2018 Steelers Training Camp - General Discussion

@effyou515 wrote:

with Gay and Mitchell gone the defensive tackling has already gottin better.

Especially Mitchell. Gay was getting a little old, Mike Mitchell was always whiffing and then making excuses. I like him when we first got him from Carolina, but his play dropped off and he became a huge liability in that defensive backfield.

I think the Steelers demonstrated that tackling is going to be an emphasis when they brought in Burnett, and drafted guys like Edmunds, and Allen.

On the WDVE morning radio show this morning, there was some Mason Rudolph discussion. The thoughts so far are: extremely raw, missing throws left and right, and is clearly behind Dobbs at this point.

The summary was: if you think Mason is coming into camp as a gunslinger, rethink your thought.

@jak341 wrote:

On the WDVE morning radio show this morning, there was some Mason Rudolph discussion. The thoughts so far are: extremely raw, missing throws left and right, and is clearly behind Dobbs at this point.

The summary was: if you think Mason is coming into camp as a gunslinger, rethink your thought.

I don't know about subsequent days, but on the first day, he received the fewest number of reps. A lot of people (myself included), jumped the gun in thinking he was going to be Ben's backup this season. It could still happen, but it seems less likely than it did before camp.

Steelers new defensive sub package the "Dollar" no ILBers, 2 d-linemen, 2 OLBers with 4 corners and 3 safeties.

@jak341 wrote:

On the WDVE morning radio show this morning, there was some Mason Rudolph discussion. The thoughts so far are: extremely raw, missing throws left and right, and is clearly behind Dobbs at this point.

The summary was: if you think Mason is coming into camp as a gunslinger, rethink your thought.

From the camp notes I've been reading it seems he plays very sparingly with second teamers and is getting few reps overall. He's also not getting a ton of reps throwing the football either as some of the plays are him just handing the ball off. Of course he's raw, he's a rookie coming into the NFL, but I think the limited reps isn't really giving us much to go off of right now either.

I caught part of an interview with Ben on the way to work this morning. A few points:
1. TEs are going to be utilized far more in this year's offense.
2. Ridley and Conner are battling hard for the #2 spot. And don't be surprised if they get more runs this year even when Bell returns.
3. When asked about Washington, Ben was...blunt. He said Washington hasn't practiced with the first team at all, and has a lot of work to do to get to first team. Ben said Washington made some nice plays, but far more is expected.
4. Ben is basically year to year at this point, and isn't interested in being part of a rebuilding effort.

Yeah as really think Big Ben could play up to forty years old or more like Brady. Hope he does with health doing great.

Caught a bit of an interview with Keith Butler today. He called out 5 players publicly and said they need to be better than last year: Sean Davis, Artie Burns, Vince Williams, Bud Dupree, and Stephon Tuitt. Found it interesting that Tuitt was on the public shaming list.

Also seeing a lot of hate for JuJu lately on social media. Didn't see what happened to cause it.

@jak341 wrote:

I caught part of an interview with Ben on the way to work this morning. A few points:
1. TEs are going to be utilized far more in this year's offense.
2. Ridley and Conner are battling hard for the #2 spot. And don't be surprised if they get more runs this year even when Bell returns.
3. When asked about Washington, Ben was...blunt. He said Washington hasn't practiced with the first team at all, and has a lot of work to do to get to first team. Ben said Washington made some nice plays, but far more is expected.
4. Ben is basically year to year at this point, and isn't interested in being part of a rebuilding effort.

I'm all for #2...after Bell's 4.0 average last year I'd like to see some other guys running. Hopefully Washington picks things up.

Washington is going to play in this offense. Kid has all the intangibles. Been making some great catches in camp. I think he'll definitely make an impact for us this season.

@jak341 wrote:

Caught a bit of an interview with Keith Butler today. He called out 5 players publicly and said they need to be better than last year: Sean Davis, Artie Burns, Vince Williams, Bud Dupree, and Stephon Tuitt. Found it interesting that Tuitt was on the public shaming list.

Also seeing a lot of hate for JuJu ( ) lately on social media. Didn't see what happened to cause it.

What's being said? I'm not much on anything but Facebook so I haven't seen anything.

@solardave wrote:

@jak341 wrote:

Caught a bit of an interview with Keith Butler today. He called out 5 players publicly and said they need to be better than last year: Sean Davis, Artie Burns, Vince Williams, Bud Dupree, and Stephon Tuitt. Found it interesting that Tuitt was on the public shaming list.

