OTA Recap: Week 1

Notes and nuggets from Week No. 1 of OTAs … OFFENSIVE EVOLUTION: The identity of the starting quarterback isn’t the only thing that will be changing heading into this season in the wake of Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement. The Steelers will feature a new way of doing things as well as a new QB. “It’s definitely a different offense,” tight end Pat Freiermuth confirmed. “With Ben being here for so long, he had his ways that he wanted things. And you had to respect that being the vet he was and the Hall-of-Fame guy he was. We definitely have different ways that we do things now with the offense. “Different alignments, different concepts, everything like that. That’s what I’m looking forward to.” Some in the media are anticipating more quarterback mobility-driven approach more sprint outs, more bootlegs, more misdirection, more of everything historically associated with a Matt Canada offense in Canada’s second year as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator. “I completely agree with the media on that,” Freiermuth said. “It’s gonna be Coach Canada’s offense and he’s gonna do what he came here to do.”PLENTY TO CHOOSE FROM: Veteran free agent Mitch Trubisky said the new offense has been presented to the players and it’s now a matter of deciding what works and what doesn’t. “We’ve kinda installed through everything and then we’re gonna go through and find out what fits us as an offense, me, specifically, and then the rest of the quarterback room,” Trubisky said. “It’s been a good installation period and I’m really enjoying the offense so far.” WASTING NO TIME: With the departure of established veterans such as Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro and Alejandro Villanueva in recent seasons, the offensive line has lacked an identifiable leader. Free agent guard James Daniels is already doing something about that, apparently. “We’re kinda dispersed a little bit,” guard Kevin Dotson offered. “Not dispersed in a bad way but we’re kinda like all coming up together. But I would say overall probably James, James came in and he’s kinda taken control of it. “He’s not like ‘you need to do this, you need to do that.’ It’s more of a ‘I used to do this when I was over here so I just think this would help us,’ type of thing. He has some real good ideas when it comes to different offensive things.” Daniels, who started 48 of 54 career games played with the Bears, sees such leadership as a two-way street. “I feel like we’re all taking leadership roles,” he said. “I’ve asked (Dotson) for advice, too. I’ve asked (center/guard) Kendrick (Green) for advice. “We’re all taking leadership roles and I really think that’s going to make us a great offensive line. Everyone’s trying to help everyone.”A BLAST FROM THE PAST: Green said he spent some time working out with Pouncey this offseason and absorbing all he could from the Steelers’ longtime center. Green felt he benefitted greatly from the experience. “Just a lot of knowledge,” Green said of what he gleaned. “I think that was the biggest thing, just talking to him and seeing how he views the game, him and Mike (Pouncey), kinda like a big brother/mentor role. I learned a lot just from the few times I’ve been with him.” The sessions weren’t guard or center specific. “Really didn’t do too much field work,” Green added. “It was kinda like working out and then a lot of just talking over some food, stuff like that, fellowship.”