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Sunday, July 27, 2014

Sunday news, notes

The Steelers' practice was cut short today by thunderstorms, but not before Le'Veon Bell put a scare into the coaching staff by coming off with a sore hamstring.

He was immediately escorted to the training room, but head coach Mike Tomlin said it's not serious.

Rookie receiver Martavis Bryant is also dealing with a slight groin injury that held him out of practice completely. Rookie receiver C.J. Goodwin of California University of Pa. also had to leave after landing hard on his shoulder while trying to make a catch.

Neither of those injuries are considered serious.

Meanwhile, the news for center David Snow wasn't quite as good. He suffered a foot fracture Saturday that will require surgery to repair.

@ During a special teams session, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown went down to one end of field and practiced on their own with Roethlisberger rolling to his left and hitting Brown with a pass at the pylon.

That was a new thing, and it shows that Brown is intent on making himself more of a red zone threat. It also shows that Roethlisberger is cognizant that he won't have Jerricho Cotchery, who caught 10 red zone touchdowns last season, around this year.

@ I'm not sure which looked better, but on one play during team portion, Roethlisberger checked off a pass to his right and hit Danny Coale down the seam.

In coverage was linebacker Lawrence Timmons. It was a perfect throw and hit Coale in stride. But it had to be a perfect throw because Timmons was running with Coale stride for stride.

Timmons said he's dropped down to 242 pounds to improve his speed. It certainly showed there. Coale was a legit 4.4-4.5 guy coming out of college.

@ I've noticed Cam Heyward running around high-fiving guys and making sure he talks to everyone out there on every play. It's interesting to watch a new leader emerge.

@ Ramon Foster is expected to return to practice on Monday after dealing with the unfortunate passing of his mother.

Guy Whimper replaced Foster today after it was Cody Wallace Saturday.

@ Brown caught a ball in the flat that Jarvis Jones nearly knocked free before Brown re-caught it, split a pair of defenders and then raced down the sideline . . . where he was caught 25 yards downfield by rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier.

Now, Shazier had an angle, but you don't usually see linebackers run down receivers.


16 comments:

adamg said...

Dale, any chance you could keep us posted on how the WPIAL guys are doing? I know PS is the most likely spot for some or all of them, but it's atill nice to have local kids to root for.

Anonymous said...

Dale,
Love the updates and the A's hat! Truly the best in the business.

Anonymous said...

You know nothing... David Snow...

- Ygritte

Dale Lolley said...

Winter is coming. And been an A's fan since the Rickey Henderson, Mike Norris, Rick Langford days. of Billy Ball

LexingtonLegend said...

Dale,
Which Brown did Shazier run down? Justin or Antonio. I can't imagine Antonio being caught but shazier is fast.

Anonymous said...

Well I'm glad we drafted Shazier to make takles 25 yards down field rather than a corner who could break up passes. Another 8-8 decision from an 8-8 front office.

kyle said...

Or to look at it another way, they could have drafted the grabbiest corner in the draft (Dennard) and then watched in the offseason as the league made defensive holding a point of emphasis.

What's the over/under on Dennard's holding/interference penalties in his first game? 3.5? If he's going to start out in the nickel, maybe it should be a little lower. We'll see.

kelly said...

I read on another camp report that Hubbard was getting reps in Foster's spot... Don't recall reading about Whimper there. Can you clarify, Dale? Not nit-picking, just curious.

Thanks.

Dale Lolley said...

Antonio Brown was run down by Shazier.

This 8-8 front office is the same one that was in place for three Super Bowl teams, but yeah, it sucks.

Hubbard might have been out there for a couple of plays as well. But so was Whimper.

Dale Lolley said...

It's a moot point, anyway, since Foster is back

Anonymous said...

You are what your record says you are. For the record I didn't say they suck. And it is a different front office than it was. Cowher is gone, and Dan Rooney taking a lesser role.

kelly said...

Thanks Dale. I was just wondering if Hubbard was progressing well and thus, was given an opportunity with the first team.

As always... Really enjoy the info!

Anonymous said...

You missed the point I think with your snarky comment about drafting shazier just to catch guys 25 yds downfield.. The point is, somebody caught him and he didn't take it to the house.. And for that to be a linebacker, speaks to his speed

Anonymous said...

"During a special teams session, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown went down to one end of field and practiced on their own with Roethlisberger rolling to his left and hitting Brown with a pass at the pylon."

Gee, it's good to see the QB can complete a pass without a defense on the field.

Super Bowl here we come, Yinzers.

Anonymous said...

^-- idiot

Thanks for the updates Dale, and please don't let the troll get the best of your Monday

Anonymous said...

A$$. No one thinks you're clever, or smart. When are you running your team onto the field Mr. GM? Show us all how the Smart Guy does it.