of Pat Freiermuth throwing his hands in the air as Rodgers threw a checkdown behind him. People immediately thought that ‘Muth was pissed that Rodgers didn’t throw him the ball. That was not the case. Muth explained that he did that because he realized he ran the wrong route. Second was a video of Calvin Austin III torching Darius Slay on a Go route for a touchdown. Fans immediately were all over Slay for getting beat and secondly they were singing the praises of Skyler Thompson who threw a beautiful ball. OK, let’s discuss this. CAIII is one of the fastest guys in the league. Slay getting beat by him isn’t a shock. As for the throw, this was not seven-on-seven or full offense vs full defense. It was a QB, a WR and a DB. Great throw, but let’s have some perspective.
Random Reads
Former Steelers’ OL and brother of Nick Herbig, Nate Herbig, retired this week. Sounds like he just didn’t bounce back well from his injury last year… Trey Hendrickson is reporting to Bengals’ Camp despite the two sides not reaching a contract agreement. I tend to believe this will be a “hold-in” so that Hendrickson can avoid the $50,000 a day fine… Why does Tom Brady feel it necessary to comment on how Scottie Scheffler approaches golf and life? Hey Tom, Scottie isn’t choosing to completely ignore his family while still being successful… The Hall of Fame Game kicks off tonight between the Lions and Chargers. It should be a battle between Hendon Hooker and Trey Lance at QB… I’ve never looked so forward to three straight days of low humidity. It’s been ridiculous!
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