Position-by-position pre-camp analysis each day from Steelers.com

[RuthlessBurgher]

PRE-CAMP ANALYSIS: QBs
Posted 3 hours ago
Bob Labriola
Steelers.com



At QB, the camp competition for spots will be at the bottom of the depth chart.


This is the first in a series examining the Steelers’ roster on a position-by-position basis as we count down the days to the opening of the team’s 2015 training camp at Saint Vincent College.


QUARTERBACKS

Coach Mike Tomlin has proclaimed himself a three-quarterback guy, and when it comes to this position at training camp the only drama is going to be whether he remains a three-quarterback guy, and then if he does, who will emerge as No. 3.

Aside from that, there is absolutely nothing happening at the top of this unit’s depth chart. Ben Roethlisberger had a fine offseason, and with his new five-year contract in place he can have nothing on his mind except the business of winning football games and more championships.


Because Bruce Gradkowski is secure in his role as Roethlisberger’s backup, there will be little to see at camp as far as the top of the quarterback depth chart. Clearly, there is no realistic scenario that could unfold at camp – with the exception of change mandated by injuries – where Roethlisberger and Gradkowski emerge as anything except Nos. 1-2 on the depth chart for the start of the regular season.


At No. 3, now that’s where it could get interesting.


Landry Jones will be attending his third professional training camp, and it remains to be seen whether he can graduate to showing he deserves a spot on an NFL roster as opposed to being awarded one based on the position he plays.


“He has been a little up and down, but he’s working hard,” said offensive coordinator Todd Haley as OTAs were ending back in June. “That’s a tough spot to be in, being the third guy. He’s been thrust into getting more reps with Bruce Gradkowski being out (for some of the offseason program), so he has to take advantage of the opportunity.”


Through two preseasons of opportunities, Jones has completed 51.8 percent of his passes for 572 yards, with two touchdowns and four interceptions for a rating of 57.8. None of those numbers are good enough for someone wanting a job as an NFL quarterback, and so Jones goes into his third NFL season still having things to prove.


"This is an important year for me and my career," Jones told a reporter during minicamp. "It's also important for my future on this team. I need to go out there and prove I'm capable of making plays. The game is starting to slow down a little bit for me. It used to feel as if bodies were flying around me that rookie year. So, I've definitely gotten used to the speed of the game.


"I'm more comfortable with the offense. I'm recognizing things more, and I'm more confident in where I'm going with the football. There were some timing throws I wasn't as comfortable with (before) as I am now."


It has been theorized that Jones’ path to a job in the NFL was going to come from some combination of recognition and making correct decisions quickly on where to throw the football, because his arm strength isn’t difference-making.

The rest of the competition for the No. 3 quarterback job will come from first-year player Tajh Boyd, plus undrafted rookies Devon Gardner and Tyler Murphy, both of whom worked at the quarterback and wide receiver positions throughout the offseason program.


Boyd is a prime example of the differences between the way the position is played in college and the way NFL teams demand it be played in the pros. At Clemson, Boyd was a three-year starter who was voted first-team All-America, and ACC Player of the Year. He set an ACC record for touchdown passes, and he was voted MVP in a bowl game. But all of that came from a read-option offense, and as a sixth-round draft pick of the New York Jets in 2014, Boyd had to learn everything, down to how to call a play in the huddle


The Gardner-Murphy thing during the offseason had the feel of an experiment, because neither of those players was considered a quarterback by NFL scouts during the run-up to the draft. Gardner is intriguing because of his size – 6-foot-4, 216 pounds – and scouts are impressed with his grasp of receiver techniques and ability to implement them during on-field drills.

Even when Murphy was playing quarterback at Florida and Boston College during his two-stop college career, he was more of a runner/playmaker than the kind of guy who displayed the skills the NFL demands at the position. As the starting quarterback for Boston College in 2014, Murphy engineered an upset of ninth-ranked USC but he did it by rushing for 191 yards.


“Coach Tomlin’s plan is that we have a couple of dual-position guys, and we are trying to get them enough reps at both spots,” said Haley. “I think you will just see a rotation continue. But again, that’s up to Coach Tomlin.”


As is whether to keep three quarterbacks on the opening 53-man roster.


[URL]http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/PRE-CAMP-ANALYSIS-QBs/18670c84-e871-4ff6-8002-4963fd3c77c5[/URL]

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

I think that it is safe to say that if Jones does not make the cut then he will not be picked up anywhere else. The only thing that he has going for him in Pittsburgh is his three years experience in the system.

[RuthlessBurgher]

PRE-CAMP ANALYSIS: RBs

Posted 6 hours ago


Bob Labriola
Steelers.com

The Steelers like what they have as a 1-2 RB tandem heading into training camp.



This is another in a series examining the Steelers’ roster on a position-by-position basis as we count down the days to the opening of the team’s 2015 training camp at Saint Vincent College.

RUNNING BACKS

Similar to quarterback, this is a position where the competition during training camp will focus on the bottom of the depth chart, because the current No. 1 is among the best in the NFL. Le’Veon Bell was voted first-team All-Pro last season, and Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk believes Bell soon will have a season in which he rushes for 1,000 yards and catches passes for 1,000 yards.


Such an achievement doesn’t figure to happen in 2015 because of Bell’s suspension, and how the Steelers plan to manage his suspension will begin to unfold at Saint Vincent College.


