LATROBE, Pa. — Markus Wheaton streaked outside, down the right offensive side of the field. He had a step on rookie cornerback Doran Grant, who was tight in coverage, but a good throw to Wheaton’s extended arms would beat him.
Wheaton got that throw. It dropped right on his hands inside the 10-yard line.
Wheaton just didn’t extend his hands. At the very last second, his hands came forward, to the surprise of Grant, but the ball slipped between them, falling harmlessly to the well-conditioned grass below him. Wheaton screamed in frustration, holding his hands in front of him, almost apologizing to them and cursing them at the same time.
Mike Tomlin wouldn’t have it.
He had been creeping down the deep offensive right side of the field for much of the team’s 11-on-11 scrimmage, and he wasn’t far from Wheaton and Grant when the pass was dropped. He stalked his way over toward Wheaton like the area he previously was in caught on fire.
He yelled at Wheaton, but not because he dropped the pass.
“Late hands! LATE HANDS!” he hollered, clapping his hands as if Wheaton’s late hands had actually secured the ball. “I like it, good late hands!”
Wheaton was inconsolable. “I set him up too, coach!” Wheaton did everything but catch the ball, and even if that is the primary purpose for a wide receiver, Tomlin was impressed enough with Wheaton’s “late hands,” he slapped his own hand on Wheaton’s shoulder pads after marching 20 yards to greet him. The echoes of the “oooohhhhs” from the crowd bounced off the hills at Saint Vincent College, unilaterally rejecting the drop as something they didn’t want to see again.
Tomlin repeated a celebratory “late hands!” three more times, clapping while doing it.
The point Tomlin was stressing isn’t something easily learned by even veteran receivers like Wheaton. And this play demonstrated the value of having the discipline to keep your hands moving with the rest of your body when running under a deep pass. It’s not that Grant was beaten, Wheaton had a step on him, but Grant was still in prime position to rake the ball out of his hands when he caught it.
A smart defensive back knows he’s not beaten until the ball is securely in the receiver’s hands. He also knows the receiver is going to the ball, so if he’s behind the receiver, he can keep running forward, and wait for his hands to extend. Upon seeing them, he can aim for his hands, and deflect the incoming pass.
But Grant never saw Wheaton’s hands move for the ball. He never made a move for his hands until the ball dropped into them. Grant grabbed a good chunk of Wheaton’s biceps, possibly ruining his ability to secure the ball, because he didn’t have a chance to aim for his hands. As a receiver, Wheaton put himself in an excellent chance for success on the play.
I stood no more than two three feet from the play, which is approximately where an official would be on a deep throw. I could see Grant grab Wheaton’s arm, and in that, considering the rules for pass interference, I may have been compelled to throw a flag.
From my vantage point, it would have been Steelers ball, first and goal, from about the 5-yard line. Maybe Tomlin figured the same thing.
Let’s keep in mind, Wheaton is going to be the team’s slot receiver this year. The amount of wheel routes he runs, theoretically, will be limited. But this play signified a few things more than just Wheaton perhaps needing another rep or two to practice his late hands.
The slot receiver is working on an advanced tactic normally reserved for outside-the-numbers receivers, and the Steelers’ receivers, once young and lacking polish, are entering a more advanced stage of their development.
Wheaton only had six catches his rookie season in 2013. He spent time dealing with injuries along with the normal wears of learning the position and the profession of the NFL. He came on the scene last year, contributing to the best passing offense in team history, grabbing 53 catches for 644 yards as the Steelers’ Z receiver — a position previously manned by Emmanuel Sanders, and Mike Wallace and Santonio Holmes before him.
Sanders was in his fourth year when he assumed that split end position, and he had 67 catches and 740 yards in his first year as the Steelers’ main Z receiver — lined up wide on the strong side of the formation. Wheaton, in his second year with barely any experience leading into it, produced within shouting distance of what Sanders did.
Wheaton will be the team’s slot receiver in three-receiver packages, not because he couldn’t hack it outside the numbers. It’s just that Martavis Bryant is an incredibly talented, and much taller, deep receiver. Both Wheaton and Bryant, along with Antonio Brown, are highly athletic, and putting all three of them on the field, with instructions to attack different areas of the field, all with Le’Veon Bell in the backfield, has to make Ben Roethlisberger drool.
On top of that, seeing Wheaton run a nice route, get himself open and use an advanced receiving technique that may have drawn pass interference deep down the field, has to excite anyone on the offense. Having the kind of depth that will allow Wheaton to break the mold of his between-the-hashes position and fly down the sideline when presented with advantageous coverage epitomizes a Steelers offense that’s packed to the seams with firepower.
It was a great throw, too, one Tomlin noted.
“That was a great throw, too … whoever that was. That’s what we want to see!”
It was Landry Jones.
