LATROBE, Pa. — There are six practices — including tonight’s evening practice — remaining in training camp, along with one game, Friday night at Jacksonville, left on the camp schedule.
A day off is scheduled for tomorrow, and a good crowd is expected this evening. Mike Tomlin will speak to the media at 11:25 a.m.
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Weather: 75 degrees, winds WNW 11 mph.
This post will be updated all day with news, quotes and videos, so please keep refreshing, because we’ll keep writing.
• Strong words from Robert Golden via Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette, insinuating the turf at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium was at least partially responsible for the knee injury suffered by Shaun Suisham. The turf is apparently now in the process of being removed.
“It was old, chewed up, very hard,” Golden said. “I’m just happy most of our guys got off healthy. Now they’re redoing it? I don’t agree with that, that’s bad, putting us at risk like that on that turf.”
The turf itself was dingy and appeared faded from a distance. On it, it was clearly worn down in comparison to other artificial surfaces the team has played on recently.
In 2012, David DeCastro tore up his knee in a preseason game at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. Ben Roethlisberger took issue with the A-Turf installed there, a year before that game, referring to it incorrectly as Field Turf.
“This is a great field, but it’s field turf,” he said at the time, according to NFL.com. “It’s just killing guys because they can’t get their feet out of the ground, and it’s just another reason we should get rid of field turf.”
Artificial turf, as in a non-grass playing surface, has drawn this reaction in the past. The fields at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe are all grass, as is the surface at Heinz Field.
• Whether it was all on James Harrison or his return as well as several other key players to practice Tuesday, the Steelers’ practice felt full, complete even. There was more of a bounce in everyone’s steps, and Tomlin noted he liked the enthusiasm he was seeing on the field.
Fresh bodies on a field that’s seen so many players fall during camp should have that effect.
We should see it Friday against the Jaguars, too. We’ll know more about participation when Tomlin speaks today, but it’s a good time to get the starters in the game. A large amount of practice time has been spent without Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant on the field at the same time, but we saw it yesterday. As we mentioned in Morning Java, the weapons at Roethlisberger’s disposal, up to and including his own experience as well as the experience of his offensive line, brings out the real power of this offense.
As good as those four players are, their combined familiarity with Todd Haley’s offense and each other is the straw that stirs the drink. Even if it’s only a few snaps Friday, we should expect to see a few quality highlights.
11:45 a.m. Tomlin noted Golden, Dan McCullers, Vince Williams, Ross Ventrone and all the PUP listers — Mike Adams, Senquez Golson and Bruce Gradkowski — are out for Friday.
“Our intentions at this point is all healthy men are going to play,” Tomlin said. “How much they’ll play will be determined positionally, not only in terms of what the established guys need to see but the quality and the amount of depth behind them.”
Golden is expected to be out the next few weeks. McCullers and Williams missed the Hall of Fame game against the Vikings with hamstring injuries, and Ventrone hasn’t practiced since the beginning of camp after suffering an ankle injury during practice.
These aren’t unexpected absences, and Tomlin said he’s “leaving the light on” for all other injured players. Mike Mitchell is probably the most notable at this point. He was dressed Tuesday but did not participate much, if at all. Shamarko Thomas also participated Tuesday, and should be expected to play. It’ll be the first time the Steelers have had both of their projected starting safeties on the field together since the beginning of camp, where both played briefly before suffering injuries.
Considering the amount of time Thomas has missed, and the leadership and experience Will Allen brings to the secondary, perhaps it’s fair to wonder if Thomas still is the best option at strong safety. Thomas may have just been sitting in an effort to give younger players like Ian Wild a strong look at strong safety. Allen didn’t practice until Golden’s injury, which happened after Mitchell and Thomas were banged up.
Allen and Harrison were running on the side fields for the first week of camp before Allen was pulled into practice — Tomlin said at the time he was “taking the wrapper off” Allen due to the amount of injuries the team had at safety. Harrison’s first practice was Tuesday. Both were held out by Tomlin.
Even without that week of practice, though, Allen has been on the field more than Thomas has. Their rotation Friday, as well as Wild’s involvement, are points to watch against the Jaguars.
