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Hey, here's hoping! We need an impact guy on special teams that can return a punt to the house.
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Cam Heyward: Two Steelers that have ‘raised eyebrows’ in OTAs
by Tommy Jaggi
It’s currently only time for football in shorts, but two Steelers in particular have raised eyebrows at OTAs, according to Cameron Heyward.
During May and June, it’s hard to get a clear picture of which players have potential to stand out in the regular season for the Steelers, but that didn’t stop Cameron Heyward from pointing out two players that have ‘raised eyebrows’ so far at OTAs.
According to a tweet from NFL Network beat reporter, Aditi Kinkhabwala, rookie linebacker Devin Bush and second year wide receiver, James Washington are two players that have stood out the most so far to Heyward:
Heyward could have chose anyone of the players currently participating in team activities, but it is interesting to note the pair of young blood he chose to single out.
The former All-Pro defensive lineman made mention of Devin Bush’s athleticism and how it stands out during drills. This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to use as Bush boasted a 142.9 pSPARQ score, according to Three Sigma Athlete – higher than nearly 97 percent of NFL linebackers.
As the 10th overall pick in the daft, Devin Bush is a name that we would have guessed would have raised eyebrows, but what about James Washington?
Washington had a rough rookie season for the Steelers, to say the least, and did not fare well with Pro Football Focus a season ago (just a 49.4 grade). However, we saw the Oklahoma State product have some great flashes last preseason, and fans were hopeful those weren’t just a fluke.
We won’t quite know the impact these young players will have on the Steelers until the 2019 season rolls around, but Heyward is out there playing with these guys every day. His word is better than ours at this point.
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Sounds great; I’m impressed that Washington dropped weight. Shows a guy that’s dedicated to his craft. For me, he didn’t show me much last year but he’s looking to really take that leap in his second year.Comment
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Give me 10 push-ups! Competition fuels post-A.B. Steelers offense
Jun 1, 2019
Jeremy Fowler
ESPN Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH -- Vance McDonald has seen too much from Antonio Brown to think one player alone will replace his 1,500 yards of yearly production.
Even trying will require serious teamwork from the Pittsburgh Steelers offense.
"The things A.B. is capable of doing at the position, he’s a freak. He’s so good," the veteran tight end said of Brown, who was traded to the Oakland Raiders in March. "I think Ben (Roethlisberger) is the best quarterback that will allow us to take that piece that A.B. is giving in each game and allowing it to go through different avenues."
That navigation promises to fascinate in a new era of Steelers football.
Pittsburgh's post-Brown offense will prioritize versatility, creativity and an equal opportunity approach. JuJu Smith-Schuster is the obvious primary option for Roethlisberger and will most likely post big numbers. Behind him is depth and intrigue but a lack of star power.
The Steelers believe they have at least nine viable pass-catching options which Roethlisberger will surely utilize. In a two-game stretch without Brown in late 2017, Roethlisberger completed passes to nine other Steelers, with four players catching at least four balls.
Jobs aren't promised. Competition is driving each OTA session.
"Everybody's pushing each other -- you got a drop, you've got 10 push-ups," free-agent addition Donte Moncrief said. "Everybody's trying to bring energy ... Make plays, don't come out here lagging ... I feel like everybody' going to be able to help. Everyone's ready to play. Everybody knows JuJu is going to get a lot of attention. We have to be able to help him out, take some double-teams away and beat man so the defense has to cover everybody."
Moncrief is crucial to that competition because of newness and pedigree.
The Steelers mostly know what they have from their supporting skill guys.
McDonald is poised for an expanded role after a 50-catch campaign in 2018. He's ready for it, and the Steelers know more yards are available over the middle.
Despite an erratic rookie year, James Washington posted two 60-plus-yard games in the final three weeks last season and dropped 15 pounds in the offseason. He's getting off the line of scrimmage quicker now.
The Steelers value Ryan Switzer's versatility and quickness. He can line up in the slot, in the backfield or on the outside.
Eli Rogers is a classic matchup option. He can still beat man coverage in spots.
Third-round pick Diontae Johnson will have time to develop, but the Steelers hope his route-running ability helps him crack the lineup sooner than later.
Xavier Grimble will get a legitimate look as the No. 2 tight end. He's earned that. If his hands prove reliable, his athleticism and physical blocking can take over.