“I don’t think it will play out a whole lot different, just because in training camp we are splitting the reps, and we are trying to evaluate guys,” said offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “We have DeAngelo Williams, Josh Harris, and Dri Archer, and some other guys who are still competing for opportunities. We have to get everybody ready and make decisions on who the best guys are.”


Because Williams is a 10th year NFL player, it’s not a question of whether he’s capable because he has rushed for 6,846 yards and averaged 4.8 per carry along the way. With Williams, it figures to be more about health, and so Coach Mike Tomlin will balance the practice/preseason repetitions in an effort to prepare the player for the start of the season without leaving too much of him on the fields in Latrobe.


“Getting a seasoned veteran like DeAngelo in here is a good thing,” said Haley. “He has played a lot of snaps and a lot of football. You can see it in how he carries himself. He is showing leadership to some of the younger guys. But at the same time I like our young guys who are developing.”


The young guys to whom Haley was referring are Josh Harris and Dri Archer, both going into their second NFL seasons. But since Archer arrived as a third-round pick and Harris as an in-camp free agent signing, the expectation level is dramatically different as are the roles each player will try to fill.


For Harris, it’s to show himself capable of being a traditional No. 2 running back during the length of Bell’s suspension. Carry the football, catch the occasional pass, step up and deliver in pass protection. Because the Steelers figure to utilize more than one running back in every regular season game, Harris will have to convince the coaches he can be trusted to play on Sept. 10 in New England.


Archer’s chore is similar, but he’ll be competing for a less traditional role. It makes little sense to expect someone who’s 5-foot-8 and 173 pounds to run the ball between the tackles and take on blitzing linebackers, and so the Steelers are expected to look for ways to maximize his difference-making speed.


“What I always like to talk about with them is that they are much more comfortable than where they were a year ago,” said Haley about Harris and Archer. “They know the lay of the land. They know how we practice. They have so much more experience under their belts, even though they maybe didn’t play a ton of snaps. Just the ability to get ready to compete and practice in training camp, they are way ahead of the game. It shows. Both guys look much more comfortable and understand what and how they are supposed to do it.”


Signed back on March 21, 2012, Will Johnson earned himself a roster spot as a fullback, and he has held onto the job ever since. When Bruce Arians was the offensive coordinator, the Steelers didn’t carry a fullback on their 53-man roster, but once Todd Haley was hired, there was a spot for one, and Johnson has filled it ever since.


Also on the roster are undrafted rookie running backs Ross Scheuerman and Cameron Stingily, plus first-year player Roosevelt Nix, who is trying to make the team as a fullback.


During his suspension, Bell won’t count on the 53-man roster, and the Steelers kept four players, including a fullback, to open the 2014 season. Should the team choose a similar path in 2015, there would seem to be a three-way competition among Harris, Stingily, and Scheuerman for one running back spot, with Johnson and Nix vying for the fullback role.


THURSDAY: Wide receivers


[URL]http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/PRE-CAMP-ANALYSIS-RBs/be264629-71c0-4375-93aa-8f56a5c00f6b[/URL]

[RuthlessBurgher]

PRE-CAMP ANALYSIS: WRs

Posted 3 hours ago


Bob Labriola
Steelers.com

Because of some top talents, making the roster at WR will be difficult.



This is another in a series examining the Steelers’ roster on a position-by-position basis as we count down the days to the opening of the team’s 2015 training camp at Saint Vincent College.

WIDE RECEIVERS

When it comes to the Steelers’ depth chart at the wide receiver position, there is a short-term view and a long-term view. The short-term view is to assess things in terms of who makes the 53-man roster because those are the decisions that have to be made first. The long-term view is to evaluate the competition among the wide receivers at camp and during the preseason in terms of how impactful the unit can become starting on Sept. 10 in Gillette Stadium.


With Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, and Martavis Bryant at the top of the depth chart, the Steelers’ wide receivers can present a formidable challenge to any pass defense in the NFL. Brown’s 129 catches last season represented the third-highest total in NFL history, Wheaton is an up-and-comer whose forte could end up being his run-after-catch ability, and Bryant is a guy who should get plenty of chances to benefit from Ben Roethlisberger’s ability to throw a football a long way.


As a concession to the short-term view, that’s three roster spots, with a fourth almost certainly to be allotted to rookie Sammie Coates. It took six weeks of regular season activity before Bryant convinced the coaching staff he was ready to play as a rookie, and Coates figures to need some seasoning as well.


“Right, we were hard on him,” said wide receiver coach Richard Mann about Bryant’s rookie season. “We held him out the first six or seven games because he wasn’t ready. And when he was ready, we let him go. The same thing is happening with Sammie Coates now.”


But Coates, the team’s No. 3 pick from Auburn has too much of what NFL teams want in a receiver to get cut as a rookie. Just not a realistic scenario. And if he is able to stay on the practice field and continue the development he was showing during the offseason program …

“(Coates is) showing me he’s a big kid who’s got some speed,” said Mann. “I think he might be tough, because I saw it on tape when I was watching college film. I also think he’s smart enough to learn the offense. With that said, we will see when the pads are on.”


So that makes four. The other spots on this depth chart – and the Steelers could keep as many as six receivers to open the regular season – will go to players with significant roles on special teams.


