Training Camp Report - Day 12

Bob Labriola and Tom Opferman open up by discussing yesterday's practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium and talking about Kenny Pickett's strong showing at yesterday's practice. We also hear from Coach Tomlin and discuss the return of Larry Ogunjobi to the practice fold. We also take a listen to Minkah Fitzpatrick before rounding out today's Training Camp Report!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Man, We're really excited to be here. It's awesome to
get guarded. And so now we take off. PC's the
training camp report. What Tom Opperman and Bob Labriola on
Steelers Nation Radio. The Steelers are actually going to have
practice today on the campus of St. Vincent College at
Chuck Noll Field. But Labs, it wouldn't be Steelers Training

(00:27):
Camp two without some sort of a schedule change as
far as the Steelers practice is concerned. Today, instead of
the usual one practice start time, the Steelers just announced
the practice will be moved up to ten thirty this morning.
It's glad. You've gotta hustle out of here once we're done,
once we sign off the here, you've got to get
down to the practice field pretty quickly, pretty much. And

(00:47):
you know, um that intro that we play, you know,
before the start of the show every day, Mike Tomlin
says at one point, and so now we take off.
I don't think he had any any understanding of what
those words were gonna come to mean. This training camp, um,
because it's been uh, you know, on the road. This

(01:10):
is Steelers camp on the road today. It's not on
the road, but it's not also not as you mentioned
that the time has changed. Um, which, hey, I'm just
glad we're not getting on buses again. You know enough
of that already, right, But yeah, it'll be here because
based you know, one of the you know, I feel

(01:33):
I am an old man, but you really feel like
an old man when the first thing you do every
morning is checked the weather. Um. So you know, I
checked the weather this morning when I first got up
about six thirty, and um, you know, because I get
up in time for the six thirty sports on DV,
the morning show, because I can well I can, you know,

(01:53):
I'm I'm right here so and it's and it's right
and it's right there. So um, but I checked the
weather and I saw that, um, Latrobe is going to
get pounded or supposed to get pounded all afternoon. So
I was thinking, for there's really not a whole lot
of open uh time slots here to try and get
a practice in today except for early in the morning.

(02:17):
But I never my wildest dreams, I never thought that
it would actually happen, so, you know, for a change,
when the email came from PR, I just held my
breath as I opened it, and it said just moved
up to ten thirty and it's going to be on campus,
and I thought, oh yeah, you dropped to your knees

(02:38):
started started waving my terrible top. Well, yesterday they had
to board one of those big yellow buses and head
over to Latrobe Memorial Stadium. Soggy field conditions at Chucknell
Field did not allow them to have practice on campus. Uh,
it wasn't exactly the same atmosphere I'm sure as a
Friday night lights practice, but I'm sure it was a

(02:58):
little bit of a step up atmosphere, why as than
a usual practice at chuck will Field as well yesterday? Yeah, absolutely,
I mean it was just just to add to a
little bit more of the information you just gave. The
situation on campus was not so much that the fields
were soggy, but the sidelines were really bad, you know,

(03:19):
right right, So that's why we went to Latrope Stadium. Now,
you know the typical um atmosphere. You know when the
when the buses pull up, there's all kinds of fans,
you aligning the It's like a high school game. You
know when the team runs out between the thing, you
know they don't have the paper sign that you burst

(03:41):
through but a lot of other things, you know, cheerleaders
and high school cheerleaders and all that stuff. So there
was some of that. It wasn't to the degree that
that you usually get on a Friday night light situation.
And the crowd was nowhere near the number, but it
was still you know, it's it was Monday afternoon, you know.
And so UM, I forget which UH player said early

(04:09):
in the once, early in his training camp, when he
saw the fans here for a practice, he said something like,
doesn't anybody work around here? And so but you know,
that's when that line came into my head. When I
saw how many people were there, I'm thinking holy and
and that Um, the route up to the stadium, you know,

(04:32):
people are out there, um with their phones taking video
of the busses and waving come out on their front
yards and they're waving their terrible tiles and stuff. They
had signs in their yards. I mean, it's it's really
unbelievable the amount of support that you get, um just
you know rid number school bus. Uh. So, you know,

(04:54):
it was it was a little bit more amped enthusiastic
than it is in a typical UH practice here on
campus and the other thing is the fans were much
more engaged in it. Um. You know, you heard occasional
chance coming up either for an individual player, and a
lot of screaming for autographs, you know that kind of

(05:17):
But uh, yeah, it was. Um, it was a little
bit different, I have to admit, not again, not to
the to the degree of Friday night lights, but you know,
much more of a degree than a typical practice on campus.
We're gonna hear what coach Tomlin had to say following
practice yesterday at La Trow Memorial Stadium in just a second.
But we gotta take care of our obligations first. The

