The rain held off today but a hot and humid Saturday prevailed at Saint Vincent College. The first weekend practice of camp and it sure was packed. Let’s jump in.
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Camp Notes (Day Three)
– I’ve been attending camp for over a decade, and I say this with no hyperbole. This was the most packed camp I’ve seen. The weekend is always more full than weekdays but the line to get into the parking lot was literal miles long. Logistics played a role in it (traffic was rerouted to loop around to avoid a backup on Route 30) but the line was deeper than I’ve ever seen before.
Despite the team’s string of non-playoff-winning seasons, the fan base doesn’t seem deterred.
– Injury roundup. Some moving and shaking on the third day. Center Ryan McCollum and tight end Jonnu Smith returned to practice today. McCollum may not have taken every single rep in team sessions but most of them while Smith worked in full. Several veterans received days off: DL Cam Heyward, EDGE T.J. Watt, and CB Darius Slay. Status quo on OG Isaac Seumalo, who remains on NFI with a soft-tissue injury, and RB Cordarrelle Patterson. Seumalo did some very light pass sets post-practice while I haven’t spotted Patterson all camp. At the least, he’s not in his No. 84 jersey.
Safety Quindell Johnson either didn’t practice at all or was only limited to warmups and individual. I spotted him with his helmet off and a towel draped around his neck during practice.
The most notable injury of the day was sustained by EDGE Jeremiah Moon. Mike Tomlin said he has a calf injury. Early in practice during individual periods (which took place on the far turf field due to morning rains), I spotted Moon off to the side being evaluated by trainers. Mike Tomlin came over and had a conversation with the group before Moon gingerly walked to a nearby cart and was taken off the field. We’ll see his status tomorrow. He missed a chunk of time last summer, too, and he can ill-afford missing more.
– First player out of the building and to the practice field today wasn’t one of the Wilsons, Roman or Payton. Instead, offensive lineman Steven Jones came down the stairs at 1:23. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. came out a few minutes later as the first defensive player while Roman/Payton Wilson walked down as a group a few minutes later.
– Ben Skowronek enjoyed his walkout. High-fiving the youth football team that lines the inside of the fence that leads to the field and chest-bumping with Steely McBeam at the bottom. Treated it like a 1990s NBA Finals intro. Hey, he’s apparently a pretty good basketball player.
– Early in practice, center Ryan McCollum chatted up offensive line coach Pat Meyer while offensive coordinator Arthur Smith spoke with quarterback Mason Rudolph and guard Mason McCormick.
– Several Steelers vets have been around camp the first three days. DL Brett Keisel, SS Troy Polamalu (who watched part of practice perched on a knee like a deep safety next to former teammate and current scout Ike Taylor) with Joey Porter Sr. on hand as part of the team’s Hall of Honor selections. Veteran WR Robert Woods fist bumped Porter as he walked by.
Before Seven Shots, Mike Tomlin spoke with the crowd to thank them for coming out while introducing Porter, who spoke for a moment about his selection.
– Special teamers worked on the field closest to the fans while the rest of the team practiced on the turf field. Chris Boswell kicked for the first time while P Cameron Johnston held. Not a full period, just solo/skeleton work. Boswell connected from 52 and 54-yards out. Curiously, I don’t remember seeing rookie Ben Sauls do any kicking during this time. He did a tiny bit during a formal special teams period later in the day, from much shorter distances, but watched Boswell go through his paces instead. Long snappers Christian Kuntz and Tucker Addington got in extra reps, Addington especially as he tries to make the 53.
– Shortly after, Corliss Waitman and Cameron Johnston punted with ball boys trying to field them. Waitman had one really good punt that landed inside the 5.
– Punt return lines remain unchanged: Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, Max Hurleman, Donte Kent, Ke’Shawn Williams, and Robert Woods.
– Rookie grunt work. Defensive linemen Yahya Black and Derrick Harmon had to carry one of the gray tackling dummies and bring it over to the rest of the d-line group for individual drills.
– During the first special teams period, the focus was on punting. No formal returns or complete units but here are the pair of gunners who aligned about 10 yards downfield and signaled to attack the returner to simulate coverage. Again, no tackling or contact. That won’t come until Tuesday and even then, special teams periods won’t be live.
Here were the gunner pairings: CB James Pierre/WR Ben Skowronek (the starting pair), CB Cory Trice Jr./CB Beanie Bishop Jr., Skowronek/WR Brandon Johnson, CB Kyler McMichael/Trice, WR Roc Taylor/Trice, WR Lance McCutcheon/WR Montana Lemonious-Craig, Trice/Bishop, Johnson/Brandin Echols, Johnson/CB Cameron McCutcheon, McMichael/CB D’Shawn Jamison.
