Seems like the major competition in Latrobe will be on the defensive side this summer

[RuthlessBurgher]

You do not think a battle for Starting Tackle, sorting out rbs roles per down and distance, 6th and 7th offensive lineman, starting wideout, and starting first line slot is enough on O?

I'm talking about competition for making the final 53 man roster or not. Surely there will be intriguing battles for roles throughout the roster.

On offense, it seems as if for the vast majority of those positions, there would appear to be a clear line of demarcation between guys who should be on the final 53 and guys who will likely just be competing for practice squad roles.

Whereas on defense, particular among the LB and DB groups, there could be a lot of ways we could go. Should be very unpredictable...we could see veteran high picks cut, AAF imports or UDFA make the team, bottom of the roster guys battling it out on special teams in the preseason, who knows...

[hawaiiansteel]

Want To Cut Tyler Matakevich? Think Again

By Alex Kozora
Posted on May 1, 2019

I know the Pittsburgh Steelers brought in three new toys for fans to get excited about: Devin Bush, Sutton Smith, and Ulysees Gilbert III. It’s fun to think about their potential, their role, how they’ll help the Steelers win. And sure, hopefully they will. For Kevin Colbert’s sake, Bush better. And I think he will.

At the same time, it’s easy to be anxious about running the current players out of the room. There’s already been tons of turnover the last nine months in that inside linebacker room. L.J. Fort went to Philadelphia. Matthew Thomas left as quickly as he came. And Jon Bostic was axed hours after the draft. Since, I’ve gotten tons of comments that Tyler Matakevich should be the next to go. Out with the old, in with the new.

Let me quote Lee Corso here. Not so fast, my friend.

I mean, sure, release Tyler Matakevich. That is, assuming you want to make the Steelers special teams worse. Maybe then you’ll have a good case to can Danny Smith.

Far as I’m concerned? Matakevich has a roster spot until someone proves they can do his job better.

And let’s make his role clear. Should this dude sniff the field defensively? No way. His style is the antithesis of the evolution of the game. Speed. Versatility. Playing outside the tackle box. There’s a reason why Colbert grabbed every linebacker who even came close to a 4.5 40. But that’s not Dirty Red’s role and well all know it. Instead, he’s an elite – yeah, I said it – special teamer. And no rookie is going to replace him without proving a similar caliber of play.

Since Matakevich was drafted in 2016, no Steeler has more special teams tackles than him. Here’s the top five and look, it ain’t even close.

Tyler Matakevich: 29
Roosevelt Nix: 17
L.J. Fort: 13
Anthony Chickillo: 12
Darrius Heyward-Bey: 10

Combined, Nix and Fort have just one more tackle than Matakevich has. But ok, you say, that’s just the Steelers. Play anyone enough and they’re bound to luck themselves into tackles. Let’s look at the top five from the entire league.

Michael Thomas: 34
Nate Ebner: 29
Tyler Matakevich: 29
Brynden Trawick: 28
Justin Bethel: 28

Three of those names, Thomas, Trawick, and Bethel have all made the Pro Bowl. Frankly, Matakevich has deserved a bid there.

Is he fast? No. Does that matter for special teams? Nope.

Think about the great special teams players of this century. Sean Morey. Clint Kriedwalt. Patrick Bailey. Roosevelt Nix. Vince Williams. Chidi “You Better Believe I’m Including Him In Every Article I Can” Iwuoma. Any of those dude burners? Nah. But you better believe they impacted the return game.

Practically, the numbers work too. Here’s how the linebacker group could look by Week One:

Outside Linebackers

TJ Watt
Bud Dupree
Anthony Chickillo
Ola Adeniyi
Sutton Smith

Inside Linebackers

Vince Williams
Mark Barron
Devin Bush
Ulysees Gilbert III
Tyler Matakevich

That’s ten total, yes a little heavy, but only by one. All it takes is for one of those 6th rounders, Smith or Gilbert, to land on the practice squad and boom, you’re at the usual nine. Isaiah Buggs is probably going to make the team but it’s hard to envision all three 6th round selections making the roster out of the gate. This isn’t a rebuilding team with loads of roster spots up for grabs.

