Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Monday.
The Kickoff
There is much that light can reveal. In the case of the Pittsburgh Steelers the light of Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium was no different. As usual, the spectacle was as it always is. A high school stadium hosting professional football players who just arrived on school buses. It truly is a sight to behold. Once the action got underway though, it was all business for the Black and Gold. In several of the more high-intensity moments, the quarterbacks struggled. From pick-sixes to just flat out poor decisions all four guys struggled under the lights with perhaps the exception of Mason Rudolph. He wasn’t perfect but he had some of the better moments. He’s making Mike McCarthy’s decision much more difficult in terms of who the backup is going to be. While the “under the lights” practice is always an important milestone, what follows is even more crucial. The Steelers will play their first preseason game on Thursday and those lights will reveal even more.
The Podcast This Week
With the Steelers hosting the Packers on Thursday night, we are moving the SCB Steelers Podcast presented by DEK Roofing Inc to WEDNESDAY nite. We will still go at 10pmET but just a day earlier as we preview the game and discuss the latest from Camp.
Much Ado About Nothing
There seems to be a lot of back and forth about who the number one running back is going to be. Honestly I would not put too much concern in it. Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle will both get significant opportunities and I really think it will come down to situations. It could be game to game or even drive to drive. Mike McCarthy has been here before with running backs both in Dallas and Green Bay. I think it will simply be a case of who has the hot hand and who doesn’t.
NICK of Time
Based on the first couple of weeks of Training Camp, Patrick Graham is already light years ahead of Teryl Austin when it comes to Nick Herbig. Graham has deployed him as an off-ball LB a number of times with Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt also on the field at the same time. In these instances, Graham often changed up who was coming and who was dropping. This goes along with his reputation and should make most fans happy. The lack of creativity by Austin (and Mike Tomlin as well) is something that fans constantly struggled with in the last decade. There’s no guarantee Graham’s plans will be successful but seeing a different scheme will be nice.
Injury Notes
Keeanu Benton has had his hand wrapped most of Camp and that’s kept him out of a lot of team stuff. I’m told it’s nothing serious. Same can be said for Max Iheanachor who left practice earlier this week. McCarthy did not appear concerned at all.
JPJ
Look, I hate to beat a dead horse but this isn’t changing. At least not until Christian Gonzalez and Devon Witherspoon agree to their new deals. The Steelers have made their offer. Joey Porter, Jr and his team are simply waiting things out. No need to sign now when you don’t know what the market will bear.
Trade Talk
With Laremy Tunsil, Washington’s very good offensive tackle, out for some time with a biceps injury, trade talk has increased. This is something we should get used to in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have four young tackles right now and every time a team loses one of theirs to injury, the Steelers will be one of the first names brought up. In this particular case, Broderick Jones has been the guy whose name has popped up. My gut feeling is that unless a team comes in with an offer that is just over the top, then Omar Khan will stand pat. Once we are deeper into the preseason things could change.
Random Reads
High school football is underway in many parts of the country. I swear the summer last like five minutes… Speaking of high school football, Ian’s tremendous coverage of WPIAL starts today. If you have a business or know of one that would be a great sponsor let me know… I’m old enough to remember when the only game of the Little League World Series that was televised was the title game. Now? Every game is on TV and so too are the regional games. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not… Grown Ups 3 is now filming. I’m sure it will be terrible but I’ll still watch. These guys are all roughly my age and remind me of my friends a great deal… In a meaningless game, Carson Beck and Haynes King both looked the part of NFL quarterbacks last week… I’m really curious to see the division of labor for the Steelers’ QBs on Thursday night. We know Aaron Rodgers is getting some snaps, but how many? That will cut into the time for Will Howard and Drew Allar.
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