(05:40):
fans that were there were enthusiastic, you said, and they
had a big reason to be enthusiastic because I heard
from a very reliable source that Kenny Pickett made at
least two big time NFL throws on Monday. And my
reliable sources you so Kenny Pickett is. That's him right,
He's number one quarterback to NFL throws. Bang, bang, we're done. Well, Um,

(06:03):
you know, start casting the bust for can Ohio. Um.
But seriously, um, one of the things, um, you know
that all college quarterbacks have to grasp is the difference
between what's opened and what's opened in college and what's
open in the NFL, and what's required, you know, to

(06:24):
make throws in the NFL. You know, the windows are tighter,
um and the pace of the ball has to be
you know, a lot more because you lollygag it out
outside the numbers. Man, that is an interception at the time.
You know, I remember back in you know, Alex Van Pelt,

(06:45):
he was a seventh round draft pick or twelveth round
draft picker every it was early in Bill Kawer's career
before they really shortened the draft. And you know, he
broke all of Dan Marino's records at pitch, just like
Kenny Pickett then broke all of Alex man record at
pitt And how Bill Coward used to bring the rookies,

(07:05):
UH and and new players in four about five or
six days before he brought the veterans in. So Alex
van Pelt, you know, did this five or six days
and then the veterans show up. So it's uh first
practice in pads. There was no there was no acclamation period.
So the day you showed up, it was practicing pads

(07:27):
and first eleven on eleven and the first team defense
out there against you know, the bottom of the depth
chart offense. That's how Bill Kauer like to do it
at the start, and Alex Van Pelt on the first play,
he threw an out pattern at Brod Woodson side and
Woodson jumped. The route was so fast he almost overran

(07:51):
it before he picked it off for a touchdown. So
that's my story about you know, the difference between being
a successful college quarterback and being one, uh, you know,
being one in the NFL. And so Kenny Pickett made
at least two throws that were to me very eye
opening outside the numbers, fifteen to eighteen yards down the field,

(08:15):
and um, he was on the one hash and he
threw to the other side of the field outside the number.
So it's a it's a pretty long throw for a
fifteen yard you know game down the field, and the
ball was delivered on time. You know, he didn't wait
until the receiver completed the route. He threw up as
the guy was making the break or right before, and

(08:36):
the ball was on target and had good pace on
it because the defensive back couldn't make a play on it. So, um,
you know, I'm not saying that his arm got stronger
since camp reported, our camp opened, he reported for camp.
But it seems to me that based on yesterday, he's
starting to pick up you know the difference between throwing

(09:00):
those kinds of patterns in college and throwing them in
the NFL. You know, to me to compare it to
something and you know, hey, let's blow it out of
proportion because that's what we're here to do. Remember that
the day, I guess it was a week ago or something,
we talked about Mitch Robinsky and it kind of seemed
like a turning point for him in the offense. Well,
I don't want to say it was the whole offense,

(09:22):
but I thought that it was a turning point for
pick it in terms of, as I said, um, you know,
understanding what he needed to do. And quite honestly, I
didn't know if he had that kind of arm or
not because we really hadn't seen it yet. But um, so,
like you said, competitions over, well, let me say this.

(09:47):
You know, as I said, I just you feel a
lot better about the pick, the first round pick of
the guy when you can see him, you know, start
to do these kinds of things because you know there's
they're successful college quarterbacks, but that doesn't necessarily mean that
they're gonna be good in the NFL. You know, do
they have the tools, does he have the raw skills?

(10:10):
And then does he get it? You have to get
it too, and he seems to be getting it. And
yesterday I saw that the arm that I really hadn't
noticed before. Now that's very encouraging to hear that. And
you know, as far as Kenny's progress is concerned, I
know a lot of people out there and stealing Nation.
Well him to be Joe Burrow, get in there right away,

(10:31):
be the starter from day one. But you have to
be encouraged as well with the progression that he's had.
You know, like you said, you're starting to see signs
of him being that first round pick with those two
big time throws that he had yesterday. He's starting to
get some touchdowns in seven shot strails when he gets
the opportunity. So you have to be encouraged with his
growth so far. It's not worst case scenario where he

(10:52):
looked lost to begin and he just looks even more
lost as he's worked his way through about a week
and a half of camp. So definitely some in uraging
things to take away from Kenny's progress, even though all
jokes society, he's not really there yet. As far as
threatening Mitch for number one, I don't think so. But
I mean again, I'm not I'm not there every day,

(11:13):
you know, in all of the meetings and all that
other stuff. I would still think, you know, that Traubinsky
has shown enough to hold onto the job. I think
that in this particular instance, at this specific position, given
their difference and experience and you know, things that Traubinsky
has already accomplished in the league, uh, you know, winning

