Good Thursday to you Steelers fans.
Yesterday, the NFL revealed guidelines for both fully vaccinated players and those who have chosen not to vaccinated. Not surprisingly there are some very harsh restrictions on those not vaccinated but there is one that really jumped out at me. “No social media/marketing/sponsorship activities permitted” for non-vaccinated players. Of all of the limitations placed on these players this one may hurt the most. Why? Look no further than your Pittsburgh Steelers. Can you imagine a player like JuJu Smith-Schuster not being able to do what he does off the field? The amount of revenue he generates from his social media activity has to be significant. But also consider the companies he has that sponsor him. They don’t want him being limited either. It may be a sneaky way of getting guys to get vaccinated but there are many more like JuJu who rely heavily on that social media/sponsorship limelight. If that doesn’t motivate these guys I’m not sure what will.
The Podcast
We will return tonight with Episode 225 of the SCB Steelers Podcast presented by DEK Roofing. All the latest from the big mini-camp and why SteelDad is an idiot.
Tweet of the Day… If you aren’t giddy watching this then I don’t know what to tell you.
This is in real speed. Those are some quick feet @ohthatsNajee22 has. pic.twitter.com/duBM7XYA3h
— Teresa Varley (@Teresa_Varley) June 17, 2021
Oh Lamar
Did you happen to see the news bite yesterday that Baltimore Ravens’ Media was not allowed to film throws by QB Lamar Jackson? Let’s examine. This isn’t just a run of the mill QB we’re talking about here. This is a former MVP that we are talking about here. Can he be inaccurate and throw some bad balls? Oh yeah. That’s not a secret. Earlier this week Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa threw five interceptions during a mini-camp session in South Florida. This of course prompted football talking heads to lose their minds. Is that a concern? Sure it is. That’s a lot of picks in a short amount of time for an NFL QB but there’s also context. Was he throwing a lot of deep balls? Did he have all of his starting receivers? Was the offense working on something new? Personally I think it’s silly for the Ravens’ to do what they’re doing. Perhaps it’s more about Jackson’s ego which at times can seem quite fragile.
Sutton Significance
Ed Bouchette of The Athletic writes this morning about how the play of Cam Sutton could be the ultimate factor in terms of how well the Steelers’ defense is. I think there’s some serious truth to this and I point to a quote from Defensive Assistant/Secondary Coach Teryl Austin from yesterday. He was asked about the nickel position which used to be manned by Mike Hilton who is now in Cincinnati. “You basically have to be a corner and a linebacker… it takes a special skill set and a lot of learning in there.” Austin is spot on and if Sutton is ultimately that guy (there’s speculation he’ll be on the outside opposite Joe Haden but could slide into the slot in specific situations) then I think he’s got the cornerback part covered. It’s the linebacker part that concerns me. He isn’t nearly as aggressive as Hilton and doesn’t tackle as well either. This is one of the major things I’m watching in Training Camp.
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Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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