Darrius Heyward-Bey had a significant role on special teams last season, and he was re-signed during the offseason to a one-year deal. Shakim Phillips and Eli Rogers will get an opportunity to return kickoffs.


Also competing at the position will be C.J. Goodwin, who’s intriguing because of his size – 6-foot-3, 190 pounds – and some playmaking ability he flashed during the offseason program; and dual-position guys Devin Gardner and Tyler Murphy. That’s a total of 10 players competing for as many as six roster spots, with four of those already assumed to be taken.


Over the course of the 18 practices at Saint Vincent College that are open to the public, there will be a lot of interest paid to the battles for those roster spots, but the important work to be done by this unit during training camp and the preseason isn’t all about separating the six to keep from the group of 10. It’s more about how the top three, and then at some point later in the season, how the top four can help make the Steelers’ offense into one of the dominant units in the NFL.


To that end, the ability to stay on the field and get the repetitions with Roethlisberger is going to be critical. Working on their craft, refining their roles within the offense, learning to utilize what they can bring to the whole to make it something special. That is what really will be worth watching.


“I have the guys from last year and they’re stable,” said Mann. “There are a lot of suspects with the new guys. We haven’t gotten to tackling yet, and I’m old school. Right now, in shorts, they’re just learning the offense and how to run plays. They will show what they have when the time comes to tackle. That’s what I’m waiting on.”


That competition Mann describes will determine who wins the battle. What happens in terms of the development at the top of the depth chart will help determine whether the Steelers can win the war.


TOMORROW: Tight ends


[URL]http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/PRE-CAMP-ANALYSIS-WRs/8ebac5bf-7081-48dd-8b49-f5e2c46103ec[/URL]

[RuthlessBurgher]

PRE-CAMP ANALYSIS: TEs

Posted 3 hours ago



Bob Labriola
Steelers.com

The most important thing for the TE position is to get out of camp with Heath Miller healthy.



This is another in a series examining the Steelers’ roster on a position-by-position basis as we count down the days to the opening of the team’s 2015 training camp at Saint Vincent College.

TIGHT ENDS

In terms of this position on this particular Steelers team, the top priority should be to get to the start of the regular season with Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth both healthy.


It was back on Dec. 23, 2012 – in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field – when Miller sustained a serious injury to his right knee. After spending all of the ensuing offseason rehabilitating from surgery, Miller opened training camp in 2013 on the physically unable to perform list. He improved enough to be inactive only for the first two games of the regular season before going on to finish with 58 catches for 593 yards and one touchdown.


The process of overcoming the kind of injury Miller had sustained often requires a full calendar year, and there were some who misinterpreted that with him being at the end of his career. Able to utilize the 2014 offseason to get himself ready for the rigors of an NFL season instead of being forced to rehabilitate a serious injury, Miller rebounded with a season in which he started all 16 games and finished with 66 catches for 761 yards and three touchdowns.



As a player who will be 33 in October, Miller remains far and away the best tight end the Steelers have, and he still is a valuable dual-threat weapon at the position. He can expect to get the occasional day off during the rigors of training camp and the preseason, because the Steelers need him and it’s not as though there’s any question about his ability to get the job done if healthy.


Spaeth will be 32 in late November, and his recent injury history dates back to the 2013 training camp, his first with the Steelers following his return from two seasons with the Chicago Bears. During that summer, Spaeth injured a foot, and it required surgery. He opened that season on the injured reserve/designated to return list, and he didn’t get onto the field until Dec. 8 against the Miami Dolphins. Then with an entire offseason to get his body ready for a season, Spaeth came back in 2014 to start 15 games and provide the offense with the in-line blocking it needs to make the running game a success.


That’s the situation at the top of the depth chart here, with the third spot totally up for grabs.


The candidates include Rob Blanchflower, Jesse James, Michael Egnew, and Cameron Clear.


Blanchflower was the team’s seventh-round draft choice in 2014, and 24 hours after being waived during the final roster cut-down he was signed to the practice squad where he spent the entire season. He then was signed to a futures contract on Jan. 5.


Egnew (6-foot-5, 252 pounds) entered the NFL in 2012 as a third-round pick of the Miami Dolphins after catching 140 passes for 1,285 yards and eight touchdowns in his final two college seasons for the Missouri Tigers. But in his first two NFL seasons, Egnew played sparingly and had only seven catches for 69 yards before being waived.


James was the team’s fifth-round draft pick a few months ago, and Clear was among the group of undrafted rookies signed the next day.

In handicapping this competition, it’s wise to consider the way the Steelers choose to utilize their tight ends, and how the team is as likely to decide upon a player based on his blocking ability as it is to choose one based on his receiving skills to add to what it already has in Miller and Spaeth.


“I think there are enough teams like us that still value tight ends like Heath and Matt Spaeth who can block and be an integral part of what you are doing,” said offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “Like our free agent Cameron Clear – he has a big, good-looking body (6-5, 277), and he had only about six catches last year and wasn’t really on the field. It’s just what you value and what you think gives you the best chance to win. I think as long as we are all here, we will value a big tight end who can catch and block.”


TOMORROW: Offensive line


[URL]http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/PRE-CAMP-ANALYSIS-TEs/1a364000-110a-4aff-a100-e2e3bd00bad6[/URL]

[The Man of Steel]

I keep thinking that Jesse James and Matt Kranchick are the same guy.

