TE Grimble looking good in OTAs
PITTSBURGH 无毛视频� Jesse James has looked every bit the part of the high draft pick among the Pittsburgh Steelers无毛视频� tight end group this spring.
Of course, James was only a fifth-rounder.
That might say something about the group, but, then again, the other guy, the undrafted guy expected to replace Ladarius Green as the playmaker of the group, looks better than at any point during HIS stay with the team.
无毛视频淴 is looking really good,无毛视频� Ryan Shazier said of the Steelers无毛视频� X-factor this season, Xavier Grimble, who on Wednesday was making plays as if he was born to make them.
Short, deep, inside, outside, Grimble seemed to be everywhere on a day that was obviously intended as a showcase 无毛视频� maybe even a test 无毛视频� for the tight ends.
Grimble beat Tyler Matakevich short to score an early touchdown, and then beat Bud Dupree and Vince Williams on an intermediate pass that turned into a long touchdown run. It was an impressive performance, even by spring standards.
无毛视频淵eah, I had a better day than yesterday,无毛视频� Grimble said with his typical humility.
Not that he had made any mental mistakes on Tuesday. That was his red line. But he said he 无毛视频渓eft some plays out there.无毛视频� So he went home, curled up with his playbook and went to bed early.
无毛视频淚 got my rest and got ready to come back out here with a better frame of mind,无毛视频� he said.
Maybe he just cleared his head, because when it was mentioned that it didn无毛视频檛 appear Grimble was thinking on the field, he was quick to smile.
无毛视频淵ep, just playing,无毛视频� he said as if the weight of a thousand previous practices had fallen from his shoulders.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 what you hope for, to play just for pure fun, when you无毛视频檙e not thinking about nothing but making the play.无毛视频�
Grimble has shown those glimpses since the 6-4, 261-pounder played at USC. He wasn无毛视频檛 drafted, but spent time on a pair of practice squads before landing with the Steelers. He spent 2015 on the practice squad before making the active roster last season.
In 11 games he caught 11 passes for 118 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and has suddenly been thrust into the role of playmaking TE upon the release of Green.
Behind Grimble and James this year are H-back/fullback David Johnson and a pair of undrafted rookies: Scott Orndoff 无毛视频� the better blocker and all-around tight end 无毛视频� and the tantalizingly athletic 6-foot-8 Phazahn Odom.
The two rookies can follow Grimble无毛视频檚 path, which he discussed after doing post-practice sprints on the far field. He was the last man off the field on this day.
无毛视频淐oming from where I无毛视频檝e been, it无毛视频檚 hard to let that pressure of being an outsider go,无毛视频� Grimble said. 无毛视频淓verywhere I无毛视频檝e been it无毛视频檚 always been that way. Part of me wants to carry that with me everywhere I go, just so I keep that same work ethic. But, yeah, I finally can let a little bit of that pressure go 无毛视频� a tiny bit.无毛视频�
Grimble said the release of Green came as a surprise to all.
无毛视频淗e had told me earlier in that week that he was coming in on Thursday and he told me to save his seat and everything,无毛视频� Grimble said.
Green was cut after failing his physical on Thursday, May 18.
无毛视频淒efinitely sad about it,无毛视频� Grimble said. 无毛视频淗e was a good guy, a guy I watched his whole career. I was glad to have him here so I could work with him. It was tough to see him go but it无毛视频檚 a tough business. I wish nothing but the best for him.无毛视频�
Noble sentiments from the next man up.
HARGRAVE HURT
Javon Hargrave left the field Thursday in obvious discomfort after taking a blow in the chest.
The Steelers don无毛视频檛 release spring injury information, so the seriousness of the apparent injury won无毛视频檛 be known until next Tuesday无毛视频檚 practice. But Cameron Heyward, who was standing with Hargrave as he was being checked by the training staff on the sideline, doesn无毛视频檛 believe it无毛视频檚 a serious injury, such as a torn pec.
无毛视频淣o, no,无毛视频� Heyward said. 无毛视频淲e don无毛视频檛 really know what it is yet. I don无毛视频檛 think it无毛视频檚 that serious. I think it无毛视频檚 a contusion of his chest.无毛视频�
Heyward sat out of Thursday无毛视频檚 practice as he recovers from his own torn pec, but said he无毛视频檚 fine and coming along at the proper pace. He and opposite end Stephon Tuitt (hand surgery) have missed most of the spring scrimmages, and with Hargrave out the first-team DL was comprised of L.T. Walton, Daniel McCullers and Johnny Maxey.
