The final week of Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp, the team held its penultimate practice Monday. A lighter today without pads and the Steelers’ first practice since the preseason opener. Let’s talk about it.
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Camp Notes (Day 14)
– Injury roundup: Not practicing today were CB Cory Trice Jr. (hamstring), CB Donte Kent (right foot), QB Will Howard (right hand), WR Calvin Austin III (undisclosed), C Ryan McCollum (undisclosed), OG Isaac Seumalo (undisclosed/rest), DL Cam Heyward (hold-in), TE Jonnu Smith (knee), TE JJ Galbreath (undisclosed), EDGE Alex Highsmith (groin), CB Jalen Ramsey (undisclosed), and ILB Devin Harper (undisclosed).
Howard did light work, going through a couple of bag/footwork drills today while gripping a football, though he did not throw. McCollum still has a sleeve on his leg. Smith wasn’t in a jersey but put a helmet on and ran routes at 75-percent speed on the middle field during part of the practice. Highsmith and Ramsey worked on the side, Ramsey working with a trainer throughout practice while Highsmith did some spirited jogging early in practice. He wore his No. 56 for the first time since his injury.
Many of the injured or non-participating players came down onto the field during practice. Heyward around 2:30, Smith around 3 PM/EST.
CB Darius Slay rolled his right ankle during the first play of Seven Shots, possibly on the bumpy end of the back right end zone that has a sort of hill to it. Slay hopped around for a moment before plopping to the ground to be examined. He later went to the bench with a trainer elevating his leg and icing his foot in true RICE fashion. Slay later put on his shoe and stood around, putting full weight on his foot. He looks fine and appears to have only suffered a minor injury.
DL Derrick Harmon dressed but only worked during Seven Shots. He didn’t receive reps during the rest of the team period. Unsure why. He was on the sidelines by himself and looked fine but something must’ve happened. We’ll check his status tomorrow.
– Roster moves: TE Kevin Foelsch returned to fill out depth at tight end while rookie DJ Thomas-Jones was waived. No injury designation for DTJ, though he missed Thursday’s practice and Saturday’s game with what I presume is an injury. Foelsch, signed and waived earlier this camp, keeps his No. 84.
CB Cameron McCutcheon was waived/injured after pulling up lame during the Steelers’ preseason opener in Jacksonville. CB Mikey Victor was signed in his place, taking McCutcheon’s No. 38 jersey.
Foelsch and Victor practiced today.
– Like they have the past week, Payton Wilson and Mason McCormick were the first players to walk onto the field at 1:20 PM. Soon after, EDGE T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig, and Jack Sawyer took the field to work on rush moves and hand use.
McCormick spent plenty of time early in practice with assistant o-line Coach Isaac Williams, working on strike/hand placement in pass protection in particular.
– CB Joey Porter Jr. signed a handful of autographs before practice. Not many do but Porter did for the fans standing at the top of the stairs where players come out.
– For what it’s worth, felt like QB Aaron Rodgers has received bigger cheers from the crowd as he’s walked down the stairs the last few practices compared to the start of camp.
– With McCollum not practicing, guards Doug Nester and Aiden Williams worked at center during pre-practice warmups. Nester snapped to QB Skylar Thompson while Williams snapped to Logan Woodside. Nester worked as the third-team center during the team period.
– First-team o-line today: Broderick Jones-Spencer Anderson-Zach Frazier-Mason McCormick-Troy Fautanu
– Former Steelers Pro Bowl FB Roosevelt Nix attended practice today. He took photos in the fan zone before practice and then made his way onto the field, talking with Danny Smith throughout practice. Nix was a great special teamer during his tenure with the team.
Jay Glazer, FOX Sports insider and good friend of Mike Tomlin, made his annual trip to Latrobe. He spoke with Tomlin, DC Teryl Austin, and later in practice, assistant GM Andy Weidl.
– Defensive linemen practiced tip drills during individual work. One lineman batted the ball, the other picked it, which would prove useful later in the day.
– During at least a portion of the team’s individual period, RB Kenneth Gainwell worked among the tight ends. Not in the blocking portion but ran routes with the group while the running backs worked on a different portion of the field. Maybe that’s because lines were thin at tight end, only four of them working today, but again highlights Gainwell’s versatility in the passing game.
– In 7 on 7, Joey Porter Jr. had a breakup on a downfield throw to DK Metcalf. Porter also had a great breakup during the competition period, ripping away another downfield throw late.
– EDGE DeMarvin Leal received props from teammates after covering the flat and bumping RB Lew Nichols to stop a short checkdown.
– In an earlier competition period where defenders worked on pursuit angles to runners, LS Christian Kuntz had a nice “stop” that produced lots of cheers from teammates and high-fives from T.J. Watt and others.
