Good Thursday to you Steelers’ Fans!
Long-time Steelers’ “revealer of information” Gerry Dulac had some interesting news about Chris Boswell yesterday. He said the Steelers went to Boswell and told him they would like to hold his $2 million roster bonus until after the final preseason game against Carolina. Had he not agreed to this, the team would have cut him. This brings about several points. First, the Steelers aren’t messing around. After last season, they understand the importance of having a competent and consistent kicker. It also suggests to me that Boswell wasn’t as injured as many of us may have thought. Yes, there was an injury later in the year, but would the Steelers be playing hardball here with a guy who was trying to battle through injuries all season? I don’t think so. It also suggests that Boswell is a pretty upstanding guy. He could have easily said “no” and tried to find employment elsewhere but his commitment to getting back on track and “earning” his money speaks highly of him in my opinion. The bottom line in this situation is that the Steelers and Mike Tomlin know they can’t be playing musical kickers when the season begins. They have to have a guy they can rely on and if that isn’t Boswell then so be it.
We are back tonight with another episode of the Steel City Blitz Steelers Podcast presented by 26shirts.com/Pittsburgh. We’ll discuss Boswell as well as all of the latest things going on at OTAs.
Tweet of the Day… Former Steeler Nolan Harrison showing that the old guys still have some athleticism.
Control control you must learn control! (Yoda voice) ? @vewdoboards #balanceboard pic.twitter.com/JqBv2PbPyQ
— Nolan 3rd Of His Name, Breaker Of Stereotypes??? (@NolanHarrison74) May 29, 2019
What happens if Bud Dupree gets ten sacks this season and causes a few turnovers? A. Is that enough to ‘earn’ the $9 million plus he’s being paid this year and B. Would you try to re-sign him if you’re the Steelers knowing the asking price would be fairly high? Ya. I know. Let’s see if he can actually get to 10 sacks first.
Lots of discussion about the Raiders being the team for HBO’s “Hard Knocks” and why not? With AB, Vontaze Burfict and Richie Incognito, that’d be ‘must see TV.’ For the record, I NEVER want to see the Steelers on it for myriad reasons but with the soaring popularity of JuJu Smith-Schuster and the league’s love of drama surrounding Ben Roethlisberger, I wouldn’t rule us out completely. And that worries me.
Repeating myself moment of the week… Please remember this! When you see tweets or articles talking about (insert player here) getting first team reps that is not an indication that (insert player here) will be a starter. The coaches want to see how guys react playing with the starters. Can they handle the communication? Can they handle the speed of the game? Etc. I’ll repeat this several more times I’m sure.
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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