(11:35):
record as a starter, two appearances in the playoffs, in
one Pro Bowl. I mean, you know, you can say
what you want about Drabinsky, what he's not and was
he wasted second overall pick and they should have picked
to Shaun Watson or whatever else. You know, the Bears
fans want to complain about a lot of that is legitimate.
But you know, there's always been a difference in my

(11:57):
mind between thinking, um, what a what a guy can
do at the NFL level and being able to plug
in the video or the you know, and see him
doing it. So you know, the Steelers have seen and
the league has seen Troubinsky do some things that when
you when you um transfer them to Kenny Pikett, there's

(12:20):
still projections. He's still a rookie. I mean, you know,
it's it's not a slight against him, it's just that, hey,
you know, he's younger, he's the newcomer. But um, you know,
when you're in the situation that the Steelers are in
this particular for the start of this particular season, you
have what you have. I thought that Troubinsky was going

(12:40):
to have to lose the job, you know, because I
don't think that if if Traubinsky is um you know
what he has been in the NFL so far, if
he was that this training camp in pretty season, I
didn't know whether it was possible for pick it as
a rookie to come in and usurp him, you know,

(13:02):
because let's face it, Ben Roethlisberger is a was a
much more talented player as a in his rookie training
camp and Tommy and Tommy Maddox was a much worse
um guide to try and beat out than Travisky, and
Roethlisberger didn't do it. He got his chance because Maddox

(13:24):
got hurt. So, you know, coming in as a rookie
and beating out an established NFL starter in their first
training camp. It has to be a situation where the
established guy loses the job as much as the rookie
wins it because it's really not that it's really not
that likely. There's not enough time, um, you know, and

(13:47):
then the Roethlisberger matos thing. Let's not forget the famous
Alan Fannica quote. This is a this is a multi
time All Pro guard. And Fannick was not a mouthie
kind of guy either. He was thoughtful and introspective. And
you know, and when Maddox got hurt against the Ravens
in that second game of the two thousand and fourth

(14:08):
season that Monday after that, when when the PR department
brought Fanny and kind of as a sacrificial lamp to
the media there that day and somebody asked him, are
you excited to see what the rookie can do? And
he's like looked at him like, are you out of
your mind excited? No, I'm not excited. You know, we're
grown and I'm paraphrasing, we're grown men here. This is

(14:30):
a business. This kid's you know, he's wet behind the years,
not excited about this, you know. But so that's the
attitude too of his teammates of whoever the rookie is
so um, but yeah, Kenny picks making progress. Coach Tomin
spoke to the media following practice at Latro Memorial Stadium yesterday.

(14:52):
Let's take a listen to what coach t had to
say right here on the training camp report. Had we
had an opportunity to come back over here to this
video and entertained fans their source of energy for us.
It's a big day for us, you know, just hitting
some elements of situation football. We gotta continue to introduce
those components of the game to him and and teach
and learn. Will be in the stadium at the end

(15:12):
of the week. And that's just the reality of it.
And there there needs to be a certain level of preparedness,
um excited about just guys working their way back to us.
Uh Lua Lou came off the list today and was
able to begin his process. Many of the others are
starting to work in a partial capacity and and the
key is for us not to take any steps backwards
as we move forward with the with these guys and

(15:33):
pushing them back to full participation. And so from that standpoint,
I thought it was good. Got a couple of new
bumps and bruises to manage and deal with high Smith ribs, uh,
deant Johnson, hip, flex or avery, growing things associated with
this time of year, dots and ankle. We'll get those
guys evaluated. Hopefully those can be described this day to
day and we will continue with this process. Questions Mike

(15:57):
earlier appointed place with the physical day and you know
a short yards and goal line and there's no way
around that when there's a line in the game. Um,
and it's of that nature. Um, you get to know
yourselves and each other pretty quickly. And Uh, I like
the efforts in the in the urgency relative to that
segment brought today. Yeah, it's this day to day though.