First Team Period (11 on 11)
1. First team-line of Jones-S. Anderson-Frazier-McCormick-Fautanu. T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig the EDGE rushers, Keeanu Benton and Derrick Harmon the d-tackles. Darius Slay, Joey Porter Jr., and Brandin Echols all on the field together. Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and Jaylen Warren at running back.
Rodgers throws back right corner of the end zone and WR DK Metcalf makes a spinning catch over Slay for the score. Play Slay got hurt on.
2. Rodgers looks around trying to find an open receiver. Wants to throw over the middle, I think for TE Darnell Washington. But T.J. Watt, dropping into coverage, leaps up to bat the ball up and through the end zone. Incomplete.
3. Rodgers throws left side but his pass is batted at the line of scrimmage, possibly by DL Isaiahh Loudermilk. Ball skies into the air and NT Daniel Ekuale comes down with it for the pick, showing why that tip drill from earlier was useful. Rodgers also hit the deck here, not sure what happened in the pick scrum, but he was okay after getting helped up.
4. Mason Rudolph hits Scotty Miller on a dig over the middle working left to right, beating CB James Pierre.
5. Rudolph looks for Miller again in the back of the end zone, Miller skying into the air to make the catch. Bit debatable if he came down inbounds or not. Miller received some helmet slaps for the play but a staffer in the back of the end zone “ruled” it incomplete. I will stick with that, though Miller showed great effort.
6. Skylar Thompson looks for RB Lew Nichols on an angle route but the ball slips through Nichols’ hands. Incomplete.
7. Facing a heavy blitz, Thompson chucks the ball right side in the vicinity of RB Evan Hull. Incomplete out of the end zone, ILB Cole Holcomb with good coverage.
Assuming Miller’s play was out of the end zone, defense wins Seven Shots, 5-2.
Second Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 20. D-line of Logan Lee-Keeanu Benton-Isaiahh Loudermilk. Lee getting additional reps with Harmon not working. Rodgers fires hot to Metcalf for a gain of 5 yards.
2. Payton Wilson and Patrick Queen the inside linebackers. Juan Thornhill and DeShon Elliott the safeties. Offense in 12 personnel. Aaron Rodgers play-action, hitting Metcalf again right side. Metcalf stumbled coming out of his route but made the catch for about a 7-yard gain.
3. Kenneth Gainwell carry left side. Lee came off a block. Call it a gain of 4 yards. Without pads, no tackling today.
4. Porter and Pierre at cornerback. Yahya Black and Daniel Ekuale the d-tackles. Rodgers checks down to RB Trey Sermon for a gain of 5 yards. Nice job by Troy Fautanu sealing T.J. Watt upfield.
5. Mason Rudolph comes in. Kaleb Johnson up the middle, Connor Heyward providing the lead block. Safety Chuck Clark fires downhill and it’s a gain of about 5 yards.
6. Jack Sawyer and DeMarvin Leal the EDGE rushers. Daryl Porter Jr. subs in at corner, Beanie Bishop Jr. in the slot. Johnson another carry but Holcomb is right there on the stop. A gain of 1 yard.
7. Tunnel screen from Rudolph to Scotty Miller left side goes for 7 yards.
8. Julius Welschof and Eku Leota the EDGE players. Carson Bruener and Mark Robinson at inside linebacker. Gainwell carries left side before cutting upfield, bending his run back. Bruener on the tag after a 5-yard gain.
9. RB Lew Nichols carry left side. Don’t have the yardage listed. The o-line combo was Cook-Nester-Scharping-S. Jones-Warren.
10. Hull left side for about 3 yards. Good backside chase by DT Domenique Davis. Hull finishes his run to the end zone.
Third Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 20. Benton and Loudermilk the d-tackles. Porter and Pierre the outside corners with Echols playing in the slot the first time this camp. Thornhill and Elliott the safeties. Echols blitzes from the slot against the RB screen. Rodgers pumps once, trying to find the back, but eats the ball and throws it into the ground as Echols charges in.
2. Play-action, Rodgers hitting Ben Skowronek, who makes a nice sliding catch for a 12-yard gain.
3. D-line of Lee-Benton-Loudermilk. Rodgers wants Metcalf on a slant left side but Metcalf is late getting his head around. The ball whizzes by incomplete.
4. Ekuale and Lee the d-tackles. Echols in the slot. DK Metcalf slot left. Rodgers checks down to Johnson underneath for about 8 yards.
5. Leal and Sawyer the EDGE rushers. Pretty sure the defense had just 10 men on the field, missing a right cornerback. Mason Rudolph recognizes it and quickly fires complete to a wide-open Scotty Miller left side. He gains 7-8 yards before Chuck Clark races over and bumps him out of bounds.
