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Thread: CRAIG WOLFLEY: More Stuff From Camp

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    CRAIG WOLFLEY: More Stuff From Camp

    More Stuff From Camp

    by CRAIG WOLFLEY on AUGUST 8, 2012

    Here we are the day before the Steelers open the pre-season in Philly. So just some more observations from the past week in camp.

    David DeCastro will make his first start against the Eagles. By my count he’s had four very good practice days in a row. David is really starting to flash his skills. He runs much better than i realized and i think he’s on a good track, maybe the Pouncey track. Where i most humbly think David had a little challenge was in the speed and quickness of players (they are all fast at this level) and the angles that he had to take to intercept cut-offs on the backside and getting up to the second level guys. He’s got the mental game down but good. I talked to him yesterday morning and asked him if he was excited. He was, but if you know David, you know by now he’s the master of saying very little, but let me tell you when i got a gander at his eyes, they were fired up. I am really looking forward to seeing this young man play tomorrow night.

    While in Latrobe, and if you hit Sharky’s, get the Chicken Diego. The garlic sauce is killer. Don’t expect to get a good nite kiss from the wife though.

    Speaking of the Young Guns, Mike Adams has suprised me. He’s feistier than i thought, has a nice fluid athleticism about him, can take guys off the ball and drive block better than i anticipated. The only glaring thing that pops out right now is his habit of getting “Dead-foot-itis” in pass pro. He’s used to dominating college guys and shoving them upfield. But in the pros the quick guys will cut the corner and back door the QB. So he’s got to learn to run the guy around the pocket. Not a problem, just something he has to overcome.

    WR Derek Williams seems to be climbing the charts in WR coach Scott Montgomery’s mind. We had Scottie “In the Locker room” and his eyes lit up while talking about Derek and the great job he did in the stalk blocking drills whacking guys.

    Last week i happened to be standing by Kevin Colbert when Cortez Allen flashed on the practice field and under cut a route, leaping high to INT the ball. It was an unbelieveable athletic move and i looked at Kevin and gushed “On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the best, what would you rate that?” Kevin, in his usual under-stated way laughed and said, “Real good.”

    Rookie OT-G Kelvin Beachum looked good in practice yesterday. He’s got very good feet and uses his hands like a 3rd year pro. While playing OT, and the defense running an E-T (twist stunt with 2 players), Beachum punched the DE flat to the inside, then picked up LB’er Adrian Robinson screaming around the corner, and slammed Robinson, kicking up dirt. The dirt was the exclamation point on a fine body slam.

    Ramone Foster will not go “Gently into the night.” As i said the Big Ragu is a fighter and he’s been having an excellent camp. Moving into the LG spot for Willie Colon , Foster is playing well and making the most of his practice reps. As i said, DeCastro will have to earn the RG spot.

    Speaking of guys using their practice reps to standout, OLB Chris Carter is having a terriffic camp. He’s playing under control, not near as head-heavy as he was last year and with 8-10 pounds of added size and strength, he’s looked good rushing the passer.

    If you hit Dino’s in Latrobe, try the Jumbalaya with rice. New Orleans good!

    I didn’t see this but my compadre, Tunch Ilkin, saw James Harrison working out on the treadmill in the weight room in camp. He was wearing a gas mask. I guess it simulates breathing at altitude. Or maybe Tunch had the Jumbalaya….

    Best sight in camp; after practice Carnell Lake, Larry Foote, and Ray Jackson ran a couple gassers down the length of the field. Kirby Wilson jumped in and ran with them. A fabulous sight to see to anybody who is a fan and admirer of Steelers RB coach Kirby Wilson, like me.

    [URL]http://craigwolfley.com/2012/08/more-stuff-from-camp/[/URL]
    Steel Maniac's Time-Based Prediction: Lamar Jackson will be a bust and total flop in the NFL.

    What Actually Happened: Lamar Jackson became the youngest two-time NFL MVP winner ever.

    Gloat gloat gloat


    Boom........

    Hahahahahahaha

  2. #2
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    If you see James Harrison running on a treadmill while wearing a gas mask, I would suggest getting the hell out of there immediately.
    Steeler teams featuring stat-driven, me-first, fantasy-football-darling diva types such as Antonio Brown & Le'Veon Bell won no championships.

    Super Bowl winning Steeler teams were built around a dynamic, in-your-face defense plus blue-collar, hard-hitting, no-nonsense football players on offense such as Hines Ward & Jerome Bettis.

    We don't want Juju & Conner to replace what we lost in Brown & Bell.

    We are counting on Juju & Conner to return us to the glory we once had with Hines & The Bus.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by RuthlessBurgher View Post
    If you see James Harrison running on a treadmill while wearing a gas mask, I would suggest getting the hell out of there immediately.

    He might not let you get out.






  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by RuthlessBurgher View Post
    If you see James Harrison running on a treadmill while wearing a gas mask, I would suggest getting the hell out of there immediately.
    Good one




    In view of the fact that Mike Tomlin has matched Cowhers record I give him the designation:

    TCFCLTC-
    The Coach Formerly Considered Less Than Cowher

  5. #5
    Pro Bowler

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    The rest of the NFL is prepping for surviving camp - James Harrison is preparing to survive the end of the world.
    It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust & sweat & blood...