(16:21):
Ogan Jovi was just talking about how good it was
to get out there, test the foot, get involved. From
your standpoint, Wuds like to see him being roving into
the expense. Didn't take long for his presence to be felt.
He's a big man. He comes off brox Um. We're
glad to have him out there and we look forward
to to him just getting better and better. Hit the
look in the goal line situation. Was like to see

(16:43):
him coming back out and looking physical right away. We know.
Make that's coach Tomlins speaking to the media following practice yesterday,
very chatty mood. Coach Tomlin was in after practice, game
a game, a lot of time to the media, a
lot of stuff to get into there, but quickly wanted
to touch on before he hit the break. Uh, some
things he said about the injury report and some pre

(17:03):
practice roster moves. Before Monday's practice, the Steelers sign outside
linebacker Rondell Carter and waves slash injured outside linebacker t
d Moultrie. And as you heard Tom and said, the
team also activated defensive lineman Tyson Alualu from the publist.
A couple other injuries High Smith, Deante Johnson, Gerard Avery,
and Kevin Donson all hoping to be just day to day,

(17:23):
hoping you can see those guys in the first preseason
game on Saturday. Reinforcements are coming their labs. You know,
he didn't mention it, but Friar Muth was a full
participant in practice. They touched on Ogan Joe Be a
little bit. Uh. Teams starting around into some some good
health right now. Yeah, and when after the break one
of the things I want to get into is um,

(17:45):
you know, the addition of Ogan Job and how it
makes the pick of picket in the first round that
much more, makes that much more sense. It's an expertise
from you their labs. Let's just hit the break now.
When we come back on the other side, we'll dive
into that Ogan Job topic and we're going to talk
about the seven shots and goal line session from yesterday's practice.

(18:07):
A lot more on the way here on the Steelers
Training Camp Report. Right here on SNRDC is the Training
Camp Report with Tom Opperman and Bob Labriola on Steelers
Nation Radio. Steelers practice today was moved up to ten
thirty am, so just a little over an hour away

(18:30):
until the Steelers take the field for practice. If you
were planning on heading up to Latrobe for the practice,
it is still open to the public. You're just gonna
have to get there a whole heck of a lot earlier.
So if we're just breaking the news to you now,
you might want to run to the car and head
on up Route thirty two head to Latrobe Labs. We
ended the last segment listening to Tomlin and he touched

(18:50):
on Larry ogan Job's return to practice in a full capacity,
and you could tell in his tone of voice that
he really loved what he had to see, even in
just that first initial look at him as a fool.
Go uh, this guy has a lot on his shoulders.
This year brought in um you know, was signed to
the Bears on a long term deal, didn't pass his physical,

(19:10):
so the Steelers got lucky there and we're able to
snatch him up on a one year deal. Everything looks
fine health wise for him now. And like I said,
just a lot on his plate. Are a lot on
his shoulders as far as helping improve that defensive line
and helping stop that helping improve that run defense this year. Yeah,
and you know when you you look at Ogunjoby, And

(19:31):
I'm not going to imply that the Steelers you know,
had foresaw this eventuality when they were you know, preparing
for the draft and deciding on you know, Kenny Pickett
in the first round. But I'm here to tell everybody that, um,
Larry Ogunjobie has a better defensive lineman than they could

(19:52):
than they could have picked overall. Um and this guy,
you know, he is he is what you know in
in in the pre draft run up. You know, um,
one of the things that you know, I would say when, uh,
you know, did they pick Jordan Davis? He was the

(20:14):
um common name thrown out as a defensive lineman. And
I don't know, you know, George Davis could turn out
to be a really good player. And I'm not here
to the mean him or anything, but this is this
was my point about him as someone who and again
I'm not a scout. I my exposure to college football
is what's on SEC Saturdays at three thirty on CPS. Okay,

(20:38):
And so you know you saw a good bit of
Georgia because they were very good, and then certainly in
college football playoffs, national championship game. Okay. Another thing with
Jordan Davis that I won't say I didn't like, but
made me pause was that he had you know, they
took him out in passing situations. Now you know this

(21:00):
is this is a Georgia team that hadn't won a
national championship in a long long time. And so to me,
the argument that well they wanted to you know, get
other guys playing time, that doesn't really hold true for
me because if this guy was that good, um, you
leave him on the field. I mean, Kirby Smart needed
to win a championship. He needed to beat Alabama. Um,

(21:24):
you know too, I'm not saying to save his job,
but certainly to get the program you know where he
wants it to be, which is, you know, at the
top of the preseason polls every year, and then that
allows you to recruit and stay there and you know
that's that's a whole cycle. So you know, um, when
people would compare him to Casey Hampton, um, you know,

(21:45):
my my response always was Casey Hampton came out of
the game on third times and and Casey Hampton's great
run stuff for great run stuff, but um what what
ended up with? But he was fortunate enough to play
in an air when running the ball on first and
second downs was still kind of policy. Yeah, because NFL

(22:08):
teams they just they didn't come out, you know, in
five wides first series and start throwing the ball all
over the field. Then it just that just wasn't the
way the game was played. So you know, my response
to about Jordan Davis was, well, yeah, he's a great
run stuffer, but the offense is not gonna cooperate and
run the ball when he's in the game. They just won't. Uh,