6. James Pierre and Daryl Porter the outside corners with Bishop in the slot. Breiden Fehoko and Esezi Otomewo the d-tackles. Mason Rudolph empty set, Miles Killebrew the free safety. Tight slant complete to Miller for about 5 yards, Bishop on top of him but unable to prevent the catch.
7. O-line of Cook-Peat-Scharping-Nester-S. Jones. Trey Sermon the back. Slant from Rudolph to Robert Woods for a 15-yard pickup, a good throw and catch. Woods finishes his rep by running to the end zone.
8. Davis and Baugh the d-tackles, D. Porter and McMichael the corners, Leota and Welschof the EDGE rushers, Robinson and Bruener the inside linebackers. Rudolph rolls right, looking for WR Lance McCutcheon but the pass is incomplete. Welschof dropped into coverage from his ROLB spot.
9. Skylar Thompson in the game. Sideline throw is incomplete, skimming through a leaping Max Hurleman’s hands.
10. Thompson empty set. Fehoko-Davis-Baugh the d-line. Over-the-ball route with Thompson hitting Connor Heyward complete for about a 10-yard gain.
Fourth Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Benton and Loudermilk the d-tackles. Watt and Herbig the EDGE rushers. Porter and Pierre the outside corners, Echols in the slot. Queen and Wilson the inside linebackers, Thornhill at free safety. Line of scrimmage is the offense’s 25.
Rodgers drops a throw in the bucket to Metcalf down the left sideline, the latter beating Pierre after gaining a step or two on him. Complete to the opposing 45 for a 30-yard completion.
2. Stunt with Watt looping inside. Elliott on a blitz. Rodgers throw over the middle hits off the hands of LB Patrick Queen, who is frustrated he did not intercept the pass. Rodgers made a motion with his hands like someone didn’t run the right route or what he expected.
3. Lee and Black the d-tackles. Porter and Echols the outside linebackers, Bishop in the slot. Freiermuth slot right. Completion from Rodgers to Freiermuth to midfield, though Queen had a clear would-be sack before letting Rodgers go. Still, a gain of 25.
Fautanu sealed Watt upfield well on this rep, allowing Rodgers to climb the pocket.
4. Rodgers floats a pass downfield for WR Roman Wilson. James Pierre is grabby and tugs at his jersey while looking back for the ball. Pass incomplete but a clear penalty if there were officials. Quick moment of communication between Rodgers and Wilson after the play.
5. Roc Taylor wide right. Kaleb Johnson carry up the middle. Has a lane and picks up 7 yards. Holcomb finally tags him as Johnson and Skowronek run to the end zone.
6. Sawyer and Leal the EDGE rushers. D. Porter and McMichael the outside corners with Bishop in the slot. Clark and Killebrew the safeties. Bunch right formation and Rudolph uses a hard count pre-snap. Rudolph to Heyward, Heyward making a great grab after reaching back for the football for a 13-yard gain.
7. Andrus Peat in at left guard. Pat Freiermuth gets open down the middle, Holcomb trailing, and Rudolph lays the throw on him. Wide-open catch, and Freiermuth outruns Killebrew into the end zone, though neither were going 1oo-percent speed. Still, mark it down as a 70-yard touchdown.
8. Otomewo and Davis the d-tackles, Bruener and Robinson the inside linebackers. McMichael and Mikey Victor the outside corners with D’Shawn Jamison in the slot. Bruener and Robinson mug the A-gaps. Skylar Thompson in at quarterback. Lew Nichols carry left side but not much doing – just a gain of 2.
9. O-line of Warren-Scharping-Nester-S. Jones-Cook. Thompson complete to Heyward right side for 5 yards, Bruener covering. Pre-snap, Scharping helped direct traffic while Nester focused on snapping.
Fifth Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 10-yard-line. Benton and Loudermilk the d-tackles. Porter and Pierre the outside corners, Echols in the slot. Queen and Wilson the inside linebackers. Rodgers under center. Warren carry left side. Hard to score this one. Echols flies in for run support as Warren runs past him and has a lane downfield. I’ll just give him a 10-yard pickup here.
2. Rodgers downfield throw over the middle complete to Scotty Miller for a 33-yard gain, though Herbig won the edge and had a would-be sack. Rodgers faked a shovel pass to the right to the running back before firing down the middle to Miller.
3. D-line of Lee-Ekuale-Black. D. Porter and McMichael the outside cornerbacks. Holcomb and Malik Harrison the ILBs. Rodgers boots left. Throw well out of bounds with Otomewo pressuring.
4. Skylar Thompson under center. Makes a check at the line of scrimmage. Trey Sermon carry right side, Harrison filling at the LOS.
5. D-line of Baugh-Davis-Fehoko. Thompson again under center. Play-action, hitting WR Brandon Johnson in the left flat. Gain of 4 yards, McMichael closing.