Not many have more riding on this year than Moncrief, who's trying to redirect his career after a rocky one-year experiment in Jacksonville. His 21 career touchdowns make him a compelling red zone target for Big Ben. Moncrief doesn't own an 800-yard season, but he also caught passes from Scott Tolzien and Blake Bortles in Indianapolis and Jacksonville.
The Steelers offense is challenging Moncrief, traditionally an outside guy, to know all three receiver positions. Roethlisberger can change a matchup at the line of scrimmage on any down, Moncrief points out.
"I know this is a huge year for me," Moncrief said. "New team, everybody looking for me to make big plays. I have to be ready."
McDonald is eager to see how coaches configure the pieces. The Steelers' 689 passing attempts last season led the league by 45. Receptions won't be scarce.
"It will be fun and interesting to see how we can be creative and allow that to happen," McDonald said. "Great players are great players, but at the end of the day it’s 11 guys taking care of their job. I think we have the guys -- not necessarily (do they have) Brown and Bell on the back of their jerseys, but man, if you can play the position and do what you are asked to do and can make plays, then we’re going to get it done.”
McDonald is confident coming off a 15-game season, his most since his rookie year in 2013.
Ensuring a bigger role might require some schmoozing.
"Handle my job and buy Ben a lot of presents," McDonald said.
http://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/_/id/30824/give-me-10-push-ups-competition-fuels-post-a-b-steelers-offenseSteeler 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.Comment
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Odd wideout parallels...
In a 2 year period in 2010 & 2011, as long-time veteran WR Hines Ward was wrapping up his Steeler career and young, dynamic WR Mike Wallace was stepping into a greater role, we added a couple of young WR options in Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown, plus a veteran WR option in Jerricho Cotchery.
In a 2 year period in 2018 & 2019, as long-time veteran WR Antonio Brown was wrapping up his Steeler career and young, dynamic WR Juju Smith-Schuster was stepping into a greater role, we added a couple of young WR options in James Washington and Diontae Johnson, plus a veteran WR option in Donte Moncrief.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.Comment
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Ryan Switzer is beating Eli Rogers in Steelers training camp battle
by Andrew Ortenberg
June 3, 2019
There’s been so much talk about Antonio Brown this offseason, that you’d be forgiven for forgetting about the receivers actually on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster. JuJu Smith-Schuster will absolutely be the top wideout, but after him the depth chart is a bit unsettled.
The team signed Donte Moncrief and also has second-year player James Washington, but they’ll likely both be playing on the outside. There will be an interesting battle this offseason to be the team’s starting slot receiver, with Ryan Switzer and Eli Rogers competing.
Rogers has more experience with the team, but it looks like that might not matter.
“Ryan Switzer seems stronger,” Jim Wexell of 247Sports wrote of Switzer, who is entering his third NFL season. “He looks to be ahead of Eli Rogers in the race for the small, elusive slot receiver.”
Switzer has switched homes a lot during his brief time in the league. Originally drafted by the Cowboys in 2017, he was traded to the Raiders after his rookie season. Shortly after, he was flipped to the Steelers.
In his first season in Pittsburgh, he put up 36 receptions for 253 yards, while also serving as the team’s primary returner.
He’s looking for a bigger role on offense this year, and we already know quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a fan of his.
“Just be dependable,” Roethlisberger said last season when asked what Switzer had done to earn playing time. “Be a guy that is where he is supposed to be. Tough little booger. He makes a lot of plays, gets hit a lot, but just doesn’t make a lot of the same mistakes twice.”
If he has Roethlisberger’s trust, he’s well on his way to earning more targets.
If he’s passed Rogers on the depth chart, he likely won’t be giving up his spot anytime soon.
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Ewww...I'm sure Switzer is absolutely thrilled by that description.
Although it is pretty impressive that Switzer is already beating Rogers in a training camp battle that won't actually begin for another month and a half or so.
He must be a time traveling little booger. Like Jigawatts.
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.Comment
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It's odd that James Washington rookie season (217 receiving yards and 1 TD) is considered to be a massive disappointment by many Steeler fans, but Ryan Switzer's season (253 receiving yards and 1 TD) is considered to be an example of developing a rapport with Ben amazingly fast.
Considering that Switzer played in all 16 games and Washington played in 14 games, that would account for those additional 36 receiving yards, since their raw receiving yardage numbers are virtually identical on a per game basis.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.Comment
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JuJu Smith-Schuster all business as he assumes No. 1 receiver role
GERRY DULAC
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
JUN 5, 2019
Back from the prom, JuJu Smith-Schuster has traded his matching green velvet tuxedo with bell-bottom pants for the practice jersey he has worn every day of the Steelers’ offseason training activities.
