Mark Kaboly Tweets from OTA's

[Jooser]

Early news from OTA's courtesy of Mark Kaboly:



Steelers start first OTA with Adams at RT, Gilbert at LT
Kelvin Beachum lines up at center with second team.
Heath Miller didn't participate in practice, but was walking around without a limp, looked GOOD.
Isaac Redman looks as though he dropped "a few" pounds, in MAD shape.
TE David Johnson caught a pass with the first team, Tomlin approached reporters and said, "there's your story for the day."
Tomlin's message through first OTA: "Less talk and MORE work."
Ike on Cortez Allen: "If he stays healthy, he is going to be hell on a lot of people."
Troy Polamalu: "I don't read any positive or negative things. They are both dangerous to deal with."


Then he tweeted that he was in violation of team rules and couldn't tweet any more.... :D

[thor75]

Great news about Miller, I really thought he would have to start the season on the PUP. Never questioned the work ethic just the healing time.

[NorthCoast]

Ya know, for a man of few words, Troy really knows how to make an impact with them. Troy represents the ultimate balanced approach, but I sense this team also needs to find that s__kicking leader that can rally some emotion when needed. Especially on defense. Who can be that guy? I am not sure we have seen him yet.

[nova]

Northcoast has nailed what I have been missing from the Steelers D. Ever since Joey left, I don't sense the same passion or swagger from the D. While Farrior was a great leader of the defense, he wasn't a fire and brimstone type of leader.
I would love to see someone step up - not Foote - to take over this role.

[skyhawk]

Northcoast has nailed what I have been missing from the Steelers D. Ever since Joey left, I don't sense the same passion or swagger from the D. While Farrior was a great leader of the defense, he wasn't a fire and brimstone type of leader.
I would love to see someone step up - not Foote - to take over this role.

Crap! Farrior was an awesome leader, and he is number TWO all-time of the Steelers best all time free agent pickups. Of course we all know who #1 is.

Farrior is on my list of the top 30 players of all time in Steeler history.

He just wasn't as vocal and idiotic as Joey was.

[Captain Lemming]

Crap! Farrior was an awesome leader, and he is number TWO all-time of the Steelers best all time free agent pickups. Of course we all know who #1 is.

Farrior is on my list of the top 30 players of all time in Steeler history.

He just wasn't as vocal and idiotic as Joey was.

Agreed. Vocal leadership is overrated.
Ray is the ONLY player I have seen where it might have mattered.

Even then I question it. People credit Rays leadership but it was uni-brow playing out his mind that made the difference.

Had Flacco played at that level before they would have multiple rings with him.

Joey screamed and shouted for years and it didn't matter just like Lloyd before him.

The one time Joey's PERFORMANCE in the playoffs matched his yapping we won the SB.

You never saw the 70 Steelers have pregame pep sessions all the time to get amped for a game.

People rave about Peyton as a leader because he is vocal. How come his little brother (and Ben) have more rings?

Leadership is making plays, and not choking under pressure. Screaming at receivers only transfers YOUR tension to them.

Santonio drops a touchdown and Ben doesn't scream like a little girl but shows confidence in his guy goes BACK to him for the winning touchdown in the biggest game of his the life.

Leadership by example is all that really matters.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Agreed. Vocal leadership is overrated.
Ray is the ONLY player I have seen where it might have mattered.

Even then I question it. People credit Rays leadership but it was uni-brow playing out his mind that made the difference.

Had Flacco played at that level before they would have multiple rings with him.

Joey screamed and shouted for years and it didn't matter just like Lloyd before him.

The one time Joey's PERFORMANCE in the playoffs matched his yapping we won the SB.

You never saw the 70 Steelers have pregame pep sessions all the time to get amped for a game.

People rave about Peyton as a leader because he is vocal. How come his little brother (and Ben) have more rings?

Leadership is making plays, and not choking under pressure. Screaming at receivers only transfers YOUR tension to them.

Santonio drops a touchdown and Ben doesn't scream like a little girl but shows confidence in his guy goes BACK to him for the winning touchdown in the biggest game of his the life.

Leadership by example is all that really matters.:Bow:Clap (Geesh, the forum engine won't let me post this, it says "message too short, minimum eight characters required". OK, here they are: "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs". Let's see if that works ... )

[NorthCoast]

I was actually referring to the intimidation factor. I don't think opponents fear the Steelers D as much as they have in the past. A team can try to intimidate with words, but as Captain L says, if they can't back it up with play, then it becomes a joke. Much like that Tomlinism "unleash hell in October" has become a part of his legacy. G Lloyd was one scary mofo, plain and simple. Even his own teammates stayed away from him. But, he could change a game in a heartbeat. He could make plays. Teams feared Troy in his prime, but I sense even he doesn't command the same attention from an offense now.