[Oviedo]

I keep thinking that Jesse James and Matt Kranchick are the same guy.

The you haven't watched much of James

[Notleadpoisoned]

I keep thinking that Jesse James and Matt Kranchick are the same guy.

Both played TE at Penn State, both about 6'7 260, and both were/are late round draft picks. As far as ability goes I'm thinking that JJ is much more talented than MK.

[RuthlessBurgher]

PRE-CAMP ANALYSIS: Offensive line

Posted Jul 18, 2015


Bob Labriola
Steelers.com

There is no such thing for an NFL team as too much depth on the offensive line.



This is another in a series examining the Steelers’ roster on a position-by-position basis as we count down the days to the opening of the team’s 2015 training camp at Saint Vincent College.

OFFENSIVE LINE

With regards to its method of building an offensive line, the Steelers have come full circle.


In the early 2000s, the Steelers offensive line was composed of two No. 1 picks in Alan Faneca and Kendall Simmons, a No. 2 pick in Marvel Smith, and an unrestricted free agent signing who originally entered the league as a No. 1 pick in Jeff Hartings. When third-round pick Max Starks joined the unit on the team that won Super Bowl XL, the Steelers had themselves a group that was high-pedigree and highly paid.


In the second half of that decade, the Steelers seemed to have chosen to shop in the bargain bins for offensive linemen. Starks still was around, but he was joined by a No. 4 pick from Hofstra in Willie Colon, a sixth-round pick from Utah in Chris Kemoeatu, an undrafted rookie in Darnell Stapleton, and a veteran free agent picked up after being cut in Justin Hartwig, a player who himself had entered the league as a sixth-round draft pick. That was the group that started in Super Bowl XLIII.



The trend began to swing back the other way when the Steelers used a first-round pick in 2010 on Maurkice Pouncey, and when he showed himself to be better than everyone else before his rookie training camp even was two weeks old, maybe that was what re-convinced the team of the importance in investing in its offensive line. Today, the top seven players on the roster include two first-round picks (Pouncey and David DeCastro), and two second-round picks (Marcus Gilbert and Mike Adams). Add in Kelvin Beachum, a seventh-round pick in the same draft that brought DeCastro and Adams (pictured above), and it’s easy to see how the Steelers have changed course.


With players due to report to Saint Vincent College one week from today for the start of training camp, the status of the Steelers’ offensive line is it’s in better shape than it has been, but there remains room for improvement.


Because the average age of the presumed starters is 26.4 years, this group should be among the younger ones in the NFL, and it’s also one that has done its growing up together. Ramon Foster is the elder statesman as the left guard, and he is only 29 and joined the team in 2009. Pouncey came in 2010, Gilbert in 2011, DeCastro, Adams, and Beachum in 2012. Cody Wallace signed as a free agent pickup in 2013. And Mike Munchak was hired as the unit’s coach in 2014.


If the overall production of the offense is the measuring stick, the line had a nice year in 2014, certainly better than it fared in the previous couple of years, and one of the significant factors was stability. Beachum, Pouncey, and DeCastro all started 16 games at their respective positions. Foster missed two games, and he was replaced by Wallace both times; Gilbert missed four games and was replaced by Adams each time. That stability allowed the younger players to mature and the unit to jell.


The kind of stability that’s achieved from the combination of consistent individual play and good health again will be a key for this unit, but the same argument can be made for most NFL offensive lines. In Pittsburgh, the Steelers’ top seven offensive linemen from 2014 all return, and at least for the start of training camp the top seven all will return in the same roles they occupied last season. But because injuries are a factor of life in the NFL, even seven offensive linemen might not be enough to get a team through an entire season.


So where will the Steelers find their 2015 depth along the offensive line? And how many spots will they allocate for it?


Last season the Steelers opened with nine offensive linemen on their 53-man roster, and the group included three tackles (Beachum, Gilbert, Adams), three guards (Foster, DeCastro, Chris Hubbard), two centers (Pouncey, Wallace), and rookie Wesley Johnson, who was a backup at all five positions. Eight of the aforementioned nine players will be at Saint Vincent College when camp opens on July 25, and the coaching staff will be searching for another Johnson, who was lost to the New York Jets in a careless in-season roster move that had exposed him to waivers.


The competition for roster spots will come from tackles Alejandro Villanueva, Kevin Whimpey, and Mitchell Van Dyke, plus interior linemen Reese Dismukes, Miles Dieffenbach, and B.J. Finney.


Versatility will be valued, as will durability. Villanueva is an interesting story as a captain in the United States Army, with whom he serves as an Army Ranger who did three tours of duty in Afghanistan. Finney will be remembered as the Steelers fan who’s getting a chance to play for his favorite team. And Dieffenbach is certain to be described early as a bargain as an undrafted rookie because he’s a guy whose draft stock was ruined by a serious knee injury sustained during spring practice of his senior season.


But once the pads go on at Saint Vincent College, none of that will matter in the least. Mike Tomlin and Mike Munchak aren’t interested in storylines, only the kind of day in and day out dependability that leads to improvement on the practice field. Training camps are a grind, and for those players looking to crack the 53-man roster from the bottom of the depth chart, being on the field every day for practice is a necessity.