Three weeks into OTAs and Smith-Schuster hasn’t missed a day of the workouts at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, sending a message to everyone that he is all about commitment and winning. In that time, the Pro Bowl receiver can also be found all over social media, whether dancing on stage at a Juice Wrld concert at Stage AE, distributing Heinz ketchup at Kennywood or attending the Chartiers Valley High School prom with a male student who asked him to go.
He even bought the matching tuxedo for him and student Anthony Molinaro.
“I picked ‘em out,” Smith-Schuster said. “Green velvet, suede, with bells. But it was hot in that suit.”
Smith-Schuster was hot in his regular Sunday suit in 2018, eclipsing the production of Antonio Brown and leading the Steelers with 111 receptions and 1,426 receiving yards. Three of his seven touchdown catches were for 67 yards or longer. He also caught a 97-yard touchdown for the second year in a row, giving him three scores of 96 yards or longer in two seasons.
He enters his third NFL season as the team’s undisputed No. 1 receiver, now that Brown was traded to the Oakland Raiders. And he has made a point to show up every day for the voluntary OTAs on the South Side to mesh with the two new receivers on the team — veteran Donte Moncrief and rookie Diontae Johnson – and serve as something of a role model.
“It’s very important,” Smith-Schuster said Wednesday after practice. “There are some new guys on the team, and building that chemistry and that connection means a lot. Me just being here, being around other guys, shows I’m ready to play, I’m all about the team, I’m all about us. We’re here for one reason.”
Replacing Brown’s incredible numbers — he was the most productive receiver in any four-, five- and six-year period in NFL history — will not be easy. But Smith-Schuster said he loves the new players in the receiving room and is excited about the development of James Washington, last year’s second-round draft choice.
Moncrief was acquired in free agency after catching 74 passes for 1,059 yards the past two seasons from Jacoby Brissett in Indianapolis and Blake Bortles in Jacksonville. Now he gets to run routes for Ben Roethlisberger.
Johnson, a third-round pick who was the second player selected by the Steelers, has similar athletic measurables to Brown but is considered a better route runner. He even played in the same Mid-American Conference (Toledo).
“Everyone is there for each other,” Smith-Schuster said. “There’s no individual. Everyone’s into playing, winning games, the Super Bowl. Everybody’s on the same page. Yesterday we dominated, today we dominated. You can see that connection with Ben, with [Josh] Dobbs, with Mason [Rudolph].”
Johnson did not participate in team drills the first two weeks of OTAs because of a hamstring injury, but he has been out there the past two days. Smith-Schuster said he takes Johnson out to eat and shows him the city to help him get acclimated to his surroundings, both on and off the field.
On the field, he noticed one overriding element:
“Speed, man,” Smith-Schuster said. “He’s a speedster, but he has great hands.”
About Moncrief, he said, “His routes are so crispy, so nice. He’s a nice route-runner, a big solid dude, too. You can put him outside, put him inside, he knows how to run his routes, how to run against a linebacker versus a corner. He’s a very smart guy, one of those you can look up to.”
That’s what Smith-Schuster is trying to do every day at OTAs.
