LATROBE, PA (93.7 The Fan) – The Fan 5 from Friday at Steelers training camp, a hot sunny day that quickly turned cutting practice short. A look at the highlights from Friday at St. Vincent College and the best quotes including Calvin Austin’s day at the beach.
#1 Cut short
Due to the forecast of storms in the area and thunder heard in the distance, the Steelers cut practice after about 80 minutes. Mike Tomlin said they thought they were off to a really good start. As Tomlin put it. They had infused some more components of competition.
“Unfortunately, we got cut short today,” Tomlin said. “Really wanted to work to get the group back on the field if at all possible, but Doppler hasn’t moved enough. The reason why is often in football we are faced with adversity, sudden changes if you will, particularly as it pertains to weather. We had a big delay last year when we played the Cowboys.”
#2 Return of 7 shots
An auspicious return to the popular drill as the offense gets the ball on the two-and-a-half-yard line simulating a two-point conversion attempt. The snap was low and rolled past quarterback Aaron Rodgers for an aborted play. Here were the seven actual plays
· Rodgers TD in the left corner to DK Metcalf. It was a perfect throw which brought a big smile from Tomlin after practice saying that’s what he envisioned all summer
· Rodgers pass to Metcalf broken up by Joey Porter, Junior
· Mason Rudolph incomplete in the back of the end zone to Ke’Shawn Williams, it was a little high, but catchable
· Mason slant TD to Scotty Miller
· Will Howard fade to receiver Brandon Johnson was incomplete, Cory Trice had good coverage
· Tight end JJ Galbreath with a leaping catch for a TD in the corner off a Howard pass
· Rodgers found TE Pat Freiermuth wide open in the right flat as he walked in for a score on the final play
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#3 Other notables
· The starting defense again included five defensive backs
· TJ Watt switched sides a couple of times during rushes
· Rodgers best pass was about a 20-yard completion on the right sideline to Calvin Austin on a double-move
· No interceptions Friday, the best shot was an underthrown pass to Lance McCutcheon that was a little underthrown by Rudolph
#4 Injuries
No new news from Tomlin, running back Cordarrelle Patterson has yet to be spotted on campus. Tight end Jonnu Smith did go through individual drills and did some side work catching passes from the quarterbacks during their individual drills. Guard Isaac Seumalo did not participate in any drills with a soft tissue injury. Tomlin said they might get a guy or two back on Saturday and there were no new injuries.
#5 Quotes
WR Ben Skowronek
“This is God’s country. It’s beautiful out here. Not too far from where my pops is from, so I actually came out here, it was when the Bus was still playing, so that was a long time ago. I was a kid, I hardly remember it. I came out here with my grandpa, those are one of the memories I have with him.”
WR Calvin Austin on seeing the ocean for the first time while visiting Aaron Rodgers in Malibu, California
“Not like that, I saw dolphins, Roman got in. It was a big wave, I legit thought he was going to drown. Obviously, he’s from Hawaii, so he’s been doing this since he was little. I didn’t know people, without a board, could go into a wave. It was crazy.”
OT Broderick Jones
“It’s just crazy now that I got A-Rod. Going from Russ to A-Rod, it’s just crazy. It’s two good quarterbacks that you never thought you would be blocking for that I have a chance to block for now. I just got to keep him upright all season.”
Mike Tomlin on Aaron Rodgers 1st TD to DK Metcalf
“Hmm, that’s what I anticipate. I’m not going to throw a pep rally. That’s what I expect. That’s what I envisioned all summer.”