And in the end, the Steelers figure to open the 2015 season with eight offensive linemen. Maybe nine, but most probably eight.


TOMORROW: Special teams


[URL]http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/PRE-CAMP-ANALYSIS-Offensive-line/c877e4bd-31a4-498c-8adb-75aad0c9fcb7[/URL]

[RuthlessBurgher]

PRE-CAMP ANALYSIS: Special teams

Posted Jul 19, 2015



Bob Labriola

Steelers.com


Every summer, there are jobs won, as well as jobs lost, because of special teams.



This is another in a series examining the Steelers’ roster on a position-by-position basis as we count down the days to the opening of the team’s 2015 training camp at Saint Vincent College.

SPECIAL TEAMS

There is no competition for Shaun Suisham to be the placekicker, nor should there be. A perfect fit for the Steelers in terms of temperament, Suisham is awfully reliable and under contract through the 2018 season, both of which qualify to be listed under the category of good news. In the three seasons from 2012-14, Suisham was 56-for-58 (96.6 percent) between 30-49 yards, which is the distance where NFL coaches need to be confident in coming away with three points at the least. He’s also not intimidated by Heinz Field, which has been a problem for others who preceded him.


There also is no competition for Greg Warren as the long-snapper, nor should there be. Warren has been operating on year-by-year contracts now for some time, and a sign of what the team thinks of him could be found in the fact he signed his deal for 2015 on Feb. 4. His first season with the team was in 2005, and Warren has been the team’s long-snapper ever since, with the exception of the parts of 2008 and 2009 he missed because of torn knee ligaments. When healthy, he has been a consistent and reliable snapper, and as long as he’s those things, the one-year contracts figure to keep coming.


There will be two punters at training camp – Brad Wing and Jordan Berry – but it remains to be seen how much competition Berry is able to provide. It’s quite possible that Wing ultimately will be competing with the waiver wire.


Wing’s 43.7 gross average was 29th in the NFL and his 38.8 net was 20th – but one of the things Coach Mike Tomlin said last year about his then-rookie punter was that Wing showed an ability to bounce back quickly from whatever mistakes he might make. Tomlin expects big improvement in players as they transform from rookies into second-year players, and Wing will get a chance to live up to that. There also is the matter of holding for Suisham, and if Wing is the better man there, that will weigh heavily in his favor.


Berry replaced Richie Leone as the second punter on the Steelers offseason roster, and while his big leg was enough of a difference-maker during the offseason program, his high level of inexperience in the nuances the job demands at the NFL level is something he’ll have to find a way to overcome. Berry will get opportunities to show off his leg and to work on the art of directional punting, etc. And since most NFL offseason roster contain a couple of punters, the market will be flooded once cuts start to be made, there always is the possibility looming that the winner of Wing vs. Berry isn’t necessarily the punter in New England on Sept. 10.


As for the rest of the special teams, the reality is that while fans have a tendency to overlook this phase of the game while following training camp and predicting the final cuts, the coaching staff does not. And by keeping guys on the final roster based on making quality plays on special teams as late as the preseason finale, Tomlin has shown he means what he says about the importance of special teams, and that commitment is what special teams coordinator Danny Smith (pictured above) will be stressing throughout the training camp process.


It’s fair to point out that four roster spots were awarded at the start of the 2014 season based primarily on special teams, and those spots went to Darius Heyward-Bey, Michael Palmer, Terence Garvin, and Robert Golden. Midway through the season, Ross Ventrone was activated from the practice squad, and after making two special teams tackles in each of his first two games he stuck for the rest of the season.


Four of those aforementioned five players will be in Latrobe for the start of this training camp, and because they have experience – both in the art of playing special teams and in understanding how important that phase of the game is to their livelihood – they understand how to make themselves difficult to replace. Some of the other productive special teams players in 2014 were Vince Williams, Antwon Blake, Will Allen, and Will Allen. All of them will be in Latrobe in late July as well.


Also up for grabs could be the jobs of punt returner and kickoff returner. Antonio Brown has returned punts for touchdowns in each of the previous two seasons, and he has three for his career, but there usually comes a time when an All-Pro receiver with returning skills gives up those returning skills. Maybe this is the season for Brown, but maybe not.


Kickoff returns in 2014 were supposed to be handled by Dri Archer, but he was so ineffective he was benched and the job given to Markus Wheaton, whose 24.7 average on 20 returns represented a dramatic improvement by comparison. If Archer is to have a future with the Steelers, it seemingly will have to include returning kicks. Other candidates, based on repetitions during OTAs and minicamp, figure to be Shakim Phillips, Eli Rogers, Ross Scheuerman, and maybe some others.


In the end, there will be players who earn a spot on the roster because they can contribute on special teams, and there will be players who are cut because they didn’t.


TOMORROW: Defensive line


[URL]http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/PRE-CAMP-ANALYSIS-Special-teams/5dfb10e4-e9f5-4a2d-9f09-43d408dd5c9f[/URL]

[RuthlessBurgher]

PRE-CAMP ANALYSIS: Defensive line
Posted 3 hours ago


Bob Labriola
Steelers.com

There are high hopes for Stephon Tuitt as he is about to enter his second NFL season.



This is another in a series examining the Steelers’ roster on a position-by-position basis as we count down the days to the opening of the team’s 2015 training camp at Saint Vincent College.