Rosters needs strong starters. They need quality backups when injuries inevitably happen. But you also need a couple of core special teamers for roster spots 50-53. That’s what Matakevich brings. Intensity, competitiveness, and stellar production running down kicks and punts.

Cut him and your team is instantly worse. No debate about it. He should – and likely will – remain a Steeler in 2019.

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/05/want-to-cut-tyler-matakevich-think-again/

[Iron City Inc.]

Alex loves the underdog overachiever types. He's right though it's a job that someone will have to take from Dirt Red. One guy who could knock Red out that he did not mention is Marcus Allen. Allen is a box safety who can flat out run n hit. So he is the hybrid type with good speed who will be in the mix this summer with a year under his belt.

[Steel Maniac]

Alex loves the underdog overachiever types. He's right though it's a job that someone will have to take from Dirt Red. One guy who could knock Red out that he did not mention is Marcus Allen. Allen is a box safety who can flat out run n hit. So he is the hybrid type with good speed who will be in the mix this summer with a year under his belt.

We need to upgrade of Big Red. We had special teams before him and we can have special teams without him.

[Oh wow]

I think Samuel is going to get more touches and light replace Conner if his hands don’t improve.

I was really impressed with Samuels vision as a RB. He has to improve his blocking though.

I could see them splitting time 50/50.

Snell is no slouch either. Kentucky couldn’t throw at all and straight up ground and pounded it’s way throw the SEC which isn’t easy to do. Not sure what his blocking and hands are like but I look forward to the competition in camp.

[Northern_Blitz]

We need to upgrade of Big Red. We had special teams before him and we can have special teams without him.

I'd take an upgrade of everyone on the roster.

There will be some guys on the roster who are almost pure ST guys (Big Red, Heyward-Bey, Chidi from the past). If Red's the 52nd or 53rd guy on the roster, I don't think it's terrible if he really only plays special teams (or gets snaps on D in case of emergency).

[Disco1981]

I'd take an upgrade of everyone on the roster.

There will be some guys on the roster who are almost pure ST guys (Big Red, Heyward-Bey, Chidi from the past). If Red's the 52nd or 53rd guy on the roster, I don't think it's terrible if he really only plays special teams (or gets snaps on D in case of emergency).

I think therin lies the problem...Love the guy but he should NEVER get snaps on D, especiall now

[Northern_Blitz]

I think therin lies the problem...Love the guy but he should NEVER get snaps on D, especiall now

I think we tend to keep 9 LBs. I bet that every year there are 2-3 that we don't want to ever get snaps on D.

LB seems like a natural place to find good ST players to me.

[hawaiiansteel]

Marcus Allen’s Time On The Bench May Be Over

By Alex Kozora
Posted on May 7, 2019

Like any college starter turned rookie, Marcus Allen hated sitting on the bench in 2018. That patience may have finally paid off. Allen is poised to have a key role in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense this season. After failing to draft a safety, Mike Tomlin pointed to Allen as one of the players they anticipate having a key role in the Steelers’ sub-package defense.

A stark contrast to what he experienced as a rookie. Allen struggled to get a hat on Sunday’s and wound up playing 30 snaps. Total. 18 on defense, most of that coming in the “no smoke” loss against the Chargers, and an additional 12 on defense.

“Throughout my whole football career I’ve never had to sit the bench and wait for my opportunity,” he recently told Steelers.com’s Teresa Varley. “It was new to me. It definitely humbled me and matured me more.”

Not even during his true freshman season at Penn State did Allen sit on the bench. He played all 13 games, making seven starts, and received several accolades to All-Freshman teams. By his next season, he was their full-time starting safety. Injuries never left him on the sidelines too, missing one game in college. So sitting the way he did last year was brand new.

He took it in stride the best he can, utilizing practice as his gameday.

“I treated practice like a game. Practice for me is fun. Coach Tomlin always told me to stay ready, even if you’re not up stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.”