(22:31):
And so then what then what do you have? I mean,
you need some kind of the guy doesn't have to
be Aaron Donald in terms of sacking the quarterback, but
you need to have some get some kind of contributions
from people who play in the middle of the defensive
line against the past past. They have to be able

(22:53):
to contribute in a positive way to your past defense.
And for guys in the middle of the defensive linement,
usually he means, you know, Russia passer. Remember Javon Hargrave.
The Steelers made him a third round pick a while ago.
I can't remember the year off the top of my head. Um.
And one of the reasons that they liked him was

(23:14):
because he was able to provide, you know, some pass
helped to the pass rush, you know, as an interior
defensive lineman. And has Hargrave developed h and showed that
he could do that many signs thirty nine million dollar
free agent contract with the Eagles. So that's well, but
that that shows you how valued that is. Okay, So

(23:38):
that brings me back to Larry Ogunjob. Larry ogen Job
is a good interior defensive lineman against the run. Um
He's as Mike Tomlin described him somewhat yesterday, He's a
grown man and he is hard to move. Um, he
is physical, he gets off blocks. Okay. He also had

(23:59):
seven sacks one for the Bengals, So you know you
have him as an interior guy. You know, all of
a sudden, now the teams can't just uh um swing
their protections to t J. Wattside all the time because
Ogan Joebi can make Hay up the middle. So this

(24:20):
is a guy now who you were able to add.
I get it. It's a one year deal and you
know this is we're gonna have to revisit this all.
You know that next offseason. But his addition allowed the
Steelers to come out of the off season process with
approven run stuffer, with some pass rush ability, ability to

(24:44):
contribute to the past rush, and the best quarterback in
the draft. So now it it didn't have to be
in either or situation. You got them both both. Um,
both things that I think you could look at as
needs slash wants for the Steelers coming out of the

(25:06):
off season. Something to someone excuse me, someone to strengthen
the run defense and the developmental a quarterback you can
develop or think you can develop, you know, into a
quality NFL starters. So, you know, call it luck, call
it foresight, call it whatever you want to call it,
but what you gotta call it in right now is
a reality, and I'm happy that it is reality. I'm

(25:27):
excited to see Ogan Job this year. He's one of
the players I'm most anticipating watching in two. I'm sure
the fans are feeling the same way. If not, they
should be because you know, it's important to note as well, Labs,
He's only going to be twenty eight years old. He's
had about five years of experience in the NFL already,
for with Cleveland, one with Cincinnati last year, so he's

(25:47):
got a lot of experience under his belt. And still
you'd assume a decent amount of tread left on the tires.
You mentioned it's a one year deal. You have to
revisit things in this upcoming off season if things go
well for Rogan Job. But this is a guy that
could be more than just a you know, plug in
guy for one year and then try to find the
long term solution. He could be the long term solution.
I mean, out of the big three Heyward, Lulu and himself.

(26:10):
He's the young gun in that room. So there's still
a pretty signal or there's still a pretty decent future
when it comes to Ogan job as long as you
know he plays well this season. Yeah, And I think
a lot of that is going to be tied to
his health. You know, the foot seems fine right now,
and he got out and you know, did some things
and hopefully that that continues, you know, And I would anticipate,

(26:35):
you know, from um, Mike Thomas history, what they've seen
from him already. Ogan job I mean, um, you know,
Ogan Joby is gonna become one of those guys who
you know, it gets veterans days off and he's not
gonna play a lot in the preseason. He's a guy
you want him ready for September eleven against the Bengals.

(26:55):
He's a guy that you want to spend the rest
of your time up here training camp and then through
the rest of the preseason having him get his body
ready for the regular season. You don't I don't think.
My opinion is, I don't think you need to see
a lot from him in the preseason against you know,
the Seattle and Jacksonville and the Lions, because if you

(27:19):
want to see what Larry Oganjobi can do, you know,
ring up NFL films and say send me all you
know the Bengals um and the Browns video from the
last one to three for five years and you can
watch him do it against NFL teams. So U this
is a guy who um, you know, he's a real

(27:39):
player and he came ready made as a real player.
So it's it's a it's a nice it's a very
nice acquisition. Uh. And I think that this guy is
gonna be a help where the Steelers need help on
the defensive line. You noted in your practice report LABS
at the highlights of the day yesterday were the ones
that opened and closed the session of just seven shots

(28:01):
and goal line. Let's start with Chevan's seven shots. Everybody
is watching the offense and seven shots with great interest,
wanting the offense to start to get some traction. And
it was a great start for Mitch Rabisky in the
offense to oh lead touchdown to Anthony McFarland, touchdown to
Deante Johnson. But then things kind of went south and
started to look like the familiar seven shots that we've