  6. #6
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    Steelers defense dominates goal-line drill

    By Alan Robinson - Tribune-Review
    Published: Sunday, August 12, 2012

    • The Steelers were down to two running backs — Chris Rainey and Baron Batch, neither of whom has carried the ball in a regular-season game — for the second goal-line drill of training camp Sunday. Predictably, the defense dominated by stopping the offense on six of seven plays from just inside the 2-yard line. On the first three plays, the offense lost 8 yards. “From where I stood, it looked like Larry Foote owned the whole drill,” coach Mike Tomlin said.

    • Running back John Clay (hip/groin) was taken off the field on a cart in visible pain, while offensive lineman Doug Legursky strained a quadriceps and is listed as day to day. With Isaac Redman (groin) and Jonathan Dwyer (shoulder) sitting out for a second successive day, the running back corps was painfully thin even during a time when NFL teams are carrying 90 players. Tight end Jamie McCoy lined up some at fullback. Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, per usual for a Sunday, was given the day off. Wide receiver David Gilreath returned after being out Saturday.

    • Unlike the numerous younger players in camp who are trying to win jobs, outside linebacker Brandon Johnson is a seven-year veteran. With James Harrison and Jason Worilds still on the physically unable to perform list, Johnson got additional playing time and made two tackles, one for a loss, plus a special teams tackle against the Eagles on Thursday. He played one quarter at inside linebacker, another at outside linebacker. “I made some plays, but I’ve got to make more for the amount of time I was out there,” Johnson said. “I really only made a few good plays, so I’ve got to have a better understanding of my defense, where my help is.” Johnson started nine games for the Bengals in 2008 and made seven combined for them the last three seasons. He was a special teams standout in college at Louisville, blocking three punts in one season and scoring three touchdowns during his career.

    • Linebacker Stevenson Sylvester is also getting used to being Mr. Outside and Mr. Inside transition. As inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons showed when he moved outside last season, it can be a difficult adjustment. “There are no excuses that you don’t know that position, that it’s not your normal position,” said Sylvester, who played rover linebacker at Utah. “Once you’re out there in that position, it’s your normal position. … My normal position is in the middle. Being in the middle, you’re a nosy player, you’re always around the ball and you’re able to make a play at any certain time, just like a strong safety. Outside is great, especially in Dick LeBeau’s defense, but I love being in the middle.”

    • There’s an expression in football used by most teams: next man up. A player goes down, the next player in line steps in and is expected to perform at the same level as the starter. Tomlin’s alternative term for it is the standard is the standard. Tight end Heath Miller said that’s how the Steelers will respond to the season-ending knee injury by fullback-tight end David Johnson. For now, undrafted free agent Will Johnson is filling that position, but the tight ends — including Miller — also line up in the backfield at times. “I’ve lined up there quite a bit in the past. It’s nothing new for me,” Miller said. “But it’s never easy to see that [injury] happen. He was having such a good camp. I feel for him, but he’ll come back stronger, I believe that. But you never like to see them happen, especially the first preseason game.”

    [URL]http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2389401-85/johnson-linebacker-plays-outside-defense-inside-position-running-camp-drill[/URL]
    Steel Maniac's Time-Based Prediction: Lamar Jackson will be a bust and total flop in the NFL.

    What Actually Happened: Lamar Jackson became the youngest two-time NFL MVP winner ever.

    Gloat gloat gloat


    Boom........

    Hahahahahahaha

  7. #7
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    Steelers inside the ropes

    By Tribune-Review
    Published: Sunday, August 12, 2012



    Steelers reciever Emmanual Sanders beats Keenan Lewis during practice at St. Vincent College Aug. 11, 2012.

    • The Steelers used a league-high 25 different offensive line combinations last season. Through 21⁄2 weeks of training camp, the unit continues to shuffle along. Saturday’s practice saw Mike Tomlin switch things up a bit. Marcus Gilbert moved from right tackle to left tackle; Ramon Foster went from left guard to right tackle; and Willie Colon returned to left guard for the first time in a week because of an injury. Maurkice Pouncey (center) and David DeCastro (right guard) rounded out the top five. The change was made, in part, because of left tackle Mike Adams’ knee injury that kept him out of practice.

    • The competition period had Tomlin watching closely, as tight ends and defensive ends went one-on-one in a blocking drill. The tight ends got the best of the action. Leonard Pope beat Cameron Heyward twice; Weslye Saunders had his way with Corbin Bryant, and Jamie McCoy looked impressive against Bryant and then Ikponmwosa Igbinosun.

    • The competition period with the skill players was highlighted by an Antonio Brown 70-yard touchdown reception from Ben Roethlisberger over Ike Taylor.

    • Rookie safety Robert Golden made a pair of athletic plays to break up passes — one during 7-on-7 and another during the team scrimmage period. During 11-on-11, Roethlisberger rolled to his right and tried to hit Brown sitting down near the hash marks 20 yards downfield. Golden, an undrafted free agent, leaped and knocked the ball to the ground.

    • The biggest hit went to rookie third-round pick Sean Spence. Criticized from being too small, the 5-foot-11, 231-pound inside linebacker stood up fullback Will Johnson (6-2, 23 in the hole on an inside handoff, much to the delight of his teammates.

    • The temperature at St. Vincent College was the coolest so far during camp, barely reaching into the 70s.

    [URL]http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2373583-85/inside-tackle-ends-guard-period-practice-steelers-brown-bryant-camp[/URL]
    Steel Maniac's Time-Based Prediction: Lamar Jackson will be a bust and total flop in the NFL.

    What Actually Happened: Lamar Jackson became the youngest two-time NFL MVP winner ever.

    Gloat gloat gloat


    Boom........

    Hahahahahahaha

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