Considering the mounting injury report and intense practice yesterday at Steelers training camp in Latrobe, it should come as no surprise that today was a relatively mellow day as rain teased throughout the session. Here are few observations as the second full week of camp winds down in preparation for the Sunday night preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings in Canton, Oh.
The big three look primed for another incredible season:
Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown showed once again why they are among the best in the league.
Ben Roethlisberger has left off where he was last season, pin-point accurate and confident running Todd Haley’s offense. Various accounts of Roethlisberger’s deep passing accuracy were on full display multiple times today, including deep strikes to Antonio Brown and Darius Heyward-Bey.
Antonio Brown is well on his way to wearing the crown as the best wide receiver in the NFL. He’s open on every down, and just makes play after play. He had two long catches that would have been TD’s in live action.
I recently had a discussion with a colleague about who is the best running back in the NFL. I leaned toward Adrian Peterson, but I have to say that watching Le’Veon Bell today makes me second guess my feelings. He’s looking tremendous, and I feel very, very bad for defenses that are going to try and contain him. He was electrifying every time he touched the ball today.
If Darius Heyward-Bey had hands:
You just never know with Darius Heyward-Bey. He looks the part and his speed is real. He had some nice catches today including a long TD catch in 11-on-11 drills. His inability to consistently catch the football has cost him the chance to live up to his first round expectations.
Speaking of rookie pass catchers:
A number of rookies on offense are trying to make their mark both at wide receiver and tight end. Former Penn State and South Allegheny standout Jesse James had a nice TD catch with safety Ian Wild draped all over him in goal line drills (offense went 7-for-7). Fellow Big Ten star Devin Gardner followed with a TD catch of his own, made another nice catch later only to have a bad drop moments later.
Cameron Clear might have a long road to a roster spot, but with Matt Spaeth out with an injury both he and James are getting plenty of looks, and Clear looks pretty solid. I’ll say this, Clear looks the part as a physical specimen for the position.
Not much from the young linebackers:
Was so looking forward to seeing more from Bud Dupree, Anthony Chickillo, Shayon Green and Howard Jones but none of them stood out in today’s practice. This is going to be one of the better battles of camp. Making the obvious assumption Dupree is a lock to make the team, Chickillo, Green and Jones will likely be in a dogfight to claim a spot on the 53-man roster. To be fair, it really was a pretty laid back practice, but I’ll be keeping a close eye on all three Sunday night.
Quarterback depth is a big question:
Landry Jones, Tajh Boyd and Tyler Murphy all saw action and got plenty of reps in preparation for Sunday, and it would be fair to assume Roethlisberger will get a series or two before donning the baseball cap. Jones has been better, but how much better? Good enough to potentially back up Roethlisberger if Bruce Gradkowski’s shaky shoulder continues to flare up? Tyler Murphy looked OK today, but it was evident not only based on his passing (yikes) but his pretty run on a draw why Boston College did not utilize Murphy in the passing game much last year.
Injuries continue to mount, but some good news along the way:
On the “good news” front, safety Robert Golden has been diagnosed with a knee sprain, a far cry from the speculation that his season might be in doubt after being carted off the field yesterday. Golden’s injury should not shelve him too long and with a little luck, he’ll be back before regular season.
Shamarko Thomas also looks to be getting closer to getting back on the field at full speed. Thomas was off doing sprints by himself at one point in practice and looked like he was in good spirits.
Conversely, add key backup linebacker Vince Williams to the growing list of injured Steelers. Early in 11-on-11 drills, Williams was in obvious discomfort and was later carted off the field with what looked like potentially a hamstring injury. Too early to tell the extent of the injury, but it’s likely Williams will miss Sunday’s game minimum.
