Linebacker Mike Humpal did not practice again today as the Steelers held their first workouts at their training facility after breaking camp and head coach Mike Tomlin has already pretty much ruled the sixth-round draft pick out for Saturday's game at Minnesota.
I had Humpal on my 53-man roster I did Monday, but as Chuck Noll used to say, "you can't make the club in the tub."
Take Humpal off that roster and put Tyrone Carter back on, though linebacker Donovan Woods could make a strong case for himself this weekend.
© In case you missed it, former Steelers' punter Josh Miller was released by Tennessee Tuesday.
Miller, however, is 38.
20 comments:
He may land on the practice squad, and that's good for now
The stingers Humpal has experienced are a real red flag. They could be the harbinger of a very serious, football career ending condition.
dale...
Yikes! The mere thought of Tyrone Carter must have sent chills up the spines of the entire AFC North! Does he do anything good to deserve a spot? What is your prediction now with the return gane?
Thanks.
-Sasquatch
dale, did troy practice today at full speed ?
Yeah, Troy practiced, but they only used him on the defensive show team. That said, he was full speed. They're easing him back into things because - they have Tyrone Carter,
Mendenhall and Moore will handle kickoffs. Moore and Holmes will do punts.
Is Baker or Reid the better receiver?
Baker brings more to the table, in my opinion. He's bigger. He's a better blocker. He's got some intangibles.
The only thing Reid has over him is return ability, and it's not very good return ability.
Dale,
Do you think the Steelers will keep Drummond over Baker because of his return ability, both kickoffs and punts? M. Moore has not looked good on kickoff returns and Mendenhall hasn't really showed me that he is a threat to take it the distance either on kickoffs.
I believe they could put Baker on the practice squad again, as well as Micah Rucker, who dropped 2 big passes this past week, his first game action of the preseason.
As far as Humpal, I think everyone is jumping ship too quick. He has a stinger. It might be okay by the regular season or it might not. He's looked good in the games that he's played and the Steelers absolutely need someone whose sole purpose is to put the hurt on returners.
A. Harrison is just a guy & has yet to do anything in games during the 2 years he's been on the squad (how many sacks can an OLB in the 3-4 miss and still have a job?). Donovan Woods is just practice squad material. A. Frazier, M. Humpal, Keyaron Fox and B. Davis all make this squad because of their special teams ability.
I don't know about you all, but I don't think I want Santonio Holmes back there returning punts. Other than Ben, he's probably your most dangerous weapon on offense right now. I don't think the risk is worth the reward, not with this schedule that we have.
Thoughts?
If Mendenhall & Moore are doing KR & Moore and Tone are getting the PR duties this week, seems like a really bad sign for Eddie Drummond & Willie Reid. Bloom's not even in the conversation any more.
I could see the Steelers making another move at the end of camp to bring in a proven returner since no one has really seized the job in the preseason.
Baker will most likely be the #5 WR, but I don't think he plays STs at all, so he's no help on any of the units.
I think Arnold Harrison is the #2 backup at OLB behind only Timmons (who I heard is the backup at all LB positions). Harrison makes the squad. Whether Frazier makes it or not is in doubt (although I really like what I've seen from the guy).
Humpal has had 3 stingers, not just one. The stinger itself isn't the concern, but the fact that he gets so many of them could indicate bigger, more severe medical issues for him.
sorry Dale, but I totally disagree with you about Baker vs Reid. I believe Reid brings more to the table. Baker is a slower, less athletic clone of Nate Washington. Having him on the roster this year is redundant. Put him on the PS, and use him to replace Nate when he leaves after this year. Reid brings more the table really. He has 4.35 speed, he is a former rb at a very high level(2 full years at FSU), he can catch the ball out of the backfield, he can run after the catch. He is perfect for wr screens and short stuff and he can take a hit. Everything I've seen from Baker shows me that hes still about a year away. BTW, we can put Baker on the PS, we can not do the same with Reid.
Anonymous ...
Did you see Willie Reid this past game? He pretty much cut himself. He isn't what the Steelers thought they had when they drafted him. Now he still might get the chance to become that, but it won't happen in Pittsburgh.
The fact that Baker does nothing only special teams really hurts him. If you are a 3rd - 5th option as a WR, you better either play special teams or be very special at one specific thing to help your team win ballgames. Baker is neither.
I don't know if Humpal has had numerous stingers, or if this is one that has just lingered for him. Its not like this team has a long line of special teams demons that are in line to knock Humpal off this roster.
And A. Harrison just doesn't make any plays, period. I've watched all of his games in a Steelers uniform & he's just a body out there. No impact. At least Frazier flashes on special teams, has good size and can play in the base defense at either LOLB or ROLB if needed and be productive.
If either Nick Eason or Tyrone Carter make this team, then that will let me know that Tomlin isn't serious about taking a step forward this year.
Thoughts?
No, Humpal has had 3 stingers. As has been said, that's a red flag for a much more serious medical condition.
I like Reid over Baker. In the games, I've seen him, he makes catches and I've seen several where he's taken big hits to make them.
Tyrone Carter can play STs as well as Humpal plus he is vetern insurance in the secondary.
It's time for the Reid experiment to end. Injury-prone, with nbegligible receiving abilities and mythical return prowess.
It's time for people to stop looking at him for what he could've been, and see him for what he is: a bad NFL player.
Reid has 4.35 speed? That's news to me. He was never that kind of speedster. He was always a make-em-miss guy like Antwaan Randle El.
And the Lis Franc injury he had robbed him of a lot of that wiggle.
I've seen nothing of Bruce Davis thus far to make me feel he's going to be a great special teams contributor.
Drummond better show something on teams, because as a receiver, he's not much.
Mewelde Moore has always been a better punt returner than a kick returner in his career.
What amazes me is that the Browns had Josh Cribbs go down with an ankle injury the other night and brought another guy in who looked just as explosive. Can't understand why the Steelers can't find those kind of guys.
According to the Scounting Combine numbers that I found, Reid ran a 4.34 40 there. Tops in his group.
Doesn't matter though if you never show it on the field. I hoped that Reid would finally show up & be able to contribute on ST and at WR, but it hasn't really happened. Baker is the #5, but only because no one has really stepped up to grab the job.
I would agree that nobody else has stepped forward.
Dale,
Any chance that Micah Rucker could grab that spot based on potential? I believe he'll end up on the practice squad. Yeah, Reid just isn't what was advertised. Doesn't matter if you have 4.35 speed as a punt returner if you can't catch the ball. He also hasn't looked like anything special on kickoff returns either.
Let's hope Bruce Davis shows something on special teams as well as a 3rd down situation pass rusher as the year progresses because this team doesn't have an abundance of those types. If Woodley or James Harrison goes down, their goes our pass rush.
I'm not expecting many sacks from a D-Line whose average age is 43.
Thoughts?
I don't see Rucker making it as anything more than a PS guy at this point.
They need Davis to turn up the heat.
I just remember Porter his rookie year when he tore it up on special teams,
In my opinion, the only similarity between Davis and Porter is their mouths.
I would agree with that at this point, though I haven't heard a whole lot of mouth out of Davis to this point.
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