Also seeing a lot of hate for JuJu (   ) lately on social media. Didn't see what happened to cause it.

What's being said? I'm not much on anything but Facebook so I haven't seen anything.

Yeah kind of curious as to anything negative people would be saying about Juju. I haven't read anything negative about him, the negatives are mostly towards Bell, and Tomlin which is par for the course at this point.

Found the source of the JuJu hate. Opinion article breaks it down.

https://triblive.com/sports/columnists/markmadden/13949494-74/mark-madden-steelers-juju-smith-schuster-needs-lesson-in-being-pro

@jak341 wrote:

Found the source of the JuJu hate. Opinion article breaks it down.

https://triblive.com/sports/columnists/markmadden/13949494-74/mark-madden-steelers-juju-smith-schuster-needs-lesson-in-being-pro

I almost didn't bother reading the article when I saw it was written by Madden, but in this case, I agree with him, especially this part ...

We used to say the Steelers did things different and were more professional.

If that was ever true, it isn’t anymore. That description now applies to New England. The Patriots* care more about winning than they care about being LIT.
-----------------------------------

Last season I said JuJu was a breath of fresh air. And he was. But I later said he runs the risk of becoming the next Ochocinco. I thought the same thing about AB, but he has kept everything in check. As long as JuJu handles himself more like AB and less like Ochocinco when it matters, he'll be fine. Time will tell.

JUJU used to be such a nice kid then again its preseason. Mark Madden? lol.

This season will tell. I hope he keeps his head on straight.

Really looking forward to seeing the draft picks Thursday as well as Ola Adeniyi, Henderson, and Damoun Patterson. Also want to see what Conner looks like in year 2. It's had to believe it's starting already

@LambertWardSteel wrote:

Really looking forward to seeing the draft picks Thursday as well as Ola Adeniyi, Henderson, and Damoun Patterson. Also want to see what Conner looks like in year 2. It's had to believe it's starting already

Me too! I would add Keion Adams and Matthew Thomas to your list. I really like those preseason games where you have a chance to watch all the youngsters and where you can spot who has a chance to make the roster, like Mike Hilton last year.

I do think Juju needs to mature just a little bit. I love his youthful exuberance but at the same time don't let it go to your head. Madden has a point, but I also think he's going a little bit overboard with his article. Juju hasn't done anything stupid, he hasn't made an glaring mistakes. When the off the field fun starts to obviously effect his play on the field, then people can rightfully call him out, as it stands, let the kid enjoy himself. He's 21 years old, he deserves to enjoy his youth just as much as anyone else.

Mark Madden totally ripped into JuJu in today's show. It got ugly. He ended up with, "I hate JuJu. I hate him!"

He is right about this: if JuJu costs the Steelers a game by dropping a pass or running a wrong route, the fanbase is going to turn on him quickly.

@jak341 wrote:

Mark Madden totally ripped into JuJu in today's show. It got ugly. He ended up with, "I hate JuJu. I hate him!"

He is right about this: if JuJu costs the Steelers a game by dropping a pass or running a wrong route, the fanbase is going to turn on him quickly.

I hate Mark Madden. I hate him.

Made a camp move on the offensive line.

https://twitter.com/EdBouchette/status/1029010538012045312?s=19

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@jak341 wrote:

Mark Madden totally ripped into JuJu in today's show. It got ugly. He ended up with, "I hate JuJu. I hate him!"

He is right about this: if JuJu costs the Steelers a game by dropping a pass or running a wrong route, the fanbase is going to turn on him quickly.

I hate Mark Madden. I hate him.

Madden is completely wrong in comparing JuJu to Crosby at the same age. The sports they play are completely different and offer different opportunities during their youth which have a huge difference in how a player progresses.

I'd bet dollars to donuts JuJu isn't the first player to run the wrong route, and he won't be the last.

Madden wants to stir the pot just so he can try to be relevant.

I'm with you Iowa, I hate Madden too!

If Madden hates JuJu we all have a reason to love JuJu. I guess when you have a "teenager" light it up as a rookie he's bound to get excited. As long as he keeps it in check I'm OK with it.

Don't forget him and AB muffed a free kick after the safety against KC last year. Should we be worried about AB too?

Madden is football's Howard Stern.

Scary moment at practice. Ben was stepped on, fell to the ground, and hit his head. Was down for about a minute before being helped to the locker room by medical staff.