One of the glaring issues in the loss to the Vikings was in the receiving group. Jesse James dropped a touchdown pass, and fumbled a completion in his two targets on the game. Devin Gardner, who’s since been released, and Sammie Coates had drops as well. Tomlin said the adjustments based on those gaffes are simple.
“Catch the ball,” he said, laughing. “Young guys freeze up sometimes. That’s part of the process. I’d like to show them the cut-up of Lawrence Timmons in the Hall of Fame Game in 2007. It was pretty ugly. It provide a window, a ray of light, if you will, to those who are mentally weak enough to need it.
“Regardless of how you start, it’s not going to define you. I just use Lawrence as an example of that.”
Tomlin said there was no update on the surgeries performed on Shaun Suisham and Cameron Stingily, a player Tomlin didn’t note as being out Friday, but probably should be assumed so. Both players had surgeries on their injured knees Wednesday. He said he’d have an update later this afternoon.
It’s important to note the Steelers signed Garrett Hartley to replace Suisham, but they released Gardner to make room for him. It’s curious that Suisham hasn’t been placed on injured reserve yet. This could merely be a formality, but if and when they do that, they will have a roster spot available. They’d have another if they were to waive Stingily with an injury, but they didn’t do that yet, either.
Tomlin noted Stingily’s injury was possibly a meniscus tear, something that requires surgery but doesn’t carry with it a long rehabilitation process, like a torn ACL does.
3:35: Campus is largely empty right now. A few golf carts driving around, the drum chorus/band/whatever it’s called is practicing off in the distance. It’s an opportunity to clear out a few items from the ol’ digital notebook.
Defensive coordinator Keith Butler was walking and talking with Thomas after a defensive backs drill. Joey Porter was acting as the quarterback, shifting from one side to the other before throwing an intentionally wobbly pass away from the defenders. They’d have to make a play on the ball.
Butler was, in a playful manner, getting after Thomas for not jumping to grab a pass that sailed well over his head.
“Now, I know you ain’t THAT sawed off!” Butler said in a thick, southern drawl. “Use your height!”
Thomas looked back at him, matter-of-factly, “Coach, you just told me to use my height…what height?”
Butler laughed as Tomlin approached both of them. “Shamarko … yeah, you’re just that sawed off.”
Thomas laughed harder than the other two, and myself, did.
Butler has a certain charm with his players. Much like Tomlin, he interacts with them frequently, and often is the most spirited one in whatever circle of people he’s with at a given time. It’s not a volume thing, and it’s not so much in group settings. You really can see him come to life when talking with individual players, like he did with Thomas.
Everything I’ve heard from players regarding “Coach Buts” has been based in two things: Excitement and normalcy. It’s a constant theme, “we aren’t changing much” of anything from a strategic point of view. I saw these statements as an understandable submission of the company line — Butler himself said it this offseason, “watch the New England game and find out.” He’s not going to openly admit the differences of this defense vs. the one they used last season. We pointed out a few pieces of evidence to suggest there will be more variety.
Sawed Off Thomas fits into that. He’s a fierce run supporter and has good speed. Knowing that, he can start a play around linebackers’ depth, and either attack the line of scrimmage or drop into deep coverage. It makes it tougher for a quarterback to diagnose the defense.
6:27: The Steelers added receiver David Nelson, and officially placed Suisham on IR, ending his season.
Nelson, originally an undrafted free agent with the Bills out of Florida in 2010, has 138 catches and 1,530 receiving yards in five NFL seasons. He was last with the Jets, where he had six catches in six games before being released.
Nelson’s acquisition follows the release of two other receivers in camp, Eli Rogers and Gardner.
The team also confirmed Stingily was waived with an injury, and Braylon Heard was signed. Heard, a speedback out of Kentucky, was not drafted this year after he skipped his final year of eligibility. He graduated this spring, and he may not have felt his stock would have improved any. He had less than 150 carries in his collegiate career.
6:59: Hartley kicked for the first time today, hitting on 10-of-13, two of those misses coming from 57 yards. One was close, missing wide left, and the other was well short of the cross bar, and return man Kenzel Doe, who was stationed there before the snap, was able to retrieve it with plenty of room behind him.
