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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Mini-camp notes

As I expected, the Steelers did not open mini-camp with rookies David DeCastro and Mike Adams working  with the No. 1 offensive line.

DeCastro and Adams did work in with the ones in the final team session, but just for a few plays. Other than that, they both worked with the twos, DeCastro at right guard, Adams at left tackle.

Marcus Gilbert got the nod at left tackle, while Ramon Foster was at right guard. The surprise among the first-team line was Trai Essex at right tackle over Jonathan Scott.

@ Ben Roethlisberger looked pretty sharp during a two-minute drill, tossing a TD pass to Jerricho Cotchery on fourth down from the 4 after quickly moving the team down the field.

Byron Leftwich didn't look nearly as sharp, missing on all four of his passes.

In fact, at one point during team drills, Leftwich missed on eight straight passes. But, in his defense, with Mike Wallace MIA and Hines Ward retired, Leftwich is working with a group of highly untested players on that second unit.

@ Chris Rainey looks pretty good as a running back. Very quick and easy to lose in the hole.

Baron Batch also looks like he's completely healed up as well.

It's going to be a very interesting battle at running back on this team.

Rashard Mendenhall is also running in a straight line again. He hasn't started cutting yet, but Mendenhall looks like he's in great shape. It looks like he'll be back sooner rather than later.

17 comments:

  1. Dirt4HOF3:37 AM

    I`m glad to hear Mendy is running but I`d still like to see him sit out a few weeks and not rush back for the opener...

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  2. Anonymous7:45 AM

    excellent news on Mendenhall

    but yeah, at least keep him out the 6 PUP weeks, and if Redman's running great let him rest a few more weeks, have him healthier for december

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  3. Anonymous10:52 AM

    Dirt4HOF - you are an idiot. No crap he will miss several games

    Running is part of rehab u idiot. Just because Dale said he looked good doesnt mean he will be playing in the first game dumbass

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  4. Anonymous10:59 AM

    no need to get hostile...

    he will definetly be out the first 6 weeks and most likely won't be 100% until the following season...which of course he may or may not be a steeler by then.

    regardless, i think the RB core will be better than most people believe, there is a lot of talent there.

    can't wait until training camp when we can see if the new guys can really play.

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  5. Anonymous11:00 AM

    Dude, chill out. There are better ways to spend your time than getting electronically angry at people. Go build something.

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  6. Dirt4HOF12:42 PM

    Dirt4HOF - you are an idiot. No crap he will miss several games

    Running is part of rehab u idiot. Just because Dale said he looked good doesnt mean he will be playing in the first game dumbass

    Well if that isn`t the pot calling the kettle black? Mendy himself said (2 weeks ago when he was running on the sidelines) not to rule him out for opening day. If further explaination is needed you`re a bigger even moron than you have just shown yourself to be...And an anonymous one at that... By the way have you ever had to rehab an ACL? I have so I know about running in a streight line as opposed to making cuts...
    Are you a browns fan there Mr Internet big mouth? Cause you act like one!

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  7. digital blue vag1:01 PM

    between bad grammar and hostile morons this is getting fun!

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  8. Dale do you feel Scott only holding a spot until Starks is Healthy. It also nice to see some speed in the bckfield. Any thoughts if Clay or Dwyer has an edge

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  9. Scott isn't even holding the spot. It's been Gilbert at LT with Essex at RT.
    But I do think Starks is on the radar.

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  10. Anonymous8:40 AM

    "Mendy himself said (2 weeks ago when he was running on the sidelines) not to rule him out for opening day"

    LOL. Mendenhall said hes gonna play, MUST BE TRUE!!!

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  11. Anonymous9:45 AM

    dale,

    how's rolle looking?

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  12. It's really tough to tell how a lot of them look because A. there's no hitting and B. the defensive backs pull up on balls rather than have collisions.

    At these things, it's easy to see how the skill players look. Outside of that, it's tough to tell a lot of times. Without the physical part of football, you don't know if a receiver would hold onto a ball that he just caught.
    There are no sacks, so the quarterbacks just keep moving around until somebody comes open. I've seen plays go almost 10 seconds.
    So it's tough to say whether most of the players are doing well or not. You have to rely on what the scouts and coaches are telling you regarding whether the player is handling his assignments. In that respect, Rolle is fine.

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  13. Dale of the skill players who impressed and dissapointed during Mini Camp? who also surprised especially among the UDFA and long shots.

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  14. Anonymous10:02 AM

    well, i thought the knock on him was his speed, so i thought you might have gotten an idea of how he looked compared to some of the other guys.

    separately, i see colbert mentioned mendy and hampton most likely starting the season on the pup list. that's no surprise to me, but how does the DL shake out? some speculate hood shifting inside. your thoughts? thanks.

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  15. I wouldn't say it's impossible for Hood to shift inside but considering McClendon has played nose, and they drafted Ta'amu, I'd say it's highly unlikely that Hood lines up anywhere but where he has so far in his career.

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  16. Anonymous3:53 PM

    yeah, I think the "internal talks" of Hood shifting inside ended when Ta'mu was drafted

    even before that, they seem to trust McLendon

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  17. McLendon will be fine for the time being until Hamp is ready to go.

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