(28:22):
seen the past few days of practice. Well, you know,
and again Um, the defense is the defense is pretty good.
But um, you know again as I said, as you mentioned,
it started out really good and uh but you know
then then then things you know, swung back to the

(28:44):
defense a little bit. Um. You know, there was one
play it could have been a four three finish as
I mentioned in the in the one on the one pass. Um,
you know the stern Burger who was in a crowd
and you know he kind of went he had to

(29:04):
go down with the ball to get the ball, and
all the defense, you know, if you've ever seen this,
all the defensive players were all signaling and complete, and
all the offensive players are singling signaling touchdowns. And the
NFL officials, you know, their tour through the league continues.
So their time at St. Vincent had ended, and so
they had moved on. So you've got no idea. You know,

(29:25):
who are you gonna believe? Um, if you like offense,
you're believing it's a touchdown. If you like defense, you're
believing that it's incomplete. So you know that was that
was that play. And then the other play was a
nice uh uh, nice job by Karl Joseph. You know,
Kenny Pickett who had came in for the seventh uh

(29:47):
seventh rep of the seven shots. He threw a pass
to Gunnar Roschewski, who had the ball in his hands.
But uh, you know, Karl Joseph was right on his
back and he got his hand in there and he's
you know, raking at the ball all the whole time.
And from my vantage point, he got it out before
Olshefsky got on the ground, so he didn't he wasn't

(30:07):
able to complete the catch, and so it's a deep
win for the defense. But it was very close. You know,
It's not like the offense was dominated or anything. But hey,
you know, you keep scored the winners the winner, and
you know, you don't get to say we almost won
because it might pursue. A tells me all the time,
what do you call almost winning losing? Losing? So, uh,

(30:30):
you know there was that. But Trabinsky started out pretty good,
um successful and you know, lineup and do it again today.
And as far as the goal line session win, it
seemed like the offense had a decent amount of success.
They scored two times, but you noted that the fans
were still a little disappointed because the way that they

(30:50):
scored was via two passes and a jet sweep. They
scored on two of those plays instead of you know,
handing the ball off and muscling into the end zone.
When they tried that, on the first play of the drill,
Benny Snell got stuffed by make of Fitzpatrick and did
not make it across the plane. So it was successful
offensively for a couple of reps. But like you not,

(31:12):
did the fans wanted to see that old school uh
cloud of dust pound that ball over the goal line. Yeah,
and you know, let me just throw this out there too.
It didn't make the practice report, but on the final
rep of the goal line drill, the offense did run
it into the end zone. So but you know what
Steelers fans, you know this is this is the same

(31:35):
same thing. And I get these questions and suggestions all
the time. The Steelers need to go back to a
you know, run first mentality, and you know all that
kind of stuff. And I do remember um there in
two thousand and four, this was coming out of the
Tommy Maddocks mistake, because I always said Bill Cower had

(31:55):
nicknamed that offseason re establishing the Minds, and there was
a big emphasis on power of football running the ball
coming off the line of scrimmage. I'm talking about from
the offense coming off the line of scrimmage and playing
physical in every area of the field. And so Bill

(32:16):
Coward used goal line you know, a lot more often
and in more showcase he kind of situations than Mike
Tomlin does. So at one point Ken Wizzen Hunt was
the new offensive coordinator because Mike mclarkey had taken the job.
I think was Buffalo. So it wasn't Hunt ran the

(32:38):
ball fourteen straight times, never got it in the end zone. Uh,
And I asked it was after they did it on
a Saturday afternoon practice. Goal lines over four made it.
It was fourteen in a row. So I asked him,
I said, you know, did you ever think of a
play action pass? And he said no. He said, it's

(33:01):
for me, it's more important two set it tone and
make the offensive players understand that we're gonna be physical
in this area of the field and they need to
win their matchups than it is for me to call
a play that scores a touchdown in August. Okay, fine,
that's that's a legitimate um point to make. And two

(33:24):
thousand and four, you know, when you have Fannic on
the offensive line and Bettis in the backfield. Um, it's
a whole other element as well. Now Naji Harris is
no slouch, but he wasn't practicing yesterday. Um, but you
know today again as we were saying, as I was saying,
earlier offenses don't necessarily do that. You know, first and

(33:45):
goal at tattoo doesn't mean you're gonna run the ball
three times and then either kick a field goal or
line up for the extra point. Um. And as I mentioned,
also the two passes in the jet suite, that's three plays.
They scored two touchdowns on that. So you know, I
think Steeler fans need to kind of update themselves a
little bit and decide whether it's important that you score

(34:07):
a touchdown or does it only you know, only con
for really six points if you run it in the
last time I check the rule book, if you throw
it or trick the defense and score and get across
the goal line, it's still six points. I'm pretty sure.
Uh So anyway, you know it's I think it's um,
you know, style points. You know, um sure you would

(34:32):
like to see, uh you know, be the bullies push
the opponent around you know all of that good stuff,
But you know, I don't know that the New England
Patriots have done a whole lot of pushing uh the other,
the opponent around, and you know they have six Super
Bowls too, so uh, you know, times, times change. The
way the uh sport is officiated now makes throwing easier.