DEFENSIVE LINE

For months of the offseason, it was an unanswered question. And even though it officially was posed to Keith Butler on June 11, it remains an unanswered question. How will the Steelers defense be different now that he’s the coordinator?


“There will be some things that are different, yes,” said Butler. “There are some things we did well last year. We have to try to marry two things, the things that we did well last year and maybe some things we haven’t done here before. We are going to try to do those. I think we’re getting better at it right now. We still have a long ways to go, but I like what I’m seeing right now. Hopefully it will be even better in pads.”


See? Still unanswered. But if guesswork will suffice, look for the Steelers defensive linemen to do more than just occupy blockers and clog lanes starting in 2015. Look for them to penetrate and make plays that way. Which only makes sense, because that tactic would suit this personnel.


This group is younger and more athletic than recent incarnations of the defensive line, and it only would make sense to marry the scheme with the talent. Twelve candidates will report to training camp, with the likelihood being that half of them will get cut.


It’s not correct to call Cam Heyward a finished product, but he is a known commodity. Based on his play and his presence, it’s fair to see Heyward as part of the foundation for this new-look defense. Once a unit riddled with thirtysomethings, the 11 starting players on defense during OTAs and minicamp had an average age of 26.1. The only 30-year-old was William Gay.


“We’ve got to find some guys, but we’re not just looking to plug holes,” Heyward said. “As much as we’ve had guys here, we’re looking for guys to be mainstays and looking for guys to produce every day. We’re not just looking for someone to stick in there and say, ‘Hey, just go out and play.’ We’re looking for guys to be successful. That’s the way we have to look at it. You see the history and traditions around here, we’re not going to settle for anything less.”


With regards to Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, and Steve McLendon, it’s not an issue of making the roster as much as it is having a positive impact on the team. And that means as individuals as well as parts of the unit.


Tuitt came to the Steelers as a 20-year-old second-round draft pick on May 9, 2014, and by the end of his rookie season he was looking like a playmaking defensive end. Big guys who can run are valuable components of a defensive unit, and Tuitt’s blend of size and relentlessness make him a potential factor every time the ball is snapped.


“We have a lot of draft choices in the front seven,” said Butler. “We’ve got to use those draft choices in the front seven, not only the linebackers but Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt. Those guys are talented. We will use them, too. We can’t let them always take up for the linebackers, or try to take people on for the linebackers. We have to let them play football, too.”


McLendon, 29, is going into the final year of his current contract, and this follows a 2014 season in which a shoulder injury forced him to miss four games in October and November. He returned to play in the final four games of the regular season, all of which the Steelers won to claim the AFC North Division title. McLendon had surgery this offseason to repair the damaged shoulder.


“I went ahead and got it fixed,” McLendon said. “Now I’m back healthy, and I can use it. I regained all my strength and range of motion. I can help my team out now. I don’t have to worry about any more setbacks or time off. I don’t have any worries. I took the necessary steps to get ready for this year.”


The rest of it, once you get beyond the starting three, figures to turn into a wide open competition. Daniel McCullers will be interesting to watch as one of those players who’s expected to make a significant improvement as a player heading into his second NFL season. Other guys with some NFL experience are veteran Cam Thomas, who fell short of expectations as a free agent signing last year, and 6-foot-9 Clifton Geathers, whose non-stop motor during practice has rubbed some of the offensive linemen the wrong way and led to scuffles.


L.T. Walton was the team’s first pick in the sixth round of the 2015 draft. Joe Kruger and Ethan Hemer spent time on the Steelers’ practice squad last year. Matt Conrath first signed with the St. Louis Rams in 2012 as an undrafted rookie from Virginia, where he was forced to switch from a 3-4 end to a 4-3 tackle after Coach Al Groh was fired. In eight games as an NFL rookie, Conrath recorded one sack. Mike Thornton and Niko Davis were signed as undrafted rookies by the Steelers after the 2015 draft.


The Steelers opened the 2014 season with six defensive linemen on the 53-man roster, and so the story in August will be about the competition that separated the players the team kept from the ones cut. But the story from that point on – and the more important story in the long run – will be about the kind of impact these linemen have on this defense in 2015.


TOMORROW: Linebackers


[URL]http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/PRE-CAMP-ANALYSIS-Defensive-line/d853f54d-74c5-4693-9c26-aa3ec1e33ff4[/URL]

[Oviedo]

Music to my ears

But if guesswork will suffice, look for the Steelers defensive linemen to do more than just occupy blockers and clog lanes starting in 2015. Look for them to penetrate and make plays that way. Which only makes sense, because that tactic would suit this personnel.

Wow isn't this a radical concept

it only would make sense to marry the scheme with the talent

But I'm sure Labriola is just a "hater" too. Why else would he say what I have been saying for three years now? Just hope Butler follows through with changes since he is creating his system and won't feel obligated to perpetuate one that hasn't been working

[Slapstick]

Not a "hater"...just not entirely accurate:

[URL]http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2013/8/6/4594094/steelers-defense-scheme-technique-dick-lebeau-brett-keisel[/URL]

In a manner of speaking, at least. [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/pittsburgh-steelers"]Steelers[/URL] defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is asking his defensive ends to get up the field more, taking on more of the look of a one-gap defensive end, as opposed to the two-gap style they've traditionally had.
...
"In years past, when we had James and LaMarr, it was mostly just push the pocket, try to collapse the pocket, make the quarterback flush and those guys would be there to clean him up," [URL="http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/coordinator-lebeau-gives-steelers-defensive-ends-new-assignment-698268/"]Steelers DE Brett Keisel told the Post-Gazette.[/URL] That's what we were taught."

