Smith-Schuster steps into No. 1 receiver role nicely
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster catches a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders during the first half of the game played on Dec. 9 in Oakland, Calif. Smith-Schuster, who is replacing Antonio Brown as Pittsburgh's No. 1 receiver, has been brilliant in the first two practices at training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger protects the ball after scoring a touchdown in the second half of a 23-16 victory over the Ravens last season in Baltimore. Roethlisberger is excited about what he sees in the Steelers' defense early on in training camp at Saint Vincent College.
LATROBE 无毛视频� JuJu Smith-Schuster is a b-a-a-a-a-a-d man.
The receiver who无毛视频檚 been tasked to step up as the No. 1 receiver in place of Antonio Brown has been a beast through two camp practices.
On Saturday, for the second consecutive day, Smith-Schuster scored an early touchdown in Seven Shots, among other big catches.
This after Smith-Schuster had run past both starting corners聽无毛视频� Steven Nelson and later Joe Haden聽无毛视频� for deep touchdown passes on Friday.
It appears the concerns about replacing Brown might be overwrought.
But former Steelers cornerback and current CBS 无毛视频 analyst Bryant McFadden, who watched Saturday无毛视频檚 practice at Saint Vincent College, said it无毛视频檚 because of Ben Roethlisberger.
无毛视频淭he most important part when it comes to trying to determine the pass-catcher position is Seven,无毛视频� McFadden said. 无毛视频淪even looks real good. When you have a quarterback, that is the most important part of your team offensively. Even though you might have an elite pass-catcher, they无毛视频檙e only as good as their quarterback, and Ben has shown the ability to get the most out of whoever it is that无毛视频檚 lining up there.
无毛视频淩emember, before AB there was Mike Wallace,无毛视频� McFadden added. 无毛视频淎nd when Mike left, it was like, 无毛视频榃ill AB be able to perform as a No. 1 pass-catcher?无毛视频� Yes he did. Not just because of who he was as a player but look who the quarterback was.
无毛视频淲atching Ben today, he无毛视频檚 slimmed up. He looks to be in tip-top shape. His arm appears to be extremely accurate. And the mental part hasn无毛视频檛 left at all. I think that无毛视频檚 a huge factor in the success as far as determining how you replace what AB provided.无毛视频�
McFadden said that Smith-Schuster running past both Steelers cornerbacks on Friday shouldn无毛视频檛 be reason to worry about the defense.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 good news,无毛视频� McFadden said, 无毛视频渂ecause No. 1, JuJu hasn无毛视频檛 dropped off. He无毛视频檚 embracing the No. 1 wide receiver role. No. 2, he无毛视频檚 gotten faster. And lastly, the third thing, when you无毛视频檙e playing against an elite player, they will get the best of you, but you will eventually get the best of them. That无毛视频檚 the game within the game we无毛视频檒l see with guys like Nelson and Haden. I无毛视频檓 sure they无毛视频檙e going to get the opportunities to really dominate JuJu. That无毛视频檚 the back-and-forth competitive thing within the game.无毛视频�
McFadden pointed to a play in Saturday无毛视频檚 practice as an example.
无毛视频淭hey tried to get Joe on a double move,无毛视频� McFadden said. 无毛视频淛uJu ran an out and up on him and Joe was on top of him. Ben had to pump, pump, and then had to go in the opposite direction. Most people didn无毛视频檛 see it because Joe didn无毛视频檛 get to play on the ball. His coverage was so phenomenal it forced Ben to go the opposite direction. That无毛视频檚 the game within the game that you love to see from quality players. When you无毛视频檙e on a good team with good players, every day might not be your day, but the object is to bounce back the next day and I think Joe had a successful day because JuJu didn无毛视频檛 get behind him at all.无毛视频�
Fast defense
Roethlisberger didn无毛视频檛 feign excitement when asked whether he noticed anything different about the defense last spring.
无毛视频淭hey were flying around,无毛视频� Roethlisberger said. 无毛视频淚 know we无毛视频檝e said things like that in the past, but just to see how fast those guys are moving, covering聽无毛视频� the secondary guys, the linebackers, the d-line. Even on a simple run play聽无毛视频� when our coaches let the runner run so you can get some pursuit聽无毛视频� it felt like all 11 guys on defense were getting to the runner, getting to a receiver. It just feels like there无毛视频檚 more energy over there.无毛视频�
Roethlisberger chuckled to himself for what he was about to say, that he无毛视频檚 excited about going up against the defense in pads for the first time today.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 the exclamation point for the defense,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檒l see how it gets when we get out here and do some of these things, but I无毛视频檓 excited for them because they seem to be a really fast defense.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭he speed无毛视频檚 markedly up from last year,无毛视频� said LBers coach Jerry Olsavsky. 无毛视频淒evin (Bush) is just much faster. You just can无毛视频檛 coach that. Mark (Barron) can really move, too. It无毛视频檚 just a good situation.无毛视频�
The trade up
As rumors swirled on draft day that the Steelers would attempt to trade up for Bush, Olsavsky refused to buy in. He might无毛视频檝e been the only guy in the organization who wasn无毛视频檛 on pins and needles that night.