[nova]

In no way do I underestimate Farrior's contributions or leadership. He was incredible as a player and a leader. I just liked Joey's theatrics.

But then again, I much preferred Cowher's sideline antics, over Tomlin's cool persona. I guess it's just personal preference.

[birtikidis]

Remember Lee Flowers talking trash and acting big then getting burnt?

[squidkid]

Tomlin's message through first OTA: "Less talk and MORE work......................lol, how ironic

[Slapstick]

Tomlin's message through first OTA: "Less talk and MORE work......................lol, how ironic



I'm not sure that you understand the concept of irony...

[Djfan]

It would be very cool to have a D leader like we have in the past. That is no slam on Farrior. He was awesome, and will always be one of my favorite Steelers. Still, to have someone who makes that "splash" play to fire up the team is needed.

[flippy]

Glad to hear DJs getting first team reps. I know everyone was down on him early on (including me), but he seemed to be on the verge of something last season before he got hurt. I'm curious to see what Haley can do with him. I think he's got some talent we've yet to see.

[hawaiiansteel]

Mark Kaboly ‏@MarkKaboly_Trib:

Al Woods told me that the coaches told him they want him to play all 3 DL positions. Yes, that includes NT. He said he is running 2nd team NT

https://twitter.com/MarkKaboly_Trib

[Keyplay1]

Glad to hear DJs getting first team reps. I know everyone was down on him early on (including me), but he seemed to be on the verge of something last season before he got hurt. I'm curious to see what Haley can do with him. I think he's got some talent we've yet to see.

I don't know. For some reason that bit of news didn't get me to doing backflips and stuff. I mean TS did not draft a TE this year. So if Miller is not ready then its Spaeth, Paulson and D. Johnson as the threat on critical 3rd down chain moving plays. Not particularly exciting to me.

Then theres the one about Woods playing 3 positions. Uh! Has he really done anything at his primary one, whatever that is. Oh well, so now he does nothing at 3 positions. I suppose that is an improvement.

Actually, I am not being negative here at all. I do not think either of those situations is a critical one and probably anything would be okay. But what this is about is TS used a 4th rd pick on a position that IMO was very low on the need list.

Like I said I am not being negative because the draft was sound. But another possible all pro type player was probably there between TS 4B pick and their 5th rd CB pick and it could have been a DL or even a TE that would have made this camp even more interesting.

Then again, maybe the 4th rd QB will actually see some playing time and lead TS to even greater heights.

Still it would be nice to have someone like Jesse Williams competing in camp. And then there was a TE taken early 6th rd Nick Kasa who was in some of the posters mock drafts. He would give the TE's we have here now a run for their money. I just looked him up and he is bigger and faster than Miller, Johnson and Paulson. Spaeth is about the same size. Kasa was converted from the OL to TE so he can probably block. He had little experience at TE but he sure looks he can catch the ball and run. He will probably help the Raiders a lot.

Like Tomlin said talking to a reporter about DJ running with the 1st team. "There's your story for today."

Well, there are always plenty of stories. Too bad the couple possibles I mentioned won't be among them.

[Slapstick]

I don't know. For some reason that bit of news didn't get me to doing backflips and stuff. I mean TS did not draft a TE this year. So if Miller is not ready then its Spaeth, Paulson and D. Johnson as the threat on critical 3rd down chain moving plays. Not particularly exciting to me.

Then theres the one about Woods playing 3 positions. Uh! Has he really done anything at his primary one, whatever that is. Oh well, so now he does nothing at 3 positions. I suppose that is an improvement.

Actually, I am not being negative here at all. I do not think either of those situations is a critical one and probably anything would be okay. But what this is about is TS used a 4th rd pick on a position that IMO was very low on the need list.

Like I said I am not being negative because the draft was sound. But another possible all pro type player was probably there between TS 4B pick and their 5th rd CB pick and it could have been a DL or even a TE that would have made this camp even more interesting.

Then again, maybe the 4th rd QB will actually see some playing time and lead TS to even greater heights.

Still it would be nice to have someone like Jesse Williams competing in camp. And then there was a TE taken early 6th rd Nick Kasa who was in some of the posters mock drafts. He would give the TE's we have here now a run for their money. I just looked him up and he is bigger and faster than Miller, Johnson and Paulson. Spaeth is about the same size. Kasa was converted from the OL to TE so he can probably block. He had little experience at TE but he sure looks he can catch the ball and run. He will probably help the Raiders a lot.

Like Tomlin said talking to a reporter about DJ running with the 1st team. "There's your story for today."

Well, there are always plenty of stories. Too bad the couple possibles I mentioned won't be among them.