[URL]http://www.post-gazette.com/steelers/2013/08/06/Coordinator-LeBeau-gives-Steelers-defensive-ends-new-assignment/stories/201308060116[/URL]

Since the outside linebackers have not done the job the past two seasons, defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau has thrown a wrinkle in his defense to try to make up for it. He wants his defensive ends to alter their technique to enable them to pick up the slack.
...
"We've kind of changed our techniques [from] years past until now," said Keisel...

It was already implemented by LeBeau...it just was against the tradition. Those articles were from 2013.

[RuthlessBurgher]

PRE-CAMP ANALYSIS: LBs
Posted 3 hours ago


Bob Labriola
Steelers.com

At LB, there's going to be a difference between making the team and making an impact.



This is another in a series examining the Steelers’ roster on a position-by-position basis as we count down the days to the opening of the team’s 2015 training camp at Saint Vincent College.

LINEBACKERS

There will be 14 of them at Saint Vincent College when training camp opens, and four of those 14 entered the league as No. 1 draft picks. Clearly the Steelers have invested in this important position, and it’s time for that investment to start paying dividends.


Like the situation at so many other positions, the Steelers go into this 2015 training camp with a pretty good idea of ‘who’ their linebackers will be, but it’s the ‘how much’ will they contribute to the defense that’s going to end up telling the tale. The starters when camp opens are going to be Arthur Moats, Lawrence Timmons, Ryan Shazier, and Jarvis Jones, and it would help if those four got to spend a lot of time on the practice fields together this summer. Shazier had his development as a rookie slowed by a training camp injury.


“Well, when I talked to Ryan he was disappointed with last year, not playing a lot,” said inside linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky. “He has to realize it's a different game than college, and he's not head and shoulders above everyone athletically. There are a lot more people closer to him in terms of ability. So we're working on things, keeping his legs clean. He got hurt because he got rolled-up twice. If you don't get rolled up, then you don't get hurt.”


And if you don’t get hurt, the rhythm that develops from repetitions together begins to show itself in games.



Like Shazier, Jones is a former No. 1 pick who has had his development slowed by injury. There were some nicks during camp in 2013, but the big injury for him was the dislocated wrist in the third game of the 2014 season. At the time he was hurt, Jones had two sacks plus a pressure in five halves of football.


“I thought Jarvis was playing good last year until he got hurt,” said outside linebackers coach Joey Porter, “so it doesn’t bother me on how it ended last year with Jarvis.”


When Jones came to the Steelers as the 17th player drafted in 2013, he was coming off two seasons at Georgia where he led the NCAA in sacks both times, where he had 28 sacks in 26 games. It’s believed Jones will be productive in the NFL, because he has shown a knack for being around the football. This Steelers defense is going to need a big dose of that.


“I’ve been encouraged with Jarvis,” Porter said. “I think Jarvis has had a good offseason. He’s getting stronger. He’s doing some things that he knows he needs to do to get better for this year. He’s not naive to know what he’s done so far. It doesn’t meet his standards, and he knows there’s a lot more in there.”


The development of Jones and Shazier, both as individuals and as components in their defensive unit, is a box that must be checked off during this training camp. Timmons is the third No. 1 pick among the starters, and he turned in a Pro Bowl season in 2014. Arthur Moats figures to open the season as the starter at left outside linebacker, with the hope being that 2015’s No. 1 pick – Bud Dupree – can become a contributor in situations as the season progresses.


There is depth here, too. Nice depth. In addition to Dupree, the second group includes Sean Spence and Vince Williams as inside linebackers, and there is James Harrison backing up Jones on the right side. Porter explained the plan during the draft as being one where Harrison is subbed into games for around 25 snaps per, and he reiterated that as the offseason program was concluding.


“He’s a professional,” said Porter about Harrison. “He’s been in this league a long time, and it is what it is. I’m not here to make a deal with anybody. I’m here to coach my position. No matter the situation, he knows I have his best interest in mind, and I’ve said it before. He knows where we are, and he’s going to give me what I ask him to give me.”


That’s eight linebackers right there, and eight was the number of linebackers on the 53-man roster when the Steelers opened the 2013 season. Injuries certainly are going to be a factor, because they always are, and while injuries to the front-line players certainly might slow overall development, injuries to guys at the bottom of the depth chart will kill any realistic chance of them making the team.


The other six players at this position cannot allow themselves to get bogged down in playing the numbers game, because each one has something going for him that could allow him to make this team. Those six include Shawn Lemon, Howard Jones, Anthony Chickillo, Jordan Zumwalt, Terence Garvin, and Shayon Green. And understand that Garvin was one of the eight on the roster last year because he makes a lot of tackles on special teams. His 15 tackles on special teams last season, in fact, tied him for the tam lead with Vince Williams.