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Don't write off AB helping the Raiders offense this season too quickly:
........If we look at routes that the Raiders employed frequently and Brown did run more often in Pittsburgh, the new Oakland receiver doesn’t compare that favorably to the production offered by Oakland’s 2018 receiving corps. On slant routes — short patterns run across the middle of the field at an angle — his expected points added (EPA) per play relative to the Raiders’ receivers was pedestrian. Oakland was collectively more than half an expected point better per play on slants than Brown was in Pittsburgh — with Jordy Nelson, Jared Cook and Seth Roberts all more productive on the route. Cook may end up leaving in free agency and could free up some of those targets, but Brown may not be able to make much of an impact in the short-area portion of the Raiders passing game.Antonio Brown can help the Raiders most on deeper routes
Expected points added in the 2018 season by route type for wide receivers on the Oakland Raiders and for Antonio Brown
Positive EPA difference reflects routes where Antonio Brown was more productive than the Raiders receivers collectively.Comeback -0.52 +1.27 +1.79 Go -0.11 +0.85 +0.96 Seam +0.94 +1.80 +0.86 Flat +0.08 +0.40 +0.32 Out +0.20 +0.52 +0.32 Curl +0.20 +0.40 +0.20 Fade -0.17 -0.31 -0.14 Dig +0.29 -0.20 -0.49 Slant +0.61 +0.05 -0.56 Post +0.27 -1.03 -1.30
SOURCE: SPORTS INFO SOLUTIONS
There are also other concerns. Brown was ineffective in the middle of the field in general in 2018, posting negative EPA on digs and posts — two other in-breaking routes. He increasingly ceded targets over the middle to Juju Smith-Schuster, who is bigger, younger and perhaps more eager to put his body on the line for a reception. With no guaranteed money in Brown’s contract, self-preservation could have been a contributing factor to his seeming unwillingness to catch balls over the middle last season. At least that’s what the Raiders are hoping is the case: The alternative — that Brown is declining and no longer able to produce over the middle — is slightly terrifying for a team that just made Brown the highest-paid receiver in the league.Comment
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Dobbs’ Overview Of Steelers Wide Receiver Group: ‘There’s Some Dynamic Players’
By Dave Bryan
Posted on June 5, 2019
The Pittsburgh Steelers still have a talented group of wide receivers this summer despite the trading away of Antonio Brown in March and after the team’s Wednesday OTA practice, backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs gave an overview of that particular position group.
“Yeah, there’s some dynamic players,” Dobbs said, according to audio on 93.7 The Fan. “Of course there’s JuJu [Smith-Schuster]. James [Washington] has taken a lot of steps in the right direction. Ryan Switzer’s a matchup issue. Eli [Rogers]. New additions like Donte [Moncrief], you know, he’s definitely come in and is making an impact early and often and catching a lot of balls. And then we have a lot of new guys that have come in and are really doing a great job making plays for us at quarterback, given us confidence. So we’re excited to see how that room shapes out.”
While Dobbs didn’t mention the Steelers rookie wide receiver Diontae Johnson, the team’s first of two third-round selections this year, during that rundown of players, he did mention the Toledo product earlier in his Wednesday interview.
“Diontae [Johnson] is pretty special as well,” Dobbs said. “He’s a tough guy to guard. I can just tell by the reaction from the defenders. And he seems to catch everything thrown in his direction. So, those are guys that you look forward to get the balls in their hands and let them just go make a play.”
In addition to him thinking that he has a great group of wide receivers to throw to throughout the remainder of the summer, Dobbs also likes the overall demeanor of the group as well.
“I think what’s also great is, they’re great players, but they also have a great camaraderie in that room,” Dobbs said. “And I think that’s what helps them not only compete with each other on a daily basis but push each other to get better. And that helps us at the quarterback position as well.”
Not only do the Steelers have the wide receivers that Dobbs rattled off on Wednesday on their offseason roster, they also have a few more talented players that play that position in Diontae Spencer, Trey Griffey, Johnny Holton and Tevin Jones and all four have some level of experience at the professional level.
Spencer, who has never played in as much as one a preseason game since going undrafted in 2014, has played in 57 total games in the CFL with two different teams over the course of the last four seasons on his way to registering 259 total receptions for 3,137 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Holton, on the other hand, has some limited NFL game experience on his resume as the former undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati previously spent time on the rosters of the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders and has caught 11 passes for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns.
As for the other two young wide receivers not mentioned Wednesday by Dobbs, Griffey and Jones, both were with the Steelers last year during training camp and the preseason and both ultimately landed on the team’s practice squad last September and remained there all season. Griffey caught 4 passes for 44 yards last year during the preseason while Jones registered 4 catches for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Steelers will keep at least five wide receivers on their 53-man roster to start the 2019 regular season and possible even as many as six. While JuJu Smith-Schuster, Donte Moncrief, James Washington and Johnson should account for four of those spots, the other one or two spots on the 53-man roster figure to potentially filled by Ryan Switzer, Eli Rogers, Spencer, Holton, Griffey or Jones. All things considered, that’s not a bad looking group of 10 wide receivers for Dobbs and the rest of the Steelers quarterbacks to work with the remainder of the summer.
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Juju says "speed" about Johnson. Which tells me that what Colbert thought about Johnson is true; Johnson is a monster coming out of his breaks. Seems that Moncrief is on point as well. Now if Washington has taken that next step then all of a sudden we have a pleasant problem of a top heavy WR team (factoring in Rogers and Switzer too).Comment
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