Williams did not practice again Wednesday, which isn’t a surprise, considering Tomlin already declared him out of Friday’s game. The surprise, though, is in the fact Ryan Shazier wore Williams’ No. 98 jersey. It’s unclear why the second year linebacker did it.
Timmons didn’t practice, either, but the good news on the night is the return of both Mitchell and Thomas. Both played during the team’s 11-on-11 scrimmages, and it appears the Steelers will have their entire starting secondary playing together for the first time in weeks.
7:44: The 2-minute drill could be the most exciting period of practice. Part of the reason for that is it seems like it’s Tomlin’s favorite. He acts as the official, calling out the spot of the ball and directing the linesmen.
Tonight, he added an element of trash talk.
Brown was split wide offensive right with Antwon Blake over him. Tomlin confirmed the coverage with Blake, then saw Brown get set.
“I know it just by looking at your stance, eight-four,” he barked at Brown. “I know it just by looking at you.”
Brown put on a move about 12 yards down the field, turning Blake around, and caught the pass in bounds, stepping out of bounds within five feet of Tomlin, who was beaming ear-to-ear.
“I KNEW IT BY YOUR STANCE, EIGHT-FOUR! I KNEW IT!”
Brown fired back, “THEY CAN’T STOP THIS, COACH!” Tomlin smacked him on the butt on his way back to the huddle.
The next cornerback/victim was rookie Doran Grant. Tomlin quickly pointed out Brown was coming out on Grant.
“You ready for this, DG?” Tomlin chided, a hint of laughter in his voice. He turned around and said to the linesmen and a reporter, “Brown outside the numbers and everything on the other side,” Tomlin said. “It’s not even fair.”
It wasn’t. Another catch for Brown. It set up a touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Brown after the quarterback moved Brown to the slot, and DeAngelo Williams on the outside.
Brown ran a quick slant, made the catch as he was hit at the goal line. He extended the ball over the goal line, and Tomlin raised his arms in the air to indicate the touchdown.
It was as if he knew it the whole time.
Garrett Hartley takes a crack at the Saint Vincent College uprights Wednesday. -- NEAL COOLONG
August 12, 2015
Steelers camp, Day 13: Suisham to IR
23by Neal Coolong • Coverage • Steelers
LATROBE, Pa. — There are six practices — including tonight’s evening practice — remaining in training camp, along with one game, Friday night at Jacksonville, left on the camp schedule.
A day off is scheduled for tomorrow, and a good crowd is expected this evening. Mike Tomlin will speak to the media at 11:25 a.m.
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Weather: 75 degrees, winds WNW 11 mph.
This post will be updated all day with news, quotes and videos, so please keep refreshing, because we’ll keep writing.
• Strong words from Robert Golden via Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette, insinuating the turf at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium was at least partially responsible for the knee injury suffered by Shaun Suisham. The turf is apparently now in the process of being removed.
“It was old, chewed up, very hard,” Golden said. “I’m just happy most of our guys got off healthy. Now they’re redoing it? I don’t agree with that, that’s bad, putting us at risk like that on that turf.”
The turf itself was dingy and appeared faded from a distance. On it, it was clearly worn down in comparison to other artificial surfaces the team has played on recently.
In 2012, David DeCastro tore up his knee in a preseason game at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. Ben Roethlisberger took issue with the A-Turf installed there, a year before that game, referring to it incorrectly as Field Turf.
“This is a great field, but it’s field turf,” he said at the time, according to NFL.com. “It’s just killing guys because they can’t get their feet out of the ground, and it’s just another reason we should get rid of field turf.”
Artificial turf, as in a non-grass playing surface, has drawn this reaction in the past. The fields at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe are all grass, as is the surface at Heinz Field.
• Whether it was all on James Harrison or his return as well as several other key players to practice Tuesday, the Steelers’ practice felt full, complete even. There was more of a bounce in everyone’s steps, and Tomlin noted he liked the enthusiasm he was seeing on the field.
Fresh bodies on a field that’s seen so many players fall during camp should have that effect.