It’s a similar story we’ve heard from players like Josh Dobbs. When he was the #3 QB as a rookie, he routinely found receivers to throw with after practice. By the next year, Dobbs became the backup. For Allen, he’ll be in-line to log significant snaps.

Should he be Pittsburgh’s dime defender, and he’s the leader in the clubhouse, Allen may play north of 300 snaps. Last year, the team ran their 2-3-6 dime defense more than 37% of the time, most of any personnel grouping. Perhaps that gets reduced a bit after signing Mark Barron and drafting Devin Bush but even if that happens, dime will be used on 3rd and long and obvious passing situations (end of half, end of game).

The defense has struggled to find a competent dime defender since introducing it as part of their personnel groupings a few years ago. They’ve cycled through Robert Golden, William Gay, and Morgan Burnett as primary options. All three of those had short-lived roles in that spot, struggling to cover receivers and make splash plays in space.

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/05/marcus-allens-time-on-the-bench-may-be-over/

[Steel Maniac]

Marcus Allen’s Time On The Bench May Be Over

By Alex Kozora
Posted on May 7, 2019

Like any college starter turned rookie, Marcus Allen hated sitting on the bench in 2018. That patience may have finally paid off. Allen is poised to have a key role in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense this season. After failing to draft a safety, Mike Tomlin pointed to Allen as one of the players they anticipate having a key role in the Steelers’ sub-package defense.

A stark contrast to what he experienced as a rookie. Allen struggled to get a hat on Sunday’s and wound up playing 30 snaps. Total. 18 on defense, most of that coming in the “no smoke” loss against the Chargers, and an additional 12 on defense.

“Throughout my whole football career I’ve never had to sit the bench and wait for my opportunity,” he recently told Steelers.com’s Teresa Varley. “It was new to me. It definitely humbled me and matured me more.”

Not even during his true freshman season at Penn State did Allen sit on the bench. He played all 13 games, making seven starts, and received several accolades to All-Freshman teams. By his next season, he was their full-time starting safety. Injuries never left him on the sidelines too, missing one game in college. So sitting the way he did last year was brand new.

He took it in stride the best he can, utilizing practice as his gameday.

“I treated practice like a game. Practice for me is fun. Coach Tomlin always told me to stay ready, even if you’re not up stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.”

It’s a similar story we’ve heard from players like Josh Dobbs. When he was the #3 QB as a rookie, he routinely found receivers to throw with after practice. By the next year, Dobbs became the backup. For Allen, he’ll be in-line to log significant snaps.

Should he be Pittsburgh’s dime defender, and he’s the leader in the clubhouse, Allen may play north of 300 snaps. Last year, the team ran their 2-3-6 dime defense more than 37% of the time, most of any personnel grouping. Perhaps that gets reduced a bit after signing Mark Barron and drafting Devin Bush but even if that happens, dime will be used on 3rd and long and obvious passing situations (end of half, end of game).

The defense has struggled to find a competent dime defender since introducing it as part of their personnel groupings a few years ago. They’ve cycled through Robert Golden, William Gay, and Morgan Burnett as primary options. All three of those had short-lived roles in that spot, struggling to cover receivers and make splash plays in space.

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/05/ma...h-may-be-over/

Thanks Hawaiian; good story. More to watch in for in camp and preseason

[hawaiiansteel]

Safety help: Rookie free agents Dravon Askew-Henry, P.J. Locke could stick with Steelers

BRIAN BATKO
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
MAY 10, 2019

Once he signed with the Steelers a few days after the NFL draft, it occurred to P.J. Locke III that he knew of someone who’s been here before.

“Here” being an undrafted free agent, a rookie safety, and even in the exact spot where Locke was standing Friday afternoon, the first day of Steelers rookie minicamp. Locke didn’t know former Steelers starter Ryan Clark, but he knew he wanted to pick his brain.

“I feel like, what better guy to reach out to than Ryan Clark?” Locke explained. “Because he basically did it right here, so I wanted to use him as a mentor.”