6. O-line of Cook-Peat-Scharping-Nester-S. Jones. Lew Nichols run left side for roughly 5 yards. Hard to mark where he was “down.”
Sixth Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Offense in two-minute drill. Ball at the 20, 1:09 on the clock. Offense has two timeouts, defense has one. Field goal to win it, Mike Tomlin announces. Aaron Rodgers leading the group.
Empty set, Warren wing aligned left side. Throw for Roman Wilson right corner nearly picked by Juan Thornhill, who has intercepted Rodgers twice already in two-minute drills. But Thornhill and Echols collide, preventing him from picking it off. The ball hits off Thornhill’s hand and falls incomplete.
2. Rodgers hits Miller over the middle. Gain of 19.
3. Offenses uses a timeout and huddles. Rodgers to Metcalf for 12 yards.
4. Rodgers’ throw sits between Metcalf and Miller, incomplete left side.
5. Rodgers flashes a pre-snap signal to Skowronek and hits him on a curl right slot, Echols wanting a push-off at the top of the route. Gain of 15 yards.
6. Quick out from Rodgers complete to Woods for 6 yards.
7. RPO with Rodgers hitting Miller left side. Defense wants holding from the blocker in front, either Brandon Johnson or Roman Wilson, though it isn’t granted. Gain of 8 yards.
8. Jaylen Warren run up the middle to settle the ball for the kick, Warren falling down as he pops through the line of scrimmage. Period stops here without a kick, but it’s declared a “win” for the offense to get into range.
Seventh Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Second-stringers with the same set of circumstances except for the ball at the 25 here, Mason Rudolph the QB. Mug-blitz look from the inside linebackers. Free runner rushes in off the edge. Robert Woods reaches back and snags Rudolph’s first throw for a 14-yard gain.
2. Rudolph checkdown to Connor Heyward for 9 yards.
3. Kevin Foelsch in the game, Max Scharping at center. Julius Welschof rushes free off the right edge. Rudolph fires a lollipop out of bounds.
4. Press look from the secondary. Rudolph completion to Lance McCutcheon for 9 yards to the opposing 43.
5. Rudolph looks for McCutcheon downfield. Makes a great grab along the sideline, but the coaches determined he wasn’t inbounds despite McCutcheon’s best efforts. Incomplete.
7. Fourth down, needing about 2-3 yards. Slant from Rudolph to WR Roc Taylor is low but intentionally so. It was catchable but squirts out of Taylor’s hands, the football rolling away for the turnover on downs. Second-stringers can’t get it done.
Camp Notes (TL;DR)
– Still no team reps for QB Logan Woodside despite signing last Thursday and being familiar with Arthur Smith’s offense.
– WR Scotty Miller makes plays nearly every practice. And it was nice to see a bigger day from TE Pat Freiermuth. Connor Heyward still has plus-hands and has made tough grabs the past few practices. Quiet day overall from the rookies who made plays Saturday: WRs Max Hurleman, Ke’Shawn Williams, and Roc Taylor.
– I continue to be impressed by the job RT Troy Fautanu does against EDGE T.J. Watt.
– ILB Malik Harrison has played the run well the past few days.
– Tougher day for CB James Pierre. He gave up a touchdown in Seven Shots, beat deep by Metcalf, and committed a clear penalty on another downfield throw to Roman Wilson.
– CB Brandin Echols received slot reps for first time all camp and looked comfortable. Thinner depth with Jalen Ramsey and Donte Kent being out played a factor but Echols got the nod over Beanie Bishop, too.
– Nice day for CB Joey Porter Jr. in coverage.
Saint Vincent Snapshot
WR DK Metcalf finding some defensive line teammates – and some shade – during a quieter moment of practice.
15 Longest Steelers Touchdowns
Clips of the longest scores in Steelers’ history.
100 yards – James Harrison (2008)
Harrison’s play needs little color from me. Arguably the greatest play in Super Bowl history and only potentially topped by Santonio Holmes’ top-tapping catch to win this one — and prevent Harrison’s play from becoming just a factoid. Harrison dropped into coverage instead of blitzing (like he was supposed to) and picked off Kurt Warner. Following a convoy of blockers, he made it over the goal line – barely – for a 100-yard return to close the first half.
101 yards – Don McCall (1969)
Only two players in Steelers history are longer than Harrison’s score. Don McCall claims one of them, returning this kick 101 yards against the Minnesota Vikings in 1969, Chuck Noll’s first year on the job.
Unfortunately, the Steelers did a lot of kick returning in this game. Minnesota scored 52 points in a blowout win. McCall’s runback at least came early with the score still close, shedding a tackle and running away from the other 10 to score. A running back who spent just one year in Pittsburgh, he sure left his mark.
Jim Gaffigan’s Quote Of The Day
“How did we get to the point where we’re paying for bottled water? I imagine it was some weird marketing meeting over in France.”