(34:58):
And as I've said many times, I told this story
many times too when Mike Tomlin first introduced seven shots,
you know, with Ben Roethlisberger and the the the compliment
of skill position players, Wolf and Max aren't listening now,
skill position players that he could throw out there, you know,
Heath Miller, Levan Belle, Antonio Brown, you know those kind

(35:22):
of people. To me, that was stealing. You know, they
line them up, spread everybody out, snapped the ball to
Ben and bang run a quick crossing or oute the
balls out of his hand and it's in the end zone.
So I didn't I don't remember a lot of complaining
about it. Then you know they're not running the ball,
but now there's complaining about it. They're not running the

(35:43):
ball up the middle and all that stuff. Well, I
just think it's going to be different, and to me,
it's if it's successful it's successful. You know, I don't
know that the Kansas City Chiefs do a lot of
that pounding the ball into the end zone too. You know,
you put it in Mahome's hands and he looks for
Kelsey or used to be Tyree kill who's not with

(36:03):
the Dolphins, you know, or Sammy Watkins who's not with
another team. When you have that array of weapons, you know,
with a guy who is has a depth at Mahomes
is as Ben was um, you know, finding the open
guy and delivering the ball on time and with accuracy.
What what? Why do you why do you want to
do any do it any other way? Just doesn't make

(36:25):
sense to me. Well, the Steelers defense has certainly been
earning style points throughout training camp so far. Steeler safety
Manka Fitzpatrick has returned to practice in the past couple
of days, and he spoke to the media yesterday. We're
gonna hear what Minca had to say on the other
side of the break and touch on his running mate
in the secondary. He had some things to say about
Edmonds that I want to get into with labs as well.
To wrap things up. So that's all on the way.

(36:46):
Next right here on the Steelers training camp report on
SNR starting over and having a new guy. So having
him back there is big in a small guy regulator.
Definitely definitely bigfac What does you do? Oh? I think
we allow each other to play our game. Don't saying

(37:07):
I think I'm back there in the posts my name,
he gus coming down and covers and being aggressive the
box will get all the child just do And we're
both also for to tell the opposite You'm gonna do
a quarterbacks that's sitting up expected question be approved or dominating? Dominating?

(37:31):
Why is that? Because we can be? Because he got
good playing real quick media session with Minka yesterday and
two things that you know he touched on their one
was how excited he was the Terrell Edwards was back
as his running mate and how important that was to him.
And I love what he stood at the end there
where he has expects nothing less but the defense to
be dominating in the two season and they have dominant players,

(37:55):
so it certainly makes sense that it would translate to
the unit as a whole becoming elite. But thinking with Edmonds,
you know, uh, well, unknown if the Steelers were going
to bring him back, they didn't pick up his fifth
year option a couple of years ago, and now he
was a free agent this year, tested the market, didn't
really get what he would hope for in the market,
came back on a one year deal, very affordable one

(38:16):
year deal with the Steelers, and I think no one's
more happy than that than Minka that they got that
deal done. As you could hear him say, they're just
the familiarity that they've been able to establish with each other,
and just the fact that Manka seems to trust Edmunds
now entering what would be a believe their fourth year together.
It's it's huge in that chemistry between them is super valuable.

(38:40):
You don't want to have makea have to, you know,
reestablished chemistry with another running mate in that secondary. Yeah,
and you know Perrell Edmunds I in my opinion, and
I've been told this too by people who you know,
are paid to study these things. You know, he's gotten
better throughout his first four years in the NFL now

(39:03):
going into his fifth, and I think one of the
things that has made him less than a favorite son
of Steelers fans is that, you know, he's not a
big um ball hawk kind of safety and you know,
that's not his game, and you know it's okay that

(39:25):
it's not. And that's why the Steelers needed Manka Fitzpatrick.
That was one of the reasons that they were willing
to give up a first round picked for Minka Fitzpatrick.
And that's why Manka Fitzpatrick is a three time first
team All Pro. UM. Now, you know, you you can't
have even it would be nice, but you know everybody

(39:47):
can't do um. You know, make the splash plays all
the time. But what Durrell Edmunds does, he makes a
lot of tackles, he plays a lot of snaps, and
he doesn't miss any games. I mean, this guy has
played four thousand and eleven defensive snaps in four seasons.
And let's not forget his first of those four seasons,