Fans attending one or more of the 18 practices to be open to the public during this camp can see for themselves whether Lemon flashes the pass rush ability that helped him post 13 sacks in the CFL last year; whether Jones is any more ready to play in the NFL now that he’s one year further removed from playing his college football for the Shepherd Rams; whether Zumwalt or Chickillo turns out to be the better sixth-round draft pick; and whether Green can overcome the two serious knee injuries he sustained in college.


Yes, the competition is going to be fierce among the linebackers during training camp. How many of them are going to make the team? And how many of those who make the team are going to make a difference?


TOMORROW: Cornerbacks


[URL]http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/PRE-CAMP-ANALYSIS-LBs/25ccf051-7f4f-4a2b-bbe4-f581185fc288[/URL]

[RuthlessBurgher]

PRE-CAMP ANALYSIS: CBs
Posted 3 hours ago


Bob Labriola
Steelers.com

The cornerback position will be one of the most scrutinized at this training camp.



This is another in a series examining the Steelers’ roster on a position-by-position basis as we count down the days to the opening of the team’s 2015 training camp at Saint Vincent College.

CORNERBACKS

It’s not to the same degree as Ben Roethlisberger, that’s for sure, but the Steelers’ success in 2015 definitely is tied to the performance they get from Cortez Allen. That’s right. A fifth-year cornerback prospect is going to have a lot to say about whether the Steelers improve upon a season that included both an AFC North Division championship and a one-and-done in the playoffs.


“I think Cortez enters the (2015) season where he left off (in 2014),” said General Manager Kevin Colbert back in February at the NFL Scouting Combine. “We have to find out about Cortez and whether he can accept the challenge of being a starting NFL cornerback. He showed signs of that in the past. He was productive in spurts for us in the past. Again, you invest in players you think can be good players.”


The Steelers invested in Allen last summer, and so far it has paid no dividends. After signing him to a five-year contract worth a reported $26 million, Allen started the season’s first seven games and contributed two interceptions and eight passes defensed in them. But over the course of those starts, his play was in decline, and after getting benched following the win over the Houston Texans on Oct. 20, Allen would injure his thumb against Tennessee on Nov. 17 and land on the injured reserve list.


And so it will be that the Steelers will look “to find out about Cortez and whether he can accept the challenge of being a starting NFL cornerback” – quite possibly for the final time, one way or another – starting with this 2015 training camp.


“I think we have to look at it realistically, and say this is where he is, this is where we need him to be,” said Colbert. “We are going to support him as he tries to get back to that spot.”


There will be support, but one reality of the NFL is that fifth-year players are expected to produce, or else. The Steelers doubled-down on Allen when the team elected to pay him a $3 million roster bonus in the spring of this year.


“I’m here to support him, try to help him with his game, from technical to physical to mental, whatever I can do,” said defensive backs coach Carnell Lake. “Hopefully, with diligent work every day, that will give him confidence to go out and play confident. Corners have to play with confidence. The only way you get confidence is to make plays and be consistent in practice.”


As to the rest of the depth chart here, William Gay, who turned 30 on New Year’s Day, is the senior member of the cornerbacks as well as the oldest starter on a defense that had seven thirtysomethings starting as recently as 2011 and six starting in 2012. Besides seniority, Gay also is a leader and the unit’s best player. He has the longest consecutive games played streak among all NFL defensive backs at 128, and his three pick-sixes in 2014 set a franchise record.


Dependability and productivity are qualities the Steelers are looking to develop quickly in their two rookie draft picks – No. 2 Senquez Golson and No. 4 Doran Grant. During Coach Mike Tomlin’s time collaborating on drafts with Colbert, the Steelers have had some success in using multiple draft picks on a position they are trying to strengthen quickly. When it worked best, it was linebackers in 2007 (Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley), receivers in 2010 (Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown), and offensive linemen in 2012 (David DeCastro, Mike Adams, Kelvin Beachum). They’re giving it another try with Golson and Grant.


Six cornerbacks were among the opening 53-man roster for the 2014 regular season, and the competition for spots should be fierce this summer even though Brice McCain, a nine-game starter, left for Miami in March as an unrestricted free agent.


Antwon Blake (pictured above) ended the 2014 season as the nickel back and recorded a key takeaway by recovering a fumble he forced in the division-clinching win in Cincinnati, but just as significant toward his case for a roster spot is what he is capable of contributing on special teams. He was tied for fourth with seven special teams tackles last season, and special teams is going to have a lot to do with who stays and who goes come cut-down day.


B.W. Webb came to the team as a waiver wire pickup before the 2014 season opened, and he was active for 10 regular season games, during which he contributed two special teams tackles. Kevin Fogg, who had already been waived by the Dolphins, was added to the practice squad in December and then signed to a futures contract on Jan. 5. Fogg reportedly ran a 4.49 in the 40-yard dash, had a vertical jump of 33 inches, and a broad jump of 10-4 inches prior to the 2014 draft, but there is a theory he needed more seasoning after playing for Liberty University of the Sun Belt Conference.


These are the seven cornerbacks on the Steelers’ training camp roster right now. The team is going to need a couple of them to use their time at Saint Vincent College to show they deserve to be on an NFL roster, and the Steelers also are going to need one to show he can be a starter opposite William Gay.


TOMORROW: Safeties


[URL]http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/PRE-CAMP-ANALYSIS-CBs/c48040c1-e4b1-42a4-a1a4-8961bdac2d65[/URL]