Mike Tomlin watches from the defensive secondary during training camp practice Wednesday -- NEAL COOLONG
July 30, 2015
Steelers camp: Loving Wheaton’s ‘late hands’
by Neal Coolong • Coverage • Steelers
LATROBE, Pa. — Markus Wheaton streaked outside, down the right offensive side of the field. He had a step on rookie cornerback Doran Grant, who was tight in coverage, but a good throw to Wheaton’s extended arms would beat him.
Wheaton got that throw. It dropped right on his hands inside the 10-yard line.
Wheaton just didn’t extend his hands. At the very last second, his hands came forward, to the surprise of Grant, but the ball slipped between them, falling harmlessly to the well-conditioned grass below him. Wheaton screamed in frustration, holding his hands in front of him, almost apologizing to them and cursing them at the same time.
Mike Tomlin wouldn’t have it.
He had been creeping down the deep offensive right side of the field for much of the team’s 11-on-11 scrimmage, and he wasn’t far from Wheaton and Grant when the pass was dropped. He stalked his way over toward Wheaton like the area he previously was in caught on fire.
He yelled at Wheaton, but not because he dropped the pass.
“Late hands! LATE HANDS!” he hollered, clapping his hands as if Wheaton’s late hands had actually secured the ball. “I like it, good late hands!”
Wheaton was inconsolable. “I set him up too, coach!” Wheaton did everything but catch the ball, and even if that is the primary purpose for a wide receiver, Tomlin was impressed enough with Wheaton’s “late hands,” he slapped his own hand on Wheaton’s shoulder pads after marching 20 yards to greet him. The echoes of the “oooohhhhs” from the crowd bounced off the hills at Saint Vincent College, unilaterally rejecting the drop as something they didn’t want to see again.
Tomlin repeated a celebratory “late hands!” three more times, clapping while doing it.
The point Tomlin was stressing isn’t something easily learned by even veteran receivers like Wheaton. And this play demonstrated the value of having the discipline to keep your hands moving with the rest of your body when running under a deep pass. It’s not that Grant was beaten, Wheaton had a step on him, but Grant was still in prime position to rake the ball out of his hands when he caught it.
A smart defensive back knows he’s not beaten until the ball is securely in the receiver’s hands. He also knows the receiver is going to the ball, so if he’s behind the receiver, he can keep running forward, and wait for his hands to extend. Upon seeing them, he can aim for his hands, and deflect the incoming pass.
But Grant never saw Wheaton’s hands move for the ball. He never made a move for his hands until the ball dropped into them. Grant grabbed a good chunk of Wheaton’s biceps, possibly ruining his ability to secure the ball, because he didn’t have a chance to aim for his hands. As a receiver, Wheaton put himself in an excellent chance for success on the play.
I stood no more than two three feet from the play, which is approximately where an official would be on a deep throw. I could see Grant grab Wheaton’s arm, and in that, considering the rules for pass interference, I may have been compelled to throw a flag.
From my vantage point, it would have been Steelers ball, first and goal, from about the 5-yard line. Maybe Tomlin figured the same thing.
Let’s keep in mind, Wheaton is going to be the team’s slot receiver this year. The amount of wheel routes he runs, theoretically, will be limited. But this play signified a few things more than just Wheaton perhaps needing another rep or two to practice his late hands.
The slot receiver is working on an advanced tactic normally reserved for outside-the-numbers receivers, and the Steelers’ receivers, once young and lacking polish, are entering a more advanced stage of their development.
Wheaton only had six catches his rookie season in 2013. He spent time dealing with injuries along with the normal wears of learning the position and the profession of the NFL. He came on the scene last year, contributing to the best passing offense in team history, grabbing 53 catches for 644 yards as the Steelers’ Z receiver — a position previously manned by Emmanuel Sanders, and Mike Wallace and Santonio Holmes before him.
Sanders was in his fourth year when he assumed that split end position, and he had 67 catches and 740 yards in his first year as the Steelers’ main Z receiver — lined up wide on the strong side of the formation. Wheaton, in his second year with barely any experience leading into it, produced within shouting distance of what Sanders did.
Wheaton will be the team’s slot receiver in three-receiver packages, not because he couldn’t hack it outside the numbers. It’s just that Martavis Bryant is an incredibly talented, and much taller, deep receiver. Both Wheaton and Bryant, along with Antonio Brown, are highly athletic, and putting all three of them on the field, with instructions to attack different areas of the field, all with Le’Veon Bell in the backfield, has to make Ben Roethlisberger drool.
On top of that, seeing Wheaton run a nice route, get himself open and use an advanced receiving technique that may have drawn pass interference deep down the field, has to excite anyone on the offense. Having the kind of depth that will allow Wheaton to break the mold of his between-the-hashes position and fly down the sideline when presented with advantageous coverage epitomizes a Steelers offense that’s packed to the seams with firepower.
It was a great throw, too, one Tomlin noted.
“That was a great throw, too … whoever that was. That’s what we want to see!”
It was Landry Jones.