LATROBE, Pa. – Monday's practice was the 14th one at Saint Vincent College that was open to the public. Tuesday will be the 15th, and since camp breaks for the Steelers on Wednesday that makes tomorrow the team's final practice on campus.
Monday's session was in helmets, and Tuesday's "finale" is scheduled to be in pads.
It's starting to feel as though it's the last day of school, because it kind of is.
"A really productive day for us on a lot of fronts," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "Not only were we able to get back out on the field, but probably more importantly, we spent the morning reviewing the game tape in all three phases, making some corrections, some acknowledgements, and just evaluating our overall progress in all areas. And not only that, but plotting this course for this next block of days."
The game Tomlin reviewed with the team on Monday morning was of the preseason opener, a 31-25 victory over the Jaguars in Jacksonville on Saturday night. What's on the immediate horizon is a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday at Acrisure Stadium, which will be followed on Saturday by a preseason game, the second of three for the Steelers.
"We've been in a stadium now," said Tomlin, "and I'm always interested in the step forward, individually and collectively, after having an in-stadium experience, particularly from the guys who are new to the game. They probably answered some questions that they might have about the game and themselves, and so it's reasonable to expect them to take a significant step. It's important that we put them in position to do so, and I thought we had a good, spirited practice today."
7-Shots
The offense aligned for the first play with 3 receivers to the left of the formation with TE Darnell Washington singled to the left. At the snap, the 3 receivers on the left scattered, with Roman Wilson stopping just across the goal line and DK Metcalf going to the back corner. Aaron Rodgers threw over Wilson to Metcalf in the back corner for the touchdown
On Rodgers' next two snaps, both of his passes were deflected at the line of scrimmage. T.J. Watt got the first one, and it fell incomplete. Whoever got a hand on the second one tipped the ball into the air and DT Daniel Ekuale came down with the interception.
Mason Rudolph came on for the next two plays, and both of his passes went to WR Scotty Miller in the back of the end zone. The first was good for a touchdown, but on the second he didn't appear to get his feet down in-bounds. At that point, the defense held a 3-2 lead.
Skylar Thompson was up next, and his first pass went through RB Lew Nichols' hands and was incomplete. On the drill's final play, Thompson overthrew RB Evan Hull, and the defense had a 5-2 win.
Observations
• During a drill pitting multiple receivers vs. the same number of defensive backs, WR Roman Wilson got behind CB Brandin Echols and caught a deep pass from Aaron Rodgers. After the play, Echols visibly was unhappy with himself.
• Later in the drill, RB Kenneth Gainwell came open running down the middle of the field, and when he looked back for the ball, Rodgers' throw was already on him. Gainwell made a quick adjustment and made the catch.
• On a deep pass, WR Max Hurleman had the ball hit him in stride, but CB Joey Porter Jr. raked it loose for an incompletion before the players hit the ground.
• During 7-on-7, the coverage matched Porter on Metcalf running down the right sideline, and even though Rodgers' throw was on target, Porter was running with Metcalf and tipped the ball away just as it arrived.
Tomlin's Injury Update
"Got some guys working their way back to us. Also had some guys who maybe had a minor thing or two that happened today. Darius Slay rolled his ankle, but it doesn't appear to be significant. We'll get him back out here ASAP. Some other guys managing the bumps and bruises associated with play … (Jalen Ramsey) is day to day. He'll be back. I think he's scheduled to participate (Tuesday). Obviously, Thursday, working against the Bucs (in a joint practice) is a big day. But again, oftentimes when I remove a guy like him, it's about the opportunity that provides others from a rep standpoint. And so it's been good on both counts. Calvin Austin — I'll describe it as day to day. He's working his way back to us and had a good rehabilitation day today, but still, at this point, I describe it as day to day."