Any player is a "possible" All-Pro...the idea that 4th round rookies become All-Pro players in their first year is pretty pie-in-the-sky...possible, but not likely...

The 4th round QB is low on the priority list...provided that the #3 qb never needs to play...

Considering how many starts Charlie Batch has logged over the past few years, a younger, promising QB may turn out to be a fabulous idea...

[feltdizz]

I'm not sure that you understand the concept of irony...

lol, how ironic

[RuthlessBurgher]

I don't know. For some reason that bit of news didn't get me to doing backflips and stuff. I mean TS did not draft a TE this year. So if Miller is not ready then its Spaeth, Paulson and D. Johnson as the threat on critical 3rd down chain moving plays. Not particularly exciting to me.

Then theres the one about Woods playing 3 positions. Uh! Has he really done anything at his primary one, whatever that is. Oh well, so now he does nothing at 3 positions. I suppose that is an improvement.

Actually, I am not being negative here at all. I do not think either of those situations is a critical one and probably anything would be okay. But what this is about is TS used a 4th rd pick on a position that IMO was very low on the need list.

Like I said I am not being negative because the draft was sound. But another possible all pro type player was probably there between TS 4B pick and their 5th rd CB pick and it could have been a DL or even a TE that would have made this camp even more interesting.

Then again, maybe the 4th rd QB will actually see some playing time and lead TS to even greater heights.

Still it would be nice to have someone like Jesse Williams competing in camp. And then there was a TE taken early 6th rd Nick Kasa who was in some of the posters mock drafts. He would give the TE's we have here now a run for their money. I just looked him up and he is bigger and faster than Miller, Johnson and Paulson. Spaeth is about the same size. Kasa was converted from the OL to TE so he can probably block. He had little experience at TE but he sure looks he can catch the ball and run. He will probably help the Raiders a lot.

Like Tomlin said talking to a reporter about DJ running with the 1st team. "There's your story for today."

Well, there are always plenty of stories. Too bad the couple possibles I mentioned won't be among them.

I personally would have preferred FS Philip Thomas or RB Marcus Lattimore with the 4th round pick used on Landry Jones, but I trust that the Steelers front office knows what they are doing here. After his sophomore season (4718 yards, 65.6 completion percentage, 38 TD's, 12 INT's), people were touting him as a future top-5 type of pick. He slipped because his junior and senior seasons did not live up to that early promise, but it is not as if he completely fell off a cliff and was useless these last 2 seasons...his numbers were still awfully good (4463 yards, 63.2 completion percentage, 29 TD's, 15 INT's and 4267 yards, 66.1 completion percentage, 30 TD's, 11 INT's). To get a guy with that production, prototypical NFL size (6'4" 229 lbs.) and a strong arm, I'll accept it as a bargain where we drafted him in the grand scheme of things (and we could certainly use a legit developmental QB behind Ben and Bruce now that Lefty and Batch have been shown the door).

[Keyplay1]

I personally would have preferred FS Philip Thomas or RB Marcus Lattimore with the 4th round pick used on Landry Jones, but I trust that the Steelers front office knows what they are doing here. After his sophomore season (4718 yards, 65.6 completion percentage, 38 TD's, 12 INT's), people were touting him as a future top-5 type of pick. He slipped because his junior and senior seasons did not live up to that early promise, but it is not as if he completely fell off a cliff and was useless these last 2 seasons...his numbers were still awfully good (4463 yards, 63.2 completion percentage, 29 TD's, 15 INT's and 4267 yards, 66.1 completion percentage, 30 TD's, 11 INT's). To get a guy with that production, prototypical NFL size (6'4" 229 lbs.) and a strong arm, I'll accept it as a bargain where we drafted him in the grand scheme of things (and we could certainly use a legit developmental QB behind Ben and Bruce now that Lefty and Batch have been shown the door).

TS would probably have drafted Philip Thomas if he were a CB and not another S. Same with WR Ken Stills but TS are really already overcrowded there. NT Jesse Williams was there and as it looks now with Woods becoming #2 there is room for competition there.

But the reason for this is not to nit pick what many think might be another huge Steeler draft. It is sort of taking a look at overall NFL teams draft strategy. For example:

Thoughout the 90's it seemed TS were compelled in later rds to take a FB in everydraft. None of them every made the team it seems and this was no surprise to most posters. Then of course they always seem to have to throw in a token QB. Can anyone recall any that ever made a significant contribution?

All teams seem to do this. In the later rds they tend to draft positions not addressed earlier to round the draft out and make it look pretty. This sort of violates the BPA concept. I just think this is a mistake. Let the other teams do it.

But the primary reason for this draft talk is I really do not recall a draft in recent years where just about all the players TS took were players that were in many of the mocks of the boards posters and if not in the mocks were players that were highly regarded [scouted] by the posters.