– During this period, WRs Roman Wilson and DK Metcalf caught passes from the Steelers’ quarterbacks.
First Team Period (11 on 11)
Seven Shots returns.
1. Ball on the defense’s 2-yard-line. With Darius Slay getting the day off, Brandin Echols worked as starting corner in sub-packages. Here, aligned opposite Joey Porter Jr. Jalen Ramsey still on the field at slot. Derrick Harmon and Keenau Benton the nickel pairing, Harmon getting the nod due to Cam Heyward’s vet day. Steelers’ usual starting receiver-group of Roman Wilson, DK Metcalf, and Calvin Austin III on the field in 11 personnel. Tight end Darnell Washington also in the game and split out wide. Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, Jaylen Warren at running back.
Low snap from C Zach Frazier that rolls away from Rodgers. He turns and runs and picks it up and chucks it left side but it falls incomplete. Same start as yesterday with a poor snap from Frazier.
2. Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth the tight ends. Metcalf aligned to the right. Rodgers fires a slant and hits him with ease, Metcalf bursting away from Porter for the score.
3. Freiermuth slot right. Rodgers fires to the left corner of the end zone, a nicely placed pass complete to Washington for the touchdown. Good touch, timing, and result. Offensive line also gave Rodgers plenty of time.
4. Second-team offensive line of Dylan Cook-Max Scharping-Ryan McCollum-Steven Jones-Calvin Anderson. Cook and Anderson flipped throughout the day after playing the opposite tackle spots the first two days. Mason Rudolph checks in at quarterback with the 2s. Kaleb Johnson the running back. Trip bunch, Scotty Miller the backside X receiver.
Rudolph wants him but comes off it, scanning right to left. Dean Lowry gets pressure – and pretty blatantly held (not sure who) – to flush Rudolph to his right. Patrick Queen races in to close the gap as Rudolph lays the ball up out of bounds and incomplete.
5. Beanie Bishop the slot corner. Sky touch throw from Rudolph to Connor Heyward left corner. Heyward laid out and made the catch, but I don’t think he got both feet inbounds despite WRs Coach Zach Azzanni throwing his hands up to signal touchdown from far away. The reaction afterwards suggest Heyward knew he didn’t get in. Unfortunately, no refs on hand yet to make the official determination. Giving this as a win for the defense, though Heyward’s effort was commendable.
6. Julius Welschof and Eku Leota the outside linebackers. Malik Harrison and Cole Holcomb the inside linebacker duo. Defensive line of Esezi Otomewo-Daniel Ekuale-Yahya Black. Will Howard in at quarterback. Rookie tight end JJ Galbreath aligned slot left with rookie DJ Thomas-Jones and Connor Heyward on the ball to the right side. Howard zips a pass left side, hitting Galbreath on a slant who secures the pass for the score. I think S Sebastian Castro had the coverage.
7. With the score tied at 3, the starting units retook the field. Aaron Rodgers fires over the middle but the pass is batted down. I think Alex Highsmith got a hand on it. Derrick Harmon also had initial pressure. With that, the defense wins the day, 4-3.
Second Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 29. Base d-line trio of Derrick Harmon at LDE, Keeanu Benton at NT, and Isaiahh Loudermilk at RDE. Offense comes out in 12 personnel. Joey Porter Jr. and Jalen Ramsey the cornerbacks, Ramsey picking up outside snaps for I think the first time. That made Juan Thornhill a starter opposite DeShon Elliott. Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith the outside linebackers.
Aaron Rodgers in at quarterback. Trips right with DK Metcalf iso’d as the X receiver backside. Jonnu Smith motions across. Rodgers wants to hit Calvin Austin along the sideline, but the ball is in front and incomplete, Thornhill on the coverage.
2. Cornerback trio of Porter, Echols, and Ramsey in the slot. Thornhill and Elliott still at safety. Steelers in 11 personnel. Darnell Washington goes in motion. Rodgers fires sidearm to Metcalf on a crosser left to right but Patrick Queen matches it and contests, forcing the incompletion.
3. Offense back into 12 personnel. Jack Sawyer and DeMarvin Leal the outside linebacker pairing (Leal getting extra work with Moon hurt). Payton Wilson and Queen mug up into the A-gaps to threaten blitz. Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth the tight ends, both standing up slot right. Rodgers fires over the middle for Smith running right to left on a dig/over route but Elliott wedges his hand in and tips the ball high away, bouncing 5 yards behind both. Nice defensive play.
