Tuitt showing growth early in camp
LATOBE 无毛视频� Stephon Tuitt hadn无毛视频檛 made a tackle since the second quarter of the AFC Championship Game, when he dropped LeGarrette Blount for a two-yard loss. So, naturally, the defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers was feeling a bit itchy.
Maybe that无毛视频檚 why he wrapped up Knile Davis with perfect form Friday and drove him into the ground.
At Greater Latrobe High School.
In shorts.
Without pads.
无毛视频淚 fell,无毛视频� said Tuitt.
With such fundamentals?
无毛视频淚 lost my footing,无毛视频� Tuitt said.
Is that what you told the coach?
Tuitt laughed. 无毛视频淵eah. You know, it无毛视频檚 football,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 excited. It无毛视频檚 a great time. Everybody无毛视频檚 excited. What happened yesterday happened but you don无毛视频檛 want to do that, of course, for your own protection without pads. But, you know, it无毛视频檚 football. Sometimes things happen.无毛视频�
Did it feel good?
无毛视频淚t felt really good,无毛视频� he said with another laugh. 无毛视频淕ot a little adrenaline rush. It felt great.无毛视频�
Tuitt is looking to be great this season. He was on the cusp a year ago, particularly after Cam Heyward went down at midseason. Tuitt needed to take on the role of unit leader and he, the unit, the defense and the team thrived.
无毛视频淚 know,无毛视频� Tuitt said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 just like when another person has an opportunity when they don无毛视频檛 have to be in the shadow for a moment, they get a chance to grow. That person can grow or that person can fall, and I grew. They threw the ball in my court and I had to make plays with it. In that situation, with that pressure, I responded well. I was prepared. And that无毛视频檚 only through having guys like Cam, Brett Keisel, who taught me some things, and Coach Mitch. I was up at 5 o无毛视频檆lock in the morning to go have meetings with him. That stuff brought me around.
无毛视频淎t the end of the day, when they needed me and it was time for me to step up, it was an awesome experience to be able to step up for the team. I think we won every game all the way through after that, until we played the Patriots and got kicked. But it was an awesome experience.无毛视频�
Since the Steelers 无毛视频済ot kicked,无毛视频� Tuitt has been to Arizona to work in the heat with James Harrison, had surgery on his finger and missed spring practices, and then worked out intensely with Heyward leading up to camp.
Tuitt无毛视频檚 now hungry to expand on a defense in which he, at times, played defensive end in a 4-3. He loved it and is looking foward to seeing what Heyward can add to it.
无毛视频淚 did a lot of that last year and I kicked a lot of tight end butt,无毛视频� Tuitt said of their 4-3 alignment. 无毛视频淭hey hate to see me come across there. It was an awesome defense for us and I think we无毛视频檙e going to continue to do that until offenses figure it out. A couple teams put an extra lineman out there but that无毛视频檚 taking a receiver off the field for them. So that无毛视频檚 a great defense for us. We had a lot of good productivity with that and we无毛视频檒l probably continue to stress that, and adding Cam will make it even better.无毛视频�
Tuitt believes the Steelers defense is on the cusp of greatness. The players, he said, believe it.
无毛视频淓verybody feels it,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淵ou can feel the energy. Like, me and Ryan (Shazier), we sit in the room and we watch some great defenses. The defense the Steelers had with Joey Porter, Casey Hampton, we watched them. We watched the 49ers. We watched Tampa Bay when they went to the Super Bowl. These teams were able to grow with each other. They pushed each other and they always expected the best out of each other. That无毛视频檚 how we want to be and that无毛视频檚 how we visualize ourselves.
无毛视频淎 lot of people can talk about how they want to be a great defense and where they want to go, but we can actually be that team that can do it. We believe it. We don无毛视频檛 go out there giving false bravado. We are that team. If nobody respects us, we无毛视频檙e going to make them respect us.无毛视频�
To hold up his end of the bargain, Tuitt reported at his low 17 percent body fat and figures to open the season at 310 pounds. He also would like to open the season with a brand new contract. He无毛视频檚 entering the final year of his rookie deal and hopes to be paid at a rate commensurate with his immense ability and, frankly, his growing potential.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 not paying attention to it much,无毛视频� Tuitt said. 无毛视频淢y biggest goal is to help this team win a world championship. We can do that. We无毛视频檝e got guys out there. That无毛视频檚 my excitement right now. I无毛视频檝e got a chance to be part of a team that can be prolific on offense and on defense. It无毛视频檚 really exciting.无毛视频