Usually in previous years, it seems after the players taken in the 1st couple rds its like Huh? Who's that? Never heard of him. Oh boy, Im thinking, the scouts have uncovered another gem. Uhh! That generally was not the case. But this year every player drafted it seems to me was mentioned a lot here.

The question is. Who is getting better at this draft stuff. The posters or TS.:D or better yet, Are TS finally catching up to the posters.:D

[flippy]

The question is. Who is getting better at this draft stuff. The posters or TS.:D or better yet, Are TS finally catching up to the posters.:D

Given that most of us do a bunch of mocks, we're bound to be right on some guy somewhere. If Colbert posted mock drafts like we do and discussed with us what he thought about different players, he'd look like a genius and make us all look like dummies. :)

Plus for me personally, I usually just watch highlights of as many players as I can, but the real pros watch every play of these college guys. Sometimes I'll see a team multiple times and a certain guy will stand out. But how the heck do you compare them to other guys playing in a zillion other games?

Plus we benefit from the guys connected to the pros that find out who teams like and that helps us zero in on who to consider. So it's like the NFL gives us a bit of a boost telling us which players to go look at and decide from. It's not like any of us know about this athletic freak from Samford College.

[RuthlessBurgher]

TS would probably have drafted Philip Thomas if he were a CB and not another S.

Why? We lost both Will Allen and Ryan Mundy this offseason, so there was little-to-no depth (only the likes of Robert Golden and Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith) behind the oft-injured Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark. And since both Clark and Troy are both aging, I thought we could use a heat-seeking missile type to be our future at strong safety (Shamarko Thomas) as well as a ball-hawking centerfielder type to be our future at free safety (Philip Thomas). Since we had the tendency to double-down on positions of need in recent years, and the relative strength of the safety position in the 2013 draft (certainly much better when compared to the poor depth at safety in the 2012 draft...very little behind Mark Barron and Harrison Smith), I thought back-to-back safety picks in the 4th round would have made a ton of sense.

[squidkid]

Why? We lost both Will Allen and Ryan Mundy this offseason, so there was little-to-no depth (only the likes of Robert Golden and Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith) behind the oft-injured Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark. And since both Clark and Troy are both aging, I thought we could use a heat-seeking missile type to be our future at strong safety (Shamarko Thomas) as well as a ball-hawking centerfielder type to be our future at free safety (Philip Thomas). Since we had the tendency to double-down on positions of need in recent years, and the relative strength of the safety position in the 2013 draft (certainly much better when compared to the poor depth at safety in the 2012 draft...very little behind Mark Barron and Harrison Smith), I thought back-to-back safety picks in the 4th round would have made a ton of sense.


exactly. i think the landry jones pick was a huge mistake

[hawaiiansteel]

exactly. i think the landry jones pick was a huge mistake

who would you have chosen instead?

[Big Ern McCracken]

The Landry Jones pick is most likely going to be boom or bust.... If Ben stays healthy for the next 5 plus years, then i would say it is a bust. If Ben goes down (as he often does), maybe the kid steps in (Like a Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins) and proves that he is the next Franchise QB of the black and gold.

[Slapstick]

He's a frickin' fourth round pick...

If you can get any production out of a day three pick, you've done well...

[hawaiiansteel]

He's a frickin' fourth round pick...

If you can get any production out of a day three pick, you've done well...


I agree, anyone who thinks selecting Landry Jones in the 4th round was a huge mistake is well, mistaken.

first off, it's only a 4th round pick and like you said if you get any production out of Jones it's merely a bonus. also, there's absolutely no guarantee that the guy you would have selected instead of Jones would ever produce let alone be on the team in a few years.

[birtikidis]

I hope we don't get spit for production from Landry Jones for the next 6-7 years UNLESS we are winning games 66-0. I HOPE he collects awesome paychecks for just sitting and watching games.

[Shawn]

I agree, anyone who thinks selecting Landry Jones in the 4th round was a huge mistake is well, mistaken.

first off, it's only a 4th round pick and like you said if you get any production out of Jones it's merely a bonus. also, there's absolutely no guarantee that the guy you would have selected instead of Jones would ever produce let alone be on the team in a few years.

I agree, Landry Jones has all the tools to be an effective if not elite QB in the NFL. He is smart, tall, has a strong arm, accurate and productive. He can make all the throws. The knock is on his desire.

[feltdizz]

exactly. i think the landry jones pick was a huge mistake

based on your post history everything they do is a mistake...lol

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

He's a frickin' fourth round pick...

If you can get any production out of a day three pick, you've done well...

Not to mention that he was drafted to ideally not play. The Steelers picked him hoping that he sits on the bench game after game after game......but he is an insurance policy in case of injury.