Caught Troy Fautanu sealing Sawyer upfield well on this rep.
4. Dean Lowry and Isaiahh Loudermilk the d-tackle pairing. Rodgers rears back and fires for Metcalf down the right sideline for his first true deep throw of camp. But Porter is covering it well, pinning Metcalf to the sideline. Metcalf still goes all out and reaches full extension to nearly bring the pass down, out of bounds, but it squirms away as he hits the ground. Good job by Porter.
On the rush, nice win by Sawyer to rip through Fautanu at the end.
5. Cory Trice and James Pierre the outside second-team corners with Beanie Bishop in the slot. Nice job by Trice to practically rip the ball out from Jonnu Smith’s hands over the middle. Again, Saywer with a good rush, stringing together multiple moves, winning inside against RT Calvin Anderson and then a spin move over guard.
6. Mason Rudolph on the field. RB Kenneth Gainwell split out while Connor Heyward goes in motion. Gainwell looks a little unsure after Heyward motions and WR Robert Woods, stacked with him to the right, talks him through it. Rudolph hits Gainwell on a crosser working right to left after going through his reads, ILB Malik Harrison on the tag. Not sure yardage here, to be honest. A handful of yards.
7. Steelers in 11 personnel. Rudolph in at QB still with Jonnu Smith the Y. Rudolph cocks back and throws deep down the left side for WR Roman Wilson. Wilson has an initial step but James Pierre and especially new S Chuck Clark rip the ball out at the end, forcing the incompletion.
8. Eku Leota in at outside linebacker. Rudolph hits WR Brandon Johnson left side with a throw over Pierre. Gain of about 18 yards.
9. D-line trio of Esezi Otomewo-Daniel Ekuale-Logan Lee. Cornerback duo of Cameron McCutcheon and Kyler McMichael. DJ Thomas-Jones the motion man. QB Skylar Thompson had Connor Heyward open underneath but appeared to flat out miss him too far in front. EDGE Julius Welschof and Otomewo generated pressure.
10. Steelers in 11 personnel. Devin Harper and Mark Robinson the inside linebacker pairing. Rookie WR Roc Taylor the X receiver. Chuck Clark and Sebastian Castro the safety pairing. Thompson’s throw to JJ Galbreath is high and tips off his hands, nearly picked on the bounce down. Not sure by who, maybe McCutcheon or McMichael.
11. Nick Broeker in at center. Good touch throw by Will Howard for WR Montana Lemonious-Craig on a corner route right sideline for about 15 yards. Nice throw and catch.
12. Steelers in 12 personnel. Galbreath goes in motion. High snap. Throw again to Lemonious-Craig with McCutcheon covering. Pass in front and out of bounds, incomplete. The high snap threw off the play’s timing.
Third Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 25. Steelers in 13 personnel. D-line trio of Harmon-Benton-Lowry. Highsmith and Herbig the EDGE rushers. Porter and Ramsey the outside cornerbacks, Thornhill and Elliott at safety, Queen and Wilson at inside linebacker to round things out.
Rodgers under center in a more run-focused period. Roman Wilson the lone receiver, which is at least a little interesting. Jaylen Warren zone carry left side. Good fill by Queen and others to limit the gain to a couple yards.
2. Steelers in 12 personnel. Rodgers again under center. Wants Metcalf on a dig but Elliott closes hard and Rodgers’ throw sails way high and incomplete. DBs Coach Gerald Alexander celebrates with Elliott post-play.
3. DeMarvin Leal and Jack Sawyer the outside linebacker duo. Rodgers still under center, Washington the Y-tight end. Ben Skowronek in a tight/wing alignment. Rodgers hits DK Metcalf “hot” on a designed run/RPO with the cornerback playing off. Porter comes down and tags him after a 2- or 3-yard gain, but Metcalf turns on the jets and runs the rest of the way, truly showing off his open field speed for the first time.
4. Offense folds back into 13 personnel. More under-center work for Rodgers in this period. Kaleb Johnson on the carry and shows burst right side. Queen on the tag, call it about a 5-yard gain.
5. Steelers now in 11 personnel. Malik Harrison and Cole Holcomb the inside linebackers. Cory Trice, James Pierre, and Beanie Bishop Jr. the cornerbacks. Mason Rudolph makes a check at the line of scrimmage. Kenneth Gainwell on the carry and flashes some speed right side. Give him 5 as James Pierre chases him downfield.
