Training Camp Opening Weekend: Overview

So after a 4+ hour drive to Latrobe early Saturday morning, “Steelerboy” and I drove through the beautiful campus of St. Vincent’s to sit through 2 hours of Steelers practice.  Opening weekend means lots of stretching and basic runs but not a lot of hard hitting – in fact, not even in full pads.

Never the less, a few observations:

• There will no doubt be a full-on fight for that #3 WR position. Sweed, rookie Mike Wallace and veteran Shaun McDonald all looked like they are ready to play and win.  While I was there, Limas didn’t drop a ball, and even a few were thrown in “tight” coverage – as tight as you can get wthout full contact.  Clearly Hines is mentoring the younger WR’s.  He spent a lot of time with Limas on day 1 but didn’t dress on day 2.
• Ziggy is ready to roll. I was informed that he stayed in Pittsburgh after OTA’s to train.  He’s been working extremely hard and has been really focused.  I expect to see him get some reps and don’t be surprised if he sees playing time once the season starts.  The ROI on Ziggy will pay off, no doubt.
• William Gay should have the corner opposite Ike nailed down.  Don’t forget he had a lot of playing time last year and he looks ready to go this year.  However, following up in 3rd CB spot will likely be rookie Keenan Lewis.
• The O-line didn’t look terrible, though without full pads, it’s hard to really say they have improved substantially.  And no one was calling penalties – so Willie Colon might have got by this time.
• Jeff Reed and Daniel Sepulveda both looked great.  It’s good to see Sepulveda back and kicking well.  He punted one a good 50+ yards day two.
• The clear fan favorite is Ben.  As soon as he got anywhere near the field, the crowd erupted – both days. Day 1 he signed autographs after practice…and hey Ben if you read this, I know my kid is tall, but he’s only 13 and he was really bummed you didn’t sign his terrible towel.  AND by the way the guy who pushed past had a jersey with tags still on it – yet you signed that and it is probably already on eBay.  Next time can you do something for my kid??

The one thing I have to comment on is Coach Tomlin’s passion and commitment.  It was about 90 degrees out there and he came out day one in all black long-sleeves and sweats.

If the players have to withstand high levels of heat, he’s right there with them.  He moved between the fields for the first hour each day focusing time with both the offense and the defense.

I said it in a post before, but I believe he has a great ability to keep the team focused.  While he’s not much older, he knows when to be friend and when to be mentor and it’s clear that everyone from players to front office staff highly respect Coach.  If there’s one difference between the team after SBXL and this time, it’s him.

Overall, great weekend in Latrobe. Other than being rained out just one hour into practice on day 2 we had beautiful weather and had a great time. Nothing beats foorball season. I’m now really anxious for it to get underway.

Let’s Go Steelers.