Veteran free-agent acquisition Tyson Alualu has missed all scrimmage time with a calf injury, but undergoes conditioning on another field.
ASTRO BOY
Rookie fourth-round quarterback Josh Dobbs received extra reps Thursday without Ben Roethlisberger in attendance, and the aeronautical engineer from the University of Tennessee was asked about the learning environment here on the South Side.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 different,无毛视频� Dobbs said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a different environment than I无毛视频檝e been in. (It无毛视频檚) an environment where you无毛视频檙e just around football each and every day. I无毛视频檓 really enjoying it and I无毛视频檓 learning a lot from it. Just becoming a professional, you wake up and all you do is football. It无毛视频檚 a little different than splitting your days half and half with school and football, especially with all the studying. I无毛视频檓 enjoying the process and learning a lot each day.无毛视频�
Dobbs was known to stay up until 3:30 a.m. on game days to finish difficult school projects. But that无毛视频檚 in the past 无毛视频� for the time being.
无毛视频淓veryone on the team is embracing you no matter what the position is,无毛视频� Dobbs said. 无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檝e been able to give me different tips and different nuggets, whether it无毛视频檚 before or after practice in the film room, on the field in the middle of practice, even when I无毛视频檓 not with them and I go and watch football by myself I can add to my game. It无毛视频檚 been a great learning experience.无毛视频�
MARTAVIS无毛视频� NEW BODY
Martavis Bryant added 10 pounds while spending the winter and spring undergoing a serious workout regimen for, he admitted, the first time in his life.
Bryant did sit out one practice the first week, so he was asked if his new muscled-up body might be prone to nagging pulls.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 not worried about injuries,无毛视频� Bryant said. 无毛视频淚njuries come and go. As long as I feel great with my body and how big I am, I无毛视频檓 happy. It无毛视频檚 working great.无毛视频�
Bryant said he 无毛视频渨orked on my legs, my upper body, conditioning,无毛视频� while under suspension.
无毛视频淓verything you do in training, I did it,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚 took care of my body.无毛视频�
Does Bryant need to wait until training camp to appreciate his added strength?
无毛视频淣o, I know that I无毛视频檓 strong,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 not worried about that stuff. When the pads come on, I无毛视频檒l be ready for that. Plus, I get to go back home and train for another month and I无毛视频檓 going to work out and do things to get me ready for camp.无毛视频�
MITCH THE BOBCAT
Mike Mitchell talked to reporters after Thursday无毛视频檚 practice while wearing his Ohio Bobcats ballcap.
Mitchell is one of eight Bobcats drafted by the NFL in the last 10 years, and as a second-rounder in 2009 was drafted in an earlier round than any Bobcat since first-rounder Art Lewis in 1939.
无毛视频淚 love to wear it out here as a reminder to the guys,无毛视频� Mitchell said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 a small-school guy who无毛视频檚 out here balling. It无毛视频檚 also a reminder to myself that this is where I came from, so I always want to come out there with the right mindset that I want to work and get better. Nothing无毛视频檚 ever been given to me. I无毛视频檝e earned everything I got.无毛视频�
X无毛视频橲 AND O无毛视频橲
Third-team slot cornerback Mike Hilton 无毛视频� a 5-9 first-year player out of Ole Miss 无毛视频� made back-to-back diving pass breakups Wednesday and was rewarded the next day as the first-team slot replacement for the absent Will Gay. 无毛视频� An offensive line that didn无毛视频檛 have a starting player miss any spring practices last year worked Thursday without Marcus Gilbert, Maurkice Pouncey and Ramon Foster. All three were on the sidelines watching replacements Jerald Hawkins, B.J. Finney and Chris Hubbard. 无毛视频� Back-to-back plays by the starting cornerbacks put smiles on the defensive coaches Thursday. A play after Artie Burns dove to break up a pass to Antonio Brown, Ross Cockrell stepped in front of a pass to Sammie Coates and took it the other way for a touchdown.