Locke reached out to Clark and the two exchanged messages about what the former Texas defensive back in Steelers rookie camp can do to stick around the South Side. Clark, now an NFL analyst for ESPN, even mentioned on Twitter how impressed he was to hear from Locke.

“I have so much respect for this kid already,” Clark wrote. “Soon as he signed we connected! He is gonna work his butt off. Trust me. Hope he is so much better than I was.”

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but Locke and fellow undrafted signee Dravon Askew-Henry — an Aliquippa native — should have a better chance than most rookie free agents of carving out a role with the Steelers. They didn’t draft a safety to complement a group that includes Sean Davis, Terrell Edmunds, Marcus Allen and Jordan Dangerfield.

That’s a bit thin, considering how often safeties are used on special teams and in sub-packages these days. Plus, Davis is entering the final year of his contract, and coach Mike Tomlin has mentioned Allen as a potential hybrid linebacker type of player.

“I wasn't aware of [the depth chart] until after they gave me the offer,” said Locke, who was a team captain at Texas. “I took that into perspective and felt like it was a great fit.”

Askew-Henry, who started all 51 games he played at West Virginia, was the first strong safety on the field Friday when the Steelers rookies lined up for 11-on-11. But he confirmed that doesn’t matter one bit, and neither does the pecking order at his position.

“I actually don’t know nothing about the safety situation,” Askew-Henry said. “I can only control what I can control.”

For now, that’s his competition with other roster hopefuls, especially Locke. The two bring similar profiles, beyond being undrafted free agents. Both were honorable mention All-Big 12 last season. Locke had 77 tackles last season, Askew-Henry 54. Askew-Henry had two interceptions to Locke’s one. The Steelers list Askew-Henry at 6 feet, Locke at 5-10, but both at 202 pounds — and the two cut nearly the same figure on the field.

One major difference is that Locke hails from Beaumont, Texas, while Askew-Henry was born and raised a county away. A place where, as he puts it, “the water’s different.”

“Aliquippa’s a small place,” Askew-Henry said. “Ty Law, Darrelle Revis, Sean Gilbert, Arno Askew, I could go all the way down the list. They stay in touch with athletes around our way. I talk to all of them.”

That means one Steelers rookie safety has Ryan Clark’s ear, and another has an entire football hotbed behind him. Both are adamant they have the versatility needed to help a team at this level, with Askew-Henry insisting he can line up on an island to cover a wideout or come up in the box to stop the run. Locke, who also played nickelback at Texas, repeated something he and his father have always believed — that he can cover like a cornerback and hit like a linebacker.

The two also sounded an awful lot alike when asked how much time they’ll be dedicating to learning the system now that they’re in the Steelers organization.

“I ain’t got nothing else to do,” Askew-Henry said, flashing a wide grin above his thick beard, “so I’ll just stay around here, get to learn the playbook, my teammates, my coaches, and I’m looking forward to the journey.”

Locke — who admitted he’s more concerned about how he can be seen on special teams first — relayed the advice he received from Clark, who spent eight seasons with the Steelers and four prior ones with the Washington Redskins and New York Giants, the team he latched on with upon being undrafted.

“He said to just always show myself, as far as always be out here [on the field] working, always be in the film room,” said Locke, who describes himself as a “gym rat.”

“I told him that’s a piece of cake, because that’s all I do.”

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2019/05/10/pj-locke-dravon-askew-henry-steelers-safeties-undrafted-rookie-free-agents/stories/201905100117

[Steel Maniac]

Ryan told him simply “ball out”. Because there are jobs to be had on this team.

[hawaiiansteel]

Ryan told him simply “ball out”. Because there are jobs to be had on this team.

and I would think more so at safety than at any other position...

[hawaiiansteel]

that's one way for Cam Sutton to get the coaches to notice him -

[RuthlessBurgher]

Gotta admit...I've never seen a football helmet visor with a picture of a horror movie hockey mask on it. I can't imagine that would be approved by the league for use in actual games, but I guess it's anything goes in OTA practices with no pads on and such.