Good Tuesday to you Steelers’ Fans!
Steelers’ Outside Linebackers’ Coach Joey Porter turned some heads yesterday when he told the Post-Gazette’s Ed Bouchette Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt were the starters. “We have two guys who are first-rounders, we drafted them for this,” Porter offered, per Bouchette. “Now you have to turn them loose and let them play.” (quote courtesy NFL.com) Porter went on to compare James Harrison to a “relief pitcher” who will come in when Watt doesn’t have anything left.
If you look at the way the Steelers and Keith Butler handled Ryan Shazier then this is consistent with that. I personally don’t think Watt is ready to start yet but they feel that his athleticism is worth the risk. Be very clear on this point, he’s going to make mistakes but they are willing to live with it in exchange for gaining experience. I do not believe his performance in the win over New York was the deciding factor either. This was likely coming beforehand.
Mike Tomlin was asked about Porter’s comments and he stayed as neutral as Switzerland during a conflict when he answered. Coach T has become the master of political-style deflection.
The Steelers are off today for the final time during Training Camp.
Tweet of the Day… Glad you asked Marty! I’ll be there with my son!
Who all is coming to the game on Sunday?
— Martavis Bryant (@ThaBestUNO) August 15, 2017
The Steelers made a move that we saw coming. Not necessarily the name, but we felt the team was in need of outside backing depth so they signed Austin Gearing and released wide receiver Canaan Severin. With all of the depth at that position and a fairly poor game Friday night, Severin was the likely candidate.
Make sure you check out our terrific sponsors @26shirts.co/Pittsburgh and Jerome Bettis‘ @Grille36!
For those wondering… steelers.com’s Bob Labriola points out that Le’Veon Bell has until November 14th to sign his tender. We firmly believe that Bell will sign not long after Sunday’s game versus the Atlanta Falcons. The Steelers break Camp the day before so he won’t have to spend any time in Latrobe.
Time is running out for Senquez Golson. While there is still a lot of time left in the preseason, he has to get on the field ASAP. Another guy in a similar position was Cam Sutton but he has returned.
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
