LATROBE, Pa. – Through much of the early stages of this training camp, the Steelers had to react and adapt to the weather conditions, whether it was heat or rain or both. For Thursday's practice, the decision was made to be proactive and then adapt to that.
Seeing that the forecast was calling for a 90 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms throughout Thursday afternoon, the Steelers moved their day's practice up to a 10 a.m. start, which allowed them to complete all of their on-field work in relative comfort.
"We always try to have a hard core plan, but be light on our feet," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "I just think that's a component of football, and particularly team development. We went early today to beat the weather. I liked the energy and the preparedness that the guys showed, even with the change. Sometimes we get challenges, rain delays and so forth, and we still have to perform. And so that's some of the messaging that went along with today's work. I really appreciate the competitive spirit we have out here. We've got some guys who are learning what to do and getting to know each other, while at the same time being highly competitive. And you can't run away from the competition in this game, particularly at this level."
Thursday's practice was not conducted in full pads as was the case on Wednesday and as is expected to be the case on Friday, but there still were some competitive periods and some competitive moments within those periods.
7-Shots
With the first units on the field, the opening play was an attempted pass from Aaron Rodgers to WR DK Metcalf, but CB Darius Slay was there to break it up. On the second play, Rodgers went to Metcalf again but on the other side of the field, and a slant route inside Jalen Ramsey was good for a touchdown.
Rodgers' third play was a pass to Roman Wilson at the pylon that was incomplete, and again Slay was there in tight coverage.
Mason Rudolph was the quarterback on the next two plays. The first of those was a pass to Robert Woods for a touchdown, and the second again was to Woods but was incomplete because of tight coverage.
That made the score, 3-2, in favor of the defense and brought on Will Howard at quarterback. Howard's first attempt was a touchdown pass to Brandon Johnson at the pylon that tied things at 3-3. To this point in camp, Tomlin had reinserted the first units into the drill for the deciding snap, but this time he did not.
On the decisive play, Howard overthrew TE JJ Galbreath in the end zone, and the defense prevailed, 4-3.
Observations
• During a 1-on-1 passing drill, players on both sides of the ball turned in nice plays. On one repetition, WR Roman Wilson got behind CB Joey Porter Jr. and made a contested catch over 35 yards downfield in the end zone. On another, ILB Patrick Queen intercepted a pass for RB Jaylen Warren.
• Aaron Rodgers has a reputation for being a stickler when it comes to receivers running the correct routes and being where they're supposed to be when the ball is in the air. During Thursday's practice, Rodgers delivered the ball expecting a back-shoulder situation when the receiver didn't, and he expected a deeper route and delivered the ball only to have the route cut short. In neither instance did Rodgers react or visibly chastise a teammate, but wide receivers coach Zach Azzani quickly went to the receiver and corrected what had been done wrong.
• A few plays later in the same drill, WR Ben Skowronek ran his route correctly and was where he was supposed to be when the ball was delivered by Rodgers, and it was a clean and easy-looking pitch-and-catch.
Getting Chippy
Even though the practice was conducted in helmets and shells, there was a good bit of chippiness throughout. During the offseason, the Steelers acquired some defensive players known for their aggressiveness and attitude – Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, and Juan Thornhill among them – and it seemed as though the offense was finished with the idea of being the nail instead of the hammer.
Jonnu Smith and Thornhill had a couple of "interactions," and some of the other players on offense who mixed it up were Calvin Austin III and DK Metcalf. And it wasn't only the receivers and defensive backs involved. On one play, with the offense in the huddle, Mason McCormick apparently took exception to the way Patrick Queen was lingering so close to that huddle on his way to the defensive side of the line of scrimmage. McCormick gave Queen a little help in directing him to where the rest of the defense was assembled.
"I prefer to keep some of that stuff in-house," said Tomlin when asked how he handles those kinds of displays. "I'd much rather say whoa than sic-em. This is a football team we're putting together, but it's also an opportunity to learn how to compete and compete the right way and be professional. But largely, how I handle those circumstances is our business."
Friday Night Lights
The Steelers only practice on Friday will be at 7 p.m. at Latrobe, in another installment of the extremely popular and well-attended Friday Night Lights.
"We just appreciate the Welcome Wagon that we get up here in Latrobe, not only at Saint Vincent, but in this community," said Tomlin, "and it's an opportunity for us to show our appreciation, to perform in that different environment in primetime. It's also a really good component of team development. You like to change the variables and circumstances in which we work, like we did today when we went early into in the morning. Tomorrow night, we'll work in primetime, but oftentimes that mirrors scheduling. We play games in a variety of times in the National Football League, and regardless of when it's time to go, it's time to go. And so Friday Night Lights means a lot of things to us, and we're really excited about getting to it."
TOMLIN'S INJURY UPDATE
"Got some guys working their way back to us and increasing their participation. LG Isaac Seumalo, for example, was taken off the NFI list and began the process of working (on Thursday), and so all things are pointed in the right direction in that regard. Some other injuries to report: DT Jacob Slade injured a knee yesterday that's being evaluated; DE Dean Lowry injured a knee yesterday that's being evaluated. I'll have more information on some of those guys and others a little bit later. The rest of the stuff are just things to manage that come along with this process."
