Washington on display under the lights
LATROBE 无毛视频� He was on display once again Friday night for all of downtown Latrobe to see:
n Rookie wide receiver James Washington beating Cam Sutton out of the slot with a quick move inside for the score in Seven Shots.
n Washington wide open for the bomb past experienced NFL vet Dashaun Phillips to haul in Joshua Dobbs无毛视频� long throw.
n Washington contorting his body in the end zone to catch the back-shoulder fade from college teammate Mason Rudolph.
That was just one night.
The day before that, Washington beat Brian Allen across the middle, reached back for a Dobbs pass, juggled it forward, kept his stride as he secured it, and ran 20 yards for the score.
The day before that, Washington leaped high above converging DBs Sutton and Allen to pluck a ball at its apex.
And the day before that 无毛视频� well, you get the picture.
The rookie can play this game. He might not possess the size and speed of Martavis Bryant before him, but Washington has sneaky deep speed, is going to be where he无毛视频檚 supposed to be, and he无毛视频檒l make the catch almost every time.
The second-round pick is in fact the perfect replacement for Bryant on a team that无毛视频檚 looking for a third receiver. The media are already marking his name down in that spot on the depth chart.
无毛视频淵eah, well, you plug whoever you want to plug in,无毛视频� Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner countered with a raised eyebrow. 无毛视频淩ight now he无毛视频檚 just trying to get better every day. We无毛视频檒l keep evaluating that.无毛视频�
Fichtner isn无毛视频檛 plugging anyone into anything just yet. The Steelers are looking hard at Justin Hunter as their third. They无毛视频檝e always liked Darrius Heyward-Bey. Marcus Tucker shows JuJu-like toughness in the slot. They无毛视频檙e all in the hunt for Bryant无毛视频檚 old job, particularly with Eli Rogers injured.
But coaches are also more likely to put up a stop sign whenever the media无毛视频檚 rounding third base with their hype is out of control. Fichtner did that. So Ben Roethlisberger was asked to break the tie.
Should the media keep Washington as the designated No. 3 receiver? Or should they listen to Fichtner and his dull, albeit sound, logic?
无毛视频淚 would listen to the OC,无毛视频� said Roethlisberger. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 early. You try not to get too high with the highs 无毛视频� the good catches, the good plays 无毛视频� and you try not to get too low with the lows 无毛视频� jumping offsides, lining up wrong, things like that.
无毛视频淪o, you take all of that with a grain of salt because he无毛视频檚 a young guy. What you want to see is growth, you want to see improvement, and I think you see that. I think, as with any young guy that comes in this league, conditioning. You无毛视频檝e just got to get your wind and get ready to go.
无毛视频淚 think he无毛视频檚 better than most,无毛视频� Roethlisberger concluded. 无毛视频淏ut I don无毛视频檛 think he无毛视频檚 up to what I would call our wide receiver standards.无毛视频�
Oooohhhh, a shot across the bow, seemingly about conditioning.
On the bright side, the quarterback wants his young receiver to keep his nose to the grindstone, and Washington can do that. He无毛视频檚 a humble farmer who went home to his father无毛视频檚 无毛视频� James Washington Senior无毛视频檚 无毛视频� home, their farm, in Stamford, Texas, after Washington had concluded spring practices in Pittsburgh.
And it was hot. Really, REALLY hot.
无毛视频淭he hottest it got when I was there was 117 one day, and that was smokin无毛视频� hot,无毛视频� said Washington. 无毛视频淭hat was like at 2 o无毛视频檆lock in the evening. It starts getting hot at 10 a.m. when it无毛视频檚 already in the nineties.无毛视频�
So Washington gets up at 6 a.m., gets the work done, and gets he and his 66-year-old father out of the oven. It无毛视频檚 how he无毛视频檚 conditioned himself over the years.
无毛视频淲ork on the farm, run a few routes, run a couple sprints at the high school, work on fundamental things,无毛视频� Washington said.
He didn无毛视频檛 lift. Washington focused on band work to 无毛视频渒eep my joints and ligaments intact. I didn无毛视频檛 try to constrain myself.无毛视频�
And that might be an intelligent decision, because his hands are plenty strong. Whether that无毛视频檚 from a lifetime on the wheat and cotton farm, or whether he无毛视频檚 just 无毛视频渃ountry strong无毛视频� with big hands that require 3XL-sized gloves, Washington appears plenty strong enough on the field.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 like JuJu,无毛视频� said slot cornerback Mike Hilton. 无毛视频淗is combat catches are very good. He无毛视频檚 very strong with his hands. He might not have the quickness of a normal receiver, but the way he can snatch the ball out of the air and just make plays, he无毛视频檚 going to help us out.无毛视频�
No doubt that lack of timed speed (4.54) caused Washington to fall to the bottom of the second round after piling up 4,472 yards (19.8 avg. per catch) and 39 touchdowns in his college career at Oklahoma State. No one in college football last season had more career touchdowns.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 a very good deep-ball threat,无毛视频� said cornerback Joe Haden. 无毛视频淗e reacts to the ball very well in the air. And the same thing (as with Terrell Edmunds): I really like these young dudes. They don无毛视频檛 talk much. They just go to work. They just try to get it done. That无毛视频檚 what you want from rookies. You want them seen on the field but not heard from. He无毛视频檚 working his tail off and I think he无毛视频檚 going to be good, too.无毛视频�
Washington is pleased with the improvement he无毛视频檚 making. In fact, he无毛视频檚 secure enough to appreciate Antonio Brown无毛视频檚 call for Dez Bryant to join the Steelers last week.
Bryant, is, after all, Washington无毛视频檚 model. Bryant无毛视频檚 the reason Washington went to Oklahoma State, and he says bring Bryant to Pittsburgh, too.
无毛视频淎nything to help this team win,无毛视频� Washington said. 无毛视频淚 mean, whatever they gotta do, they should do.无毛视频�
If you were to ask the media, what the Steelers gotta do is put Washington on the field as the No. 3.
In fact, they无毛视频檙e writing it down.