We should see it Friday against the Jaguars, too. We’ll know more about participation when Tomlin speaks today, but it’s a good time to get the starters in the game. A large amount of practice time has been spent without Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant on the field at the same time, but we saw it yesterday. As we mentioned in Morning Java, the weapons at Roethlisberger’s disposal, up to and including his own experience as well as the experience of his offensive line, brings out the real power of this offense.
As good as those four players are, their combined familiarity with Todd Haley’s offense and each other is the straw that stirs the drink. Even if it’s only a few snaps Friday, we should expect to see a few quality highlights.
11:45 a.m. Tomlin noted Golden, Dan McCullers, Vince Williams, Ross Ventrone and all the PUP listers — Mike Adams, Senquez Golson and Bruce Gradkowski — are out for Friday.
“Our intentions at this point is all healthy men are going to play,” Tomlin said. “How much they’ll play will be determined positionally, not only in terms of what the established guys need to see but the quality and the amount of depth behind them.”
Golden is expected to be out the next few weeks. McCullers and Williams missed the Hall of Fame game against the Vikings with hamstring injuries, and Ventrone hasn’t practiced since the beginning of camp after suffering an ankle injury during practice.
These aren’t unexpected absences, and Tomlin said he’s “leaving the light on” for all other injured players. Mike Mitchell is probably the most notable at this point. He was dressed Tuesday but did not participate much, if at all. Shamarko Thomas also participated Tuesday, and should be expected to play. It’ll be the first time the Steelers have had both of their projected starting safeties on the field together since the beginning of camp, where both played briefly before suffering injuries.
Considering the amount of time Thomas has missed, and the leadership and experience Will Allen brings to the secondary, perhaps it’s fair to wonder if Thomas still is the best option at strong safety. Thomas may have just been sitting in an effort to give younger players like Ian Wild a strong look at strong safety. Allen didn’t practice until Golden’s injury, which happened after Mitchell and Thomas were banged up.
Allen and Harrison were running on the side fields for the first week of camp before Allen was pulled into practice — Tomlin said at the time he was “taking the wrapper off” Allen due to the amount of injuries the team had at safety. Harrison’s first practice was Tuesday. Both were held out by Tomlin.
Even without that week of practice, though, Allen has been on the field more than Thomas has. Their rotation Friday, as well as Wild’s involvement, are points to watch against the Jaguars.
One of the glaring issues in the loss to the Vikings was in the receiving group. Jesse James dropped a touchdown pass, and fumbled a completion in his two targets on the game. Devin Gardner, who’s since been released, and Sammie Coates had drops as well. Tomlin said the adjustments based on those gaffes are simple.
“Catch the ball,” he said, laughing. “Young guys freeze up sometimes. That’s part of the process. I’d like to show them the cut-up of Lawrence Timmons in the Hall of Fame Game in 2007. It was pretty ugly. It provide a window, a ray of light, if you will, to those who are mentally weak enough to need it.
“Regardless of how you start, it’s not going to define you. I just use Lawrence as an example of that.”
Tomlin said there was no update on the surgeries performed on Shaun Suisham and Cameron Stingily, a player Tomlin didn’t note as being out Friday, but probably should be assumed so. Both players had surgeries on their injured knees Wednesday. He said he’d have an update later this afternoon.
It’s important to note the Steelers signed Garrett Hartley to replace Suisham, but they released Gardner to make room for him. It’s curious that Suisham hasn’t been placed on injured reserve yet. This could merely be a formality, but if and when they do that, they will have a roster spot available. They’d have another if they were to waive Stingily with an injury, but they didn’t do that yet, either.
Tomlin noted Stingily’s injury was possibly a meniscus tear, something that requires surgery but doesn’t carry with it a long rehabilitation process, like a torn ACL does.
3:35: Campus is largely empty right now. A few golf carts driving around, the drum chorus/band/whatever it’s called is practicing off in the distance. It’s an opportunity to clear out a few items from the ol’ digital notebook.
Defensive coordinator Keith Butler was walking and talking with Thomas after a defensive backs drill. Joey Porter was acting as the quarterback, shifting from one side to the other before throwing an intentionally wobbly pass away from the defenders. They’d have to make a play on the ball.
Butler was, in a playful manner, getting after Thomas for not jumping to grab a pass that sailed well over his head.
“Now, I know you ain’t THAT sawed off!” Butler said in a thick, southern drawl. “Use your height!”