6. O-line of Dylan Cook-Max Scharping-Ryan McCollum-Spencer Anderson-Calvin Anderson. The law firm of Anderson & Anderson. Rudolph under center. D-line duo of Daniel Ekuale and Isaiahh Loudermilk. Rudolph hits Ben Skowronek on a crosser for about 10 yards. Sawyer again winning reps, beating Cook (with Sawyer at right outside linebacker after playing left side his first two days).
7. I-formation with Connor Heyward at fullback. Rudolph stretch handoff to RB Evan Hull. But the exchange is bad, unsure who’s at fault, and Hull falls on the ball to avoid the “turnover.” Nothing else doing here.
8. 12 personnel, Roc Taylor in at WR. O-line of Gareth Warren-Doug Nester-Max Scharping-Aiden Williams-Steven Jones. Johnson carry for about 6 yards.
9. Cameron McCutcheon and Kyler McMichael the outside cornerbacks. D’Shawn Jamison, who I haven’t noted much the first two days, in the slot. Will Howard’s pass to JJ Galbreath is incomplete, Miles Killebrew poking it away. Pressure from Eku Leota on this one.
10. Base defensive line grouping of Jacob Slade-Logan Lee-Yahya Black. Julius Welschof and Eku Leota on the edges. Offensively, Lance McCutcheon the Z receiver. Trey Sermon carry right side and pops out after finding a hole, though in a live/tackling drill, he’d only get a couple of yards.
11. Offense in 11 personnel. Sebastian Castro and Miles Killebrew the safety pairing. Mark Robinson and Carson Bruener at inside linebacker. Slade and Lee the d-tackles. Short throw left side to Skowronek with Mark Robinson colliding with him right at the catch point. Skowronek held on but paid the price, slow to get up but finishing the day. Gain of 2.
12. Skylar Thompson under center. D-line trio of Otomewo-Lee-Slade. Max Hurleman, who worked at WR throughout the first days but has a runner background, gets the carry. Hole left side and he scoots through but stumbles into the second level and fumbles on his way down. He landed back on top the ball.
Seven on Seven
No play-by-play but some notes here.
– Aaron Rodgers extended one play and rolled to his left and fired for Calvin Austin along the sideline. Pass a tad high and clipped off his hands. Rodgers followed that up by hitting Scotty Miller on a dig route.
– Later, Darnell Washington made a strong hands/contested catch over the middle on a pass from Mason Rudolph.
– Rudolph followed things up with a good lo-hi read on a smash concept, hitting Robert Woods along the right sideline. Rudolph then did similar with Lance McCutcheon on the other side, who beat James Pierre to the left sideline.
– Jalen Ramsey with another “blitz” from his slot-corner spot during this period.
– Rodgers seemed frustrated with Roman Wilson on one rep, an out route that fell in front incomplete. No conversation between the two after but the timing wasn’t there like it needed to be.
– Pat Freiermuth flashed his strong hands with a catch over the middle from Skylar Thompson.
– The lone interception of the period came thanks to rookie CB Donte Kent, stepping in front of a Thompson throw intended for WR Ke’Shawn Williams on a curl to the right.
– Montana Lemonious-Craig finished things up with a strong contested grab with Kyler McMichael draped over him. Will Howard had the throw.
Fourth Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 20. Offensive line of Broderick Jones-Spencer Anderson-Zach Frazier-Mason McCormick-Troy Fautanu. D-line responds with Derrick Harmon, Keeanu Benton, and Yahya Black snagging some elevated reps. Jack Sawyer and Nick Herbig the outside linebackers, Alex Highsmith getting half/partial practices as an established guy. Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson the inside linebackers. Joey Porter Jr. and Jalen Ramsey the cornerbacks.
Aaron Rodgers under center. Rolls left and tries to throw one up for a tight end, maybe Jonnu Smith, but Ramsey steps in front to leap and pluck the ball away for his first interception of camp. Nice play by Ramsey.
2. Queen and Wilson mug the A-gaps. Jaylen Warren carry left side. Great job by Derrick Harmon to beat his blocker and tag Warren. Short loss here.
3. Darnell Washington motioning right to left to pass protect on the snap as the o-line slides away. Rodgers wants Austin left side but the ball skirts through his hands. Call it a drop. Thornhill covering. Would’ve been a 15-yard gain.
4. Jack Sawyer and Julius Welschof the outside ‘backers. Dean Lowry and Isaiahh Loudermilk the d-tackles. Steelers in 11 personnel. Kaleb Johnson run right side. Lowry plows over Zach Frazier to disrupt the play while Johnson runs right side. Little skirmish after the play as the heat gets to everyone on one of the final plays.
