LATROBE, Pa. – Continuing with alternating practices between workouts with pads and workouts in helmets and shorts, the Steelers continued to march toward their preseason opener, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday against the Jaguars in Jacksonville.
Wednesday's session at Saint Vincent College was in helmets and shorts, and Thursday's practice is scheduled to be in pads.
"Had another good day at work, really pushing situations in preparation for Saturday evening," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "Did a bunch of third-down ball here today, did some more 2-minute. We rested some more established players in an effort to get some more exposure for some younger guys. A lot of those younger guys are going to be playing a lot of football on Saturday night, and so we just deem it appropriate to give them work in preparation, and we'll do more of that as we push forward closer to Saturday night. But I like some of the things I saw out here today."
7-Shots
After the last couple installments of this drill that had been dominated by one unit or the other, this version went down to the wire maybe thanks to a little bit of timely help from Mike Tomlin.
On the first snap, Aaron Rodgers found DK Metcalf running across the back of the end zone and hit him in stride for a touchdown. His next two attempts, however, were incomplete – the first to Darnell Washington and the second was batted at the line of scrimmage by Yahya Black.
Next up at quarterback was Mason Rudolph. His first pass to Robert Woods was incomplete, and then he came back on the next snap to hook up with Woods for a touchdown that had the defense leading, 3-2.
On came Skylar Thompson, and he handed the ball to RB Lew Nichols who ran up the middle into a mass of players who weren't tackling because it was a padless practice. But the play was ruled a touchdown, which set up a 3-3 tie with one play to determine the winner.
The first units came back onto the field. The offense aligned with three receivers on the left and Metcalf as a single on the right. The bunch all ran toward the left corner of the end zone, and as Metcalf cut toward the center of the field, Rodgers hit him in stride for the touchdown that won the drill for the offense, 4-3.
Observations
• The only "hitting" during Wednesday afternoon's padless practice came during the Team Run period, and it was a mistake. Kaleb Johnson took the handoff and as he ran through the line of scrimmage he was blasted to the ground by Yahya Black. Pat Freiermuth was the first to confront Black about the affront to protocol, and then a scuffle broke out.
"He's a high-energy big," said Tomlin about Black. "For an enormous man, he hustles, he finishes, and I think that's a good place to begin from a skill development standpoint. Obviously, he's a work in progress, but there's a lot to like."
• During 7-on-7, CB Brandin Echols made a diving breakup of a pass in the end zone intended for WR Roman Wilson.
2-Minute
During the 2-Minute period, there were two reps of it, The first was quarterbacked by Aaron Rodgers, and it ended when Juan Thornhill made a diving interception of a pass down the middle that was intended for Pat Freiermuth. There was some on-field debate about whether Thornhill secured the ball before it hit the ground, but the final ruling was that it was an interception.
The second rep included a one-handed catch down the left sideline by WR Brandon Johnson that got the offense in position to attempt a 37-yard field goal by Ben Sauls. After Mike Tomlin called a timeout to ice the rookie, Sauls drilled the field goal through the uprights.
TOMLIN'S INJURY UPDATE
"Regarding Will Howard's hand injury, he's got a broken finger. It can be characterized as week-to-week. He's looking at his options, and I may have more information when it's definitive, but he's certainly out this week. It appears to be non-surgical, and so we'll see where the road leads us there. We've got some other guys working their way back to us from a health standpoint. OT Gareth Warren was a partial participant. CB Joey Porter was a partial participant, among some others. Just the natural bumps and bruises associated with this time of year, and we'll manage it and push through these very important days."
