There were no fans at the Steelers final training camp practice which meant we would be unable to report on what we saw – so we thought. But we were given special dispensation to report as if fans were in attendance so here you go!
For the third straight day, Ben Roethlisberger dominated the QB reps. Not surprisingly, Ben said it was his idea. "Yeah, I asked coach if I could take as many reps as I could this week because it' been awhile (and) I wanted to simulate a game week," he smiled. "Obviously, Wednesdays I'll have off, typically, but I just wanted to get as many reps as I could this week."
Mike Tomlin would not divulge his succession plans, but Mason Rudolph appeared to take most of the scout team snaps; Josh Dobbs and Dwayne Haskins took a few.
Only Roethlisberger and Rudolph took part in the 7 Shots goal line period which returned after a short hiatus. Roethlisberger's first pass was a bullet that shot through Diontae Johnson's hands (insert joke here but it really was too hot to handle and I thought more on the QB). His next 3 throws were scores – a fade to James Washington over Joe Haden, then over the middle to Pat Freiermuth and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Mason Rudolph connected with Cody White, Freiermuth and Anthony Johnson.
Chase Claypool did not practice because of Tuesday's ankle injury but he was not ruled out for Saturday night. He did catch a few passes during special teams time.
The Steelers must be expecting you to make a lot of noise.
They piped in the familiar crowd soundtrack when the scout team offense was on the field. The defense didn't put up a ton of resistance and they were not in full pads so the purpose appeared to be geared toward the defense getting the calls and lining up properly. BTW, I don't imagine it will be as loud Saturday night as what the players heard today.
There were a couple of interceptions. Terrell Edmunds picked off scout team QB Rudolph with a nice catch in the corner of the end zone. Joe Haden made an athletic interception on a slightly underthrown ball by scout team QB Haskins.
Walking back to the press box following practice I happened by a Steelers shop getting prepped for game day. The replica jersey I saw going up on the rack? Number 24 – Benny Snell, Jr.!?!? I did not stop to check and see if it was on clearance.