5. Rudolph under center. Eku Leota comes in unblocked off the edge to tag Johnson for virtually no gain.
6. O-line groping of Cook-Scharping-McCollum-S. Anderson-Jones. Thomas-Jones motions. Rudolph hits Metcalf in the left flat, leaving his feet to make a high grab. Trice tags him after a gain of 3 yards.
7. Otomewo and Black the d-tackles. Clark and Castro the safeties. Rudolph out of shotgun. Hits Woods on a crosser for about 5 yards, Castro applying the tag. Nice rush by Leota as he looped inside. Looked like he got held to prevent a “sack” (quarterback off limits all the time in camp/practice).
8. O-line of Cook-Nester-Scharping-Williams-Jones. Offense in 11 personnel. Pierre and Trice the outside cornerbacks. Rudolph re-huddles the group and then gets under center. Gainwell run left side, but Malik Harrison quickly finds him for the tag. A loss of 1 yard.
9. Steelers in 12 personnel. McCutcheon and McMichael the outside cornerbacks. Logan Lee and Yahya Black the d-tackles. Evan Hull run left side. Nice job by Black to lock out the left guard and spill the run wide. Welschof got off a block and tagged Hull. Gain of 3ish.
10. Slade and Lee at defensive tackle. Will Howard under center. Howard good throw right side hitting Lance McCutcheon for about 12 yards, Cameron McCutcheon on the tag.
11. Steelers announce 21 personnel (assistant coach on the sideline holds up a card). D-line trio of Slade-Lee-Black. Carson Bruener and Mark Robinson at inside linebacker. Skylar Thompson at quarterback, booting to the right. Intended for Roc Taylor but incomplete. Not sure who had coverage, maybe McCutcheon.
12. O-line of Warren-Nester-Broeker-Williams-Jones. McCutcheon and McMichael at outside corner with Kent in the slot. False start on the play, everyone but the center moved. As the o-linemen are about to get back into their stances, Thompson waves them back to re-huddle. They do and get back to the line.
DeMarvin Leal and Julius Welschof at outside linebacker. Galbreath goes in motion left to right. Trey Sermon carry right side but Mark Robinson is quick on the stop for another short loss.
– Post-practice, things remained busy. Will Howard getting in extra throws while Aaron Rodgers spent time talking with Jonnu Smith and throwing a couple passes to DK Metcalf. Lots of autograph signing, too. Howard, Rodgers, Jack Sawyer, Jaylen Warren, and Mason McCormick were all among the group.
Camp Recap (TL;DR)
– Through three days, the Steelers’ defense clearly has the upper hand. Been the better unit, though that’s expected based on talent. Also, it can take new pieces offensively longer to come together. There will be ebbs and flows, but the defense is definitely out here making most of the plays.
– Sloppier day overall. Couple of drops and missed chances. Calvin Austin would like to have a couple back. And Zach Frazier has had bad snaps to start Seven Shots in back-to-back practices. Reminder he’s still a young guy far from a finished product. But can’t have these snaps that rob of reps.
– Will Howard and Mason Rudolph showing nice touch to different levels of the field.
– To offer another o-line take (I don’t have many until the pads come on), and I partially base this off last year’s exposure too: I think Troy Fautanu will be fine against speed rushes. What he has to work on are inside counters and powers that have a tendency to give him more problems. But still lots to learn.
– Not loving seeing Yahya Black play defensive end and Logan Lee at nose tackle. Black seemed to have a solid showing today, but I’d much rather switch those two guys around.
– Jack Sawyer continues to consistently win as a rusher. Eku Leota had a good day, too.
– Inside linebackers have swarmed the ball. Patrick Queen has had three good practices while downhill types like Mark Robinson and Malik Harrison are playing to that reputation.
– The defensive backs continue winning in contested moments. The 50/50 balls are going in their favor. Deep group DBs making plays. Donte Kent is working hard to create splash.
– First practice with moving and shaking. Offensive lineman, outside linebackers flipping. Days off and some injuries will start to shake up the first few days “depth chart” that remains fluid in this era of hyper-versatility.
Saint Vincent Snapshot
Getting ready for another 7-on-7 rep.
15 Longest Steelers Touchdowns
Clips of the longest scores in Steelers’ history.
Minkah Fitzpatrick – 96 yards (2019)
In the good times with Minkah Fitzpatrick, his 96-yard pick-six of Indianapolis Colts QB Brian Hoyer in a year where the Steelers’ defense dominated because it had to.
Jim Gaffigan Quote of the Day
“I treat my body like a temple. A temple of doom, but a temple nonetheless.”
