Another Day At Training Camp

[DukieBoy]

Thanks for the write-up, Flip. Lots of good news in there.

[flippy]

Me too. He impressed me most as a receiver out of the wideouts who played in second half scrub time, plus he can contribute to ST's as a returner.

I think the JB as a punt returner isn't going to happen because he wasn't working with those guys any longer.

[flippy]

Or, another way, JPW was all over the fans, Ben avoided the fans...Who do you want under center week 1?

The thing with athletes is that htey are being watched 24/7. They don't get the benefit of the doubt for that one moment of indiscretion and many are wary of that. Imagine never being able to have a bad moment. That is why I never read much into the "I met him one time and he didn't sign my autograph" accounts. You never know if it is because the guy is a jerk or a good guy having a bad moment.

I wasn' t trying to get anyone's autograph. Just noticing kids screaming there heads off for some of these guy and watching some of these guys stare at the ground and avoid any eye contact/interaction whatsoever.

As an example, Larry Foote was walking by and he had a group of people with him visiting practice. He walked by talking to everyone and told the kids he had people with him that he was hosting and didn't have time to stop and sign autographs. On the other hand, there were some guys like Woodley who walked by and seemed to pretend there was no one standing there whatsoever. Then there were guys like Troy that stopped and signed stuff for kids and didn't crack a smaile let alone say a word. He looked beyond irritated by the kids both days. Although he must have a major headache from the screams. Then there were a couple guys like Heath who seemed to flip a switch. He was walking by somehow ignoring the kids' screams and then must have realized what he was doing and then all of a sudden turned into a super engaging guy.

At the end of the day, I realize these are people and some are nice and some aren't. And these guys are really young for the most part and probably aren't aware of what they're doing or being intentional about it. But I'd say everyone could try to be nice. Larry Foote was nice even though he didn't sign anything. I don't even think an autograph is a big deal. Just high five a kid. Or smile. Or say hello.

I'm not trying to pass any judgement on these players. I guess I just feel bad that many of them don't seem to be enjoying themselves. Could you imagine how much fun you'd be having if you were a Steeler? I guess I'm more noticing some guys seem to love being there and I don't get why they all don't feel that way.

[flippy]

I don't think Butler was a bad as people say he was last year. When you really look at the numbers, there's not that much difference between the #1 guy and the #32 guy. His gross avg was 43.6. He was within 7 yards of the #1 guy. His net was 39.2 and that was just under 5 yards from the top. People act as if punters are routinely booming 65 yarders and the Steelers have a guy hitting 30 yarders. It's just no true.

I seem to remember all of Butler's booming punts coming when we were around the opponent 40 yard line. And I remember his worst kicks coming when we were backed up into our endzone.. I think his situational punting was far worse than his stats reveal. The averages are always going to look close no matter how good/bad a punter is because everyone has to punt some on a short field a number of times.

[phillyesq]

On the autograph thing, I've never been to training camp, but I did hit spring training once. For the most part, the guys most willing to sign were the minor leaguers and the younger fringe players. The stars would jump into a tinted out SUV or whatever and blast through the parking lot. The younger guys spent a lot of time engaging.

I'm not sure if you have this as much with football, but there were a ton of adults trying to get signatures who very clearly intended to sell the memorobilia. I would be annoyed by that and wouldn't sign, either.

By the way, Flippy, thanks for the camp reports.

[flippy]

On the autograph thing, I've never been to training camp, but I did hit spring training once. For the most part, the guys most willing to sign were the minor leaguers and the younger fringe players. The stars would jump into a tinted out SUV or whatever and blast through the parking lot. The younger guys spent a lot of time engaging.

I'm not sure if you have this as much with football, but there were a ton of adults trying to get signatures who very clearly intended to sell the memorobilia. I would be annoyed by that and wouldn't sign, either.

By the way, Flippy, thanks for the camp reports.

I probably wouldn't sign either. But I'd talk to the kids and pose for pics. The adults trying to get autographs seems kinda silly to me.

[fordfixer]

Thanks for the camp updates Flip

[phillyesq]

I probably wouldn't sign either. But I'd talk to the kids and pose for pics. The adults trying to get autographs seems kinda silly to me.

Unless you are getting one for your kid, yeah, I hear ya.

[Shawn]

I like autographed sports memorbilia. Does't seem silly to me in the slightest.

[Decleater]

Excellent read & thanks!

[RuthlessBurgher]

I probably wouldn't sign either. But I'd talk to the kids and pose for pics. The adults trying to get autographs seems kinda silly to me.

Me too. I don't get the autograph thing. A handshake and a picture seem so much more valuable to me in terms of a memory than some illegible scribble.

[hawaiiansteel]

Inside the ropes: Steelers work on 2-minute drill

By Mark Kaboly
Published: Wednesday, August 14, 2013

The Steelers worked on their two-minute drill during practice Wednesday evening at St. Vincent but not with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger or any other first-team skill guys. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wanted to replicate who likely would be on the field during Monday's game against Washington during a two-minute situation at the end of the half or game. Neither Bruce Gradkowski nor Landry Jones fared well as both threw game-ending interceptions. Josh Victorian intercepted Gradkowski's third-down pass intended for Jerricho Cotchery, and rookie Shamarko Thomas picked off Jones a couple of plays into the third team's reps.

• Rookie outside linebacker Jarvis Jones worked plenty with the first-team defense as Jason Worilds watched from the sidelines. Worilds later returned to the first team, and Jones slid back to the second team.

• Former Steelers offensive line Tunch Ilkin was working with the linebackers on hand drills by having hand target pads on and showing the group the proper way to shed blocks by using their hands.

• Kicker Shaun Suisham is better known for his accuracy than ability to make long kicks. However, Suisham showed off his leg during Family Day at camp Wednesday. He kicked a 60-yard field goal during special teams coach Danny Smith's “May Day” drill, which calls for rushing onto the field for a last-second attempt with the clock running. Suisham's kick would have been good from at least 65 yards.

• The Steelers continued to shuffle their backup offensive linemen. Kelvin Beachum took reps at center and left tackle and John Malecki snaps at center and left guard. Guy Whimper and Mike Golic Jr. continued to play right guard; both started camp at tackle.

• Speedster Reggie Dunn didn't have a chance to show off his speed on special teams during last week's preseason game, but he showed a glimpse as a receiver. During 11-on-11, Dunn crossed the middle, made a catch and outraced Thomas, DaMon Cromartie-Smith and Vince Williams for a substantial gain.

• The Steelers spent a significant time working on underneath passing with a lot of inside crosses, but Roethlisberger was able to let loose on a 50-yard bomb down the right sideline to Emmanuel Sanders that beat Victorian. Roethlisberger was 5 for 5 during the “passer under pressure” drill.

[URL]http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...#ixzz2c1iLvJTU[/URL]