无毛视频淚 wasn无毛视频檛 because we don无毛视频檛 do that. We don无毛视频檛 trade up,无毛视频� Olsavsky said. 无毛视频淪o on draft day I was sitting there and people were teasing me saying 无毛视频楬ey we无毛视频檙e going to go up and do this,无毛视频� and I无毛视频檓 like, 无毛视频榃e aren无毛视频檛 doing that.无毛视频� And then it fell. That无毛视频檚 how crazy the draft is; one guy goes to a team you don无毛视频檛 expect and another team doesn无毛视频檛 want your guy and is like 无毛视频楲et无毛视频檚 (trade) outta here and get another guy later.无毛视频� And we paid the right price.无毛视频�
Olsavsky explained that he didn无毛视频檛 expect the Detroit Lions to take the tight end (T.J. Hockenson) that Denver wanted. And when the Broncos无毛视频� turn came up at pick 10, they figured they could get a tight end later, and traded with the Steelers, who of course took Bush.
Bush has been learning the buck inside position, which has traditionally been the spot held by the playcaller. James Farrior often talked about not truly understanding the position for years.
Olsavsky was asked if Bush will be overwhelmed early on.
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 think he无毛视频檒l be overwhelmed because he was raised right,无毛视频� Olsavsky said. 无毛视频淗is family无毛视频檚 good, his dad played, he无毛视频檚 been around guys his whole life, he played at Michigan, his godfather is Derrick Brooks. When you无毛视频檙e exposed to that environment, a great environment with a great family and a dad who loves to play football and teaches you how to play football, you love it. That无毛视频檚 really what you see, so I don无毛视频檛 think he无毛视频檚 overly anxious. He无毛视频檚 just waiting to get his chance.无毛视频�
It无毛视频檚 early, but Olsavsky said of Bush, 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 a great kid. He无毛视频檚 intelligent. He needs to be a little louder but that无毛视频檒l come. He knows what he无毛视频檚 doing, and he can run.无毛视频�
So far, Bush is rotating with Vince Williams and Mark Barron at the two inside positions. Clearly, though, the Steelers have big plans for their prized rookie.
Colbert, like all of us, year-to-year
Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert turned down a contract extension from the Steelers last week because he wants to take the rest of his career on a year-to-year basis. That无毛视频檚 what he told team president Art Rooney II after his last extension, and Rooney agreed to Colbert无毛视频檚 plan.
Colbert is in the 20th season with the Steelers. His current contract expires next May, around which time the 62-year-old will consider another year.
无毛视频淭hat hasn无毛视频檛 changed anything that we无毛视频檙e doing from a preparation standpoint,无毛视频� Colbert said. 无毛视频淢y schedule this year is as busy as it was in any previous year in terms of college visits, college work, college studies, games, and all of that. Nothing has changed along those lines. When we无毛视频檙e in the meetings with scouts, I无毛视频檓 talking about things we have to do different next year in our meetings. Our mindset is about 2019, and 2019 is the priority. I无毛视频檓 not thinking about this being my last year.
无毛视频淚 still love what I do,无毛视频� he added. 无毛视频淎nd as long as I still love what I do, I could see myself continuing to do it. But we just want to do that on a year-to-year basis.无毛视频�
Negotiating plan
The Steelers are currently in contract talks with Joe Haden, who无毛视频檚 entering the final year of his contract.
A team source said that Haden无毛视频檚 age聽无毛视频� 30聽无毛视频� won无毛视频檛 impact on the talks, and that the Steelers aren无毛视频檛 waiting to see if Haden remains healthy through camp.
But that is the plan with Bud Dupree though. The Steelers want to watch Dupree perform in preseason before deciding whether to extend an offer.
Dupree would be more of a deadline negotiation, while two other players in the final years of contracts聽无毛视频� safety Sean Davis and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave聽无毛视频� will draw the Steelers无毛视频� attention after their done negotiating with Haden.
Those are the only four players being discussed internally by the team at this time.
Hall of honor
The Steelers announced their 2019 Hall of Honor class Saturday:
n Larry Brown, TE/RT, 1971-84聽无毛视频� Brown caught a four-yard touchdown pass in Super Bowl IX but established himself as one of the most underrated performers in team history with his dominating play at right tackle. 无毛视频writer Ed Bouchette once asked Chuck Noll which of his players not in the Hall of Fame should be, and Noll said Brown.
n Bill Cowher, head coach, 1992-2006聽无毛视频� Won 149 games, eight division titles, and Super Bowl XL. Was named the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year in 1992. An easy choice.
n Elbie Nickel, TE, 1947-57聽无毛视频� Caught 329 passes and scored 37 touchdowns. Was considered the team无毛视频檚 greatest tight end until Heath Miller came along and caught 592 passes for 45 touchdowns. So why not induct Heath? Regardless, Nickel was one of the organization无毛视频檚 first offensive stars.
n Hines Ward, WR, 1998-2011聽无毛视频� The franchise无毛视频檚 all-time leader in receptions (1,000), receiving yards (12,083) and receiving touchdowns (85). Another easy choice.
The induction ceremony will be held Sunday, Sept. 29 at Heinz Field.