Thomas looked back at him, matter-of-factly, “Coach, you just told me to use my height…what height?”
Butler laughed as Tomlin approached both of them. “Shamarko … yeah, you’re just that sawed off.”
Thomas laughed harder than the other two, and myself, did.
Butler has a certain charm with his players. Much like Tomlin, he interacts with them frequently, and often is the most spirited one in whatever circle of people he’s with at a given time. It’s not a volume thing, and it’s not so much in group settings. You really can see him come to life when talking with individual players, like he did with Thomas.
Everything I’ve heard from players regarding “Coach Buts” has been based in two things: Excitement and normalcy. It’s a constant theme, “we aren’t changing much” of anything from a strategic point of view. I saw these statements as an understandable submission of the company line — Butler himself said it this offseason, “watch the New England game and find out.” He’s not going to openly admit the differences of this defense vs. the one they used last season. We pointed out a few pieces of evidence to suggest there will be more variety.
Sawed Off Thomas fits into that. He’s a fierce run supporter and has good speed. Knowing that, he can start a play around linebackers’ depth, and either attack the line of scrimmage or drop into deep coverage. It makes it tougher for a quarterback to diagnose the defense.
6:27: The Steelers added receiver David Nelson, and officially placed Suisham on IR, ending his season.
Nelson, originally an undrafted free agent with the Bills out of Florida in 2010, has 138 catches and 1,530 receiving yards in five NFL seasons. He was last with the Jets, where he had six catches in six games before being released.
Nelson’s acquisition follows the release of two other receivers in camp, Eli Rogers and Gardner.
The team also confirmed Stingily was waived with an injury, and Braylon Heard was signed. Heard, a speedback out of Kentucky, was not drafted this year after he skipped his final year of eligibility. He graduated this spring, and he may not have felt his stock would have improved any. He had less than 150 carries in his collegiate career.
6:59: Hartley kicked for the first time today, hitting on 10-of-13, two of those misses coming from 57 yards. One was close, missing wide left, and the other was well short of the cross bar, and return man Kenzel Doe, who was stationed there before the snap, was able to retrieve it with plenty of room behind him.
Williams did not practice again Wednesday, which isn’t a surprise, considering Tomlin already declared him out of Friday’s game. The surprise, though, is in the fact Ryan Shazier wore Williams’ No. 98 jersey. It’s unclear why the second year linebacker did it.
Timmons didn’t practice, either, but the good news on the night is the return of both Mitchell and Thomas. Both played during the team’s 11-on-11 scrimmages, and it appears the Steelers will have their entire starting secondary playing together for the first time in weeks.
7:44: The 2-minute drill could be the most exciting period of practice. Part of the reason for that is it seems like it’s Tomlin’s favorite. He acts as the official, calling out the spot of the ball and directing the linesmen.
Tonight, he added an element of trash talk.
Brown was split wide offensive right with Antwon Blake over him. Tomlin confirmed the coverage with Blake, then saw Brown get set.
“I know it just by looking at your stance, eight-four,” he barked at Brown. “I know it just by looking at you.”
Brown put on a move about 12 yards down the field, turning Blake around, and caught the pass in bounds, stepping out of bounds within five feet of Tomlin, who was beaming ear-to-ear.
“I KNEW IT BY YOUR STANCE, EIGHT-FOUR! I KNEW IT!”
Brown fired back, “THEY CAN’T STOP THIS, COACH!” Tomlin smacked him on the butt on his way back to the huddle.
The next cornerback/victim was rookie Doran Grant. Tomlin quickly pointed out Brown was coming out on Grant.
“You ready for this, DG?” Tomlin chided, a hint of laughter in his voice. He turned around and said to the linesmen and a reporter, “Brown outside the numbers and everything on the other side,” Tomlin said. “It’s not even fair.”
It wasn’t. Another catch for Brown. It set up a touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Brown after the quarterback moved Brown to the slot, and DeAngelo Williams on the outside.
Brown ran a quick slant, made the catch as he was hit at the goal line. He extended the ball over the goal line, and Tomlin raised his arms in the air to indicate the touchdown.
It was as if he knew it the whole time.