Ben Roethlisberger got a warm welcome from the several thousand Steelers fans gathered for Saturday afternoon's practice here at Saint Vincent College.
Roethlisberger admitted to not being sure how he'd be received in his first real exposure to the fans. But everything seemed to go well and he spent an extended period of time signing autographs following the session.
Roethlisberger again split some snaps with Byron Leftwich in the early team portion of the drills. But Leftwich took all the first-team snaps in the final session.
© Running back Jonathan Dwyer left early with a hamstring injury, while nose tackle Casey Hampton sat out with a groin injury suffered this morning.
The team also got a scare when Mike Wallace came up limping after running a long route. But he returned and appears to be OK.
© Rookies Maurkice Pouncey and Jason Worilds got their welcome to the NFL moments in one-on-one blocking/rushing drills.
Worilds was put on his back by tight end David Johnson one one backers on tight ends drill. This after being driven into the ground by Heath Miller earlier.
Worilds also had trouble keeping his feet throughout the drills and must work on that aspect of his game.
Tony Hills also tossed him around a couple of times.
In o-line/d-line drills, Ziggy Hood clubbed Pouncey to the ground in a meeting of No. 1 draft picks, prompting head coach Mike Tomlin to exclaim, "What a difference a year makes."
Tomlin had that pairing go against each other two more times after that, with Hood again besting Pouncey before Pouncey came back and held his ground the third time.
© On a positive note, Thaddeus Gibson, the other rookie draft pick at linebacker, looked very good in pass rushing and taking on the tight end drills.
He looks strong at the point of attack.
© James Harrison sent a message on the opening of the 11-on-11 passing drills, leveling Rashard Mendenhall on the first play.
Mendenhall bounced right back up, though.
its way early and Worilds is a converted DE right? but when Tony Hills starts throwing you around, you got a lot of work to do.
ReplyDeleteHe just seems to be having problem keeping his footing. Maybe he had bad shoes on, but he struggled. Gibson looked very good.
ReplyDeleteSteve McClendon also showed some flashes.
Dale, is it a foregone conclusion that Leftwich will be the starter for the 1st 4-6 weeks? Was Dixon ever really given a chance or did he do something to lose it?
ReplyDeleteDale,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. It is ironic that the first pictures of Ben with fans come with him smiling in front of two attractive young women. He must have quite a few temptations. Yet I find the rumors that he peed on the golf course unbelievable almost to a conspiracy level. How could someone sitting in their house see Ben, identify him accurately as such, and then watch him start peeing. Come on. It is ridiculous. Nevertheless he really will have to watch himself this year because he is one major mess up away from being off the team.
Anyway, I heard Isaac Redman laid a great block on the Randle-El reverse play. How does he look to you?
Worilds is officially a bust. Nobody who gets worked over by Tony Hills - even on the very first day of camp - will ever make it in the NFL.
ReplyDeleteAt least Gibson sounds promising.
Geez, one day and everyone's ready to write off Worlids! HE'S A ROOKIE and probably thinking too much. Let's not forget it took James Harrison several years as a backup before he became the defensive MVP for the entire NFL. Ease up guys and let's allow Jason a chance to learn a new position before we pass judgment.
ReplyDeleteSomething told me Gibson's transition would be very fluid and Worilds's would be slower
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was his muscled body and his demeanor to attack the ball carrier, but he just seemed like a ready player to me last year. Worilds though has way more potential imo, but will take longer to adapt
It's just the first day though....
thanks dale, keep them coming!
Redman definitely looks thinned down from last year.
ReplyDeleteI'm not writing Worilds off. Just reporting that he had a rough first day.
"Redman definitely looks thinned down from last year."
ReplyDeletehmmm, good thing or bad thing? Was he looking fat last year?
Or maybe they have no plans to use him as a traditional fullback, meaning he was to be leaner and faster
I feel bad for Mendenhall. He is going to get crushed this year a lot with our weak o-line
ReplyDeleteHe did look slightly overweight last year and his conditioning was a problem.
ReplyDeleteThat Roethlisberger was cheered confirms what I've always thought ..... on the evolution scale Steelers fans fall somewhere between pond scum and cockroaches
ReplyDeleteDale,
ReplyDeleteThe comment about writing off Worlids was in response to a previous poster, not to your observations, which are always appreciated.