(40:10):
he was a rookie, so he started. He played in
every game as a rookie, started fifteen and he played
of the defensive snaps and of the special team snaps.
So this is a guy who's always there, He's always available,
he's always um, you know, on the field doing something

(40:30):
to contribute, because otherwise he wouldn't be on the field
so much. A lot of people say that's the best
ability to his availability so well. And a lot of
those right, and a lot of those people are coaches
who say that. And you know it's important, um, that
you're not having to constantly, um find someone else to
play that position. And as you mentioned, you know, the

(40:51):
the coordination, the cohesion that you need from a defensive secondary,
if you're constantly juggling people, you know, that's difficult to establish.
So you know, Terrell Edmonds I think is a quality
NFL starter. Uh is he ever gonna be first team
All Pro? I don't know. Um I would if you

(41:13):
make me answer the question yes or no right now,
I would say no simply because when the voters vote
for that stuff, they look at things like takeaways. You know,
if you're a defensive back, you've gotta have takeaways. Um.
You know, Darrell Edmonds has never had more than two
interceptions in a season, and he has five, you know,

(41:34):
over his first four And that's not gonna get you
those kinds of votes for that stuff. It's just not Uh.
But again that doesn't mean he's not a valuable player.
I remember, you know Carnel Lake's early career, that was
the constant rap on him. You know, didn't make any
plays on the ball, didn't make any plays on the ball. Well,

(41:54):
you know, in that secondary you ed Woodson at cornerback
and in my opinion, one of the most underrated Steelers
of the modern era, which I would usually classify as
the start of Bill Cower's tenure to the present. He
had over thirty interceptions. This guy was an eighth round
draft pick. Um. So some people have that knack for

(42:20):
being around the football in their position and how they're
used at that position is conducive to that, and other
guys just do other things. I mean, I don't think
anyone would argue that Carnel Lake was an extremely valuable player,
and it's his career continued. You know, he was doing
things like moving from safety to corner and saving a
couple of Steelers seasons when injuries were racked those that position.

(42:44):
So you know, give a time with Edmonds. Um. I
just I think that because he was a first round
pick and then money that's involved. You know, what you
had to pay him for the fifth year all shin.
You look at it and you know you're in something
of a cap crunch and you have to evaluate it.

(43:07):
I think he's worth what he's making now, certainly, and
I would think that the Steelers, you know, would like
to continue the relationship if it's at all possible financially
moving forward. You know, we're gonna have to see how
that works out. But in no stretch of the imagination,
in my opinion, is Terrell Edmonds a liability, No, no question.

(43:28):
Do you think the fact that he was a late
first round pick in a weird way kind of works
against him now when it comes to the perception of
his play from the fans or maybe even those around
the league, because you get a guy in the first
round you wanted to be that superstar ball hawk, playmaking
kind of player. But it's not exactly like you're gonna
label this guy as a bust when he plays in
almost every single NFL game that he's had the opportunity

(43:49):
to for the past four to five years, right, and
and again, I mean, that's not his that's not his
forte um, you know, ball hawking. It's just not And
you know that's okay because there are a lot of
guys in this league who are contributing as quality starters
to their teams, who are not big time takeaway guys,

(44:09):
and so uh, you know, I think that had um
Terrell Edmunds come in after Minca, then I don't think
he's viewed the same way because a lot of people's
minds are made up right away. You know, they were
looking for um, you know, the Steelers were looking for
secondary help back in those days, and you know the

(44:31):
Already Burns pick and the Terrell Edmunds pick. I'm not
I'm not putting him in the same category. I'm just
talking about the the the era in which they were
first round picks. The Steelers were looking for, uh, that
kind of ball hawking, takeaway defensive back, you know, and
needed one of those guys was that. But I mean

(44:53):
Terrell Edmonds as a quality NFL starter and Already Burns
was not so uh, you know they're comparing them is
is unfair, And That's not what I'm trying to do.
I'm just trying to draw some sort of um picture
where you can maybe try and understand why he was
pigeonholed the way he was pigeonholed and doesn't seem to

(45:14):
be able to get out of that out of that
box right now. Steelers practice today is at ten thirty am.
Another schedule change for you moving up from the usual
one practice time. It is on campus at St. Vincent
College at Chuck Nollfield, So if you're headed up, make
sure you had to campus and make sure you get
there a lot earlier than you were planning to for
a ten thirty practice start. That's gonna do it for

(45:37):
us today here on the Training Camp Report, handing things
off to Wolf and starts in the locker room next
labs and I will be back again tomorrow recap in
today's practice at nine am right here on Steelers Nation Radio.