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Tuesday, August 04, 2015

Let's take a day off

Not.

The Steelers will be off tomorrow, but we'll keep on trucking through this training camp.

I saw some good things on the field today. Sammie Coates suffered a couple of drops - along with Darrius Heyward-Bey - when the QBs were throwing warm-up passes.

But Coates made up for the drops with a big catch in the back of the end zone during seven-on-sevens. He went up to catch a ball from Tyler Murphy and Alden Darby gave him a big shove. But Coates contorted his body to get both feet down before landing out of bounds.

That was an NFL play.

Coates has to show more consistency but he's getting extra looks.

He's getting that work because Eli Rogers - who had been getting work as the No. 3 receiver with Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant out - went down with a sprained foot.

C.J. Goodwin moved up to No. 3 and Rogers going down is a big opportunity for him.

The Steelers have moved Goodwin, a 6-2ish receiver with great leaping ability, into the slot recently to see if he can handle those duties. He's also gotten some work as a kick returner.

Rogers, who is almost strictly a slot guy, is still likely No. 6 in the grouping behind Antonio Brown, Wheaton, Bryant, Heyward-Bey and Coates, but if he's out an extended period, Goodwin could make his move, especially if he proves to be more versatile.

@ Senquez Golson is not scheduled for any surgery yet on his shoulder. But things are trending that way.

The Steelers will decide sometime next week whether the rookie corner needs surgery.

Yes, the trade for Brandon Boykin shows the team is preparing for life without Golson. But it hasn't been decided just yet.

@ I'm not quite sure where people are coming up with the idea that Boykin is a journeyman cornerback.

First, he spent his first three seasons all with the same team, never playing less than 50 percent of the snaps. Second, he finished second in the NFL in interceptions in 2013 with six. Finally, Profootballfocus - the site that some like to use as the be-all end-all of measuring football players - had him rated as the 21st best cornerback in the NFL last season.

Now, everyone knows how I feel about PFF's judgment on certain positions. But CB play is one thing that you can judge watching it on TV better than some other positions. And Boykin allowed a QB rating of 77.2 on pass attempts his way last season.

That hardly makes him a journeyman.

Boykin, by the way, seems to be picking things up pretty quickly.

@ The defense showed up in a strong way in the seven shots drill, keeping the offense out of the end zone on six of seven plays.

Now, Ben Roethlisberger didn't practice, so that has to be factored in.

But, for example, on the first play, Landry Jones threw a nice pass to Le'Veon Bell on a little wheel route that Bell had in his hands until Will Allen came in and knocked it out.

@ The defense also held up well today on the live running drills.

On the one passing play, Heath Miller did catch a long pass down the seam - beating the cover-2 coverage when the safety had to walk to the line of scrimmage when the running back motioned out - but Cortez Allen hit him hard at the end of a 50-yard play and appeared to knock the ball loose at the end of the catch-and-run.




13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who said Boykin is a journeyman? That comment doesn't make any sense in the first place.

Anonymous said...

to be fair, Dale, it was just one person who said that dumb thing about Boykin being a journeyman in your previous blog comments. But I like that u made him a public example of speaking without first researching haha

Anonymous said...

I thought it might have been something like that. Dale's specialty.

Me personally, I can't understand why everyone these days says Hitler was the best. Not everyone has my expertise and inside information, but I think Hitler was bad. Call me old-fashioned, but that's just the way I see it.

Marc said...

who did heath beat in coverage, or did he go uncovered?

Homegrown Misanthropist said...

What about Doran Grant, anything wortj mentioning so far?

Homegrown Misanthropist said...

What about Doran Grant, anything wortj mentioning so far?

datruth4life said...

Dale, Mark Kaboly is reporting that Jarvis Jones told him he put on 15 pounds in the offseason and he is now up to 258 lbs. What have you seen from him in camp thus far?

And lastly, thoughts on Villanueva so far? To me, I can't see Adams being ready to play an NFL game in a month and I expect him to begin the season on the PUP List, probably along with Golson. Do you see the team picking up a vet tackle during one of the cut down periods? I have always liked Anthony Collins, the former Bengal and Buc, who is a free agent. I think the team will keep 9 OL this year so that they can continue to work with Villanueva. No way he's going to make it to the practice squad with every team in the league needing competent O-lineman. Thoughts?

Anonymous said...

jarvis certainly looks every bit of that weight. Look at him the previous two years and at Georgia and he looked like a safety (while at the same time u know he's no safety!), now he looks all big and strong. I expected that last year but better late than never, and hopefully it does translate cause size is not everything

datruth4life said...

Dale, I know he isn't one of the 'it' stories at this year's training camp, but I would love to hear from Sean Spence and see he he compares himself physically now to where he was before the knee injury, as far as quickness and explosiveness. Every time I go back and look at his highlight reel from the U, he looks like one of the more explosive ILBs that I've seen coming out of college in years. Just wonder if he could take a step this season as well since this will be only his second year of playing in regular season football games.

Vince Williams also seems like he's taken another step. Love the ILBs and OLBs on this squad right now and believe that they could keep 10 this year (Garvin and Chilly being 9th and 10th). With you not knowing what you're gonna get from Jarvis or Deebo this year, I'd like to hold on to Chickillo to ensure that I have a pass rusher in the pipeline if needed.

Dale Lolley said...

Jarvis has indeed looked stronger. He has heavy hands - as the scouts like to say - which helps him overcome his lack of elite athleticism. I think he could be primed for a breakout season, especially if Tuitt breaks out as expected.

Grant has had his moments. He's made a few nice plays on the football. But he's given up some stuff as well. He looks like a keeper, though.

Spence, to me, doesn't look as athletic as he did before the injury. That's only natural. It's a shame, because he looked like what they want Shazier to be - a sideline-to-sideline coverage guy. They like all four of those guys a lot. And Spence can still play in this league, I just don't know that he'll ever be what he could have been.

Vince Williams is a throwback inside linebacker. He hits like a truck. Every time you hear or see a big collision, nine times out of 10, he was involved. He just doesn't cover as well as the other guys, something that is going to be a big emphasis this year.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm wrong, but I didn't think Jones looked any different during OTAs/minis. After working out with Harrison. Then not. And scoffed at the idea that he needs to get any bigger. Now he shows up at camp a month later looking noticeably bigger. Hope he put that on legitimately in this make or break season for him. Just saying.

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