Starters Will Play
Tomorrow’s Steelers/Bills game at Heinz Field may be as close to a dress rehearsal as we’re going to see this preseason. With veteran starters slated to go for the Steelers on defense and an extended look at the first team offense, plus a promise from Buffalo Head Coach Sean McDermott that Josh Allen and the Bills starters will see at least a quarter of work, it may be one of the least-ugly NFL preseason games to date this summer.
Yes, that’s damning with faint praise.
If nothing else, the sportsbooks are in on this one to produce offense, at least for a preseason game, as the total of 42.5 points is the biggest on the board at BetMGM for Week Two of the preseason.
Camp Champs
Not that anyone asked, but with another training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe in the rearview mirror, here are my 2023 Camp Superlatives:
Offensive MVP: George Pickens (the man’s catch radius is unlimited)
Defensive MVP: Minkah Fitzpatrick (despite a late start to camp, his photo is next to the word ‘steady’ in the dictionary)
Best Offensive Rookie: Darnell Washington (a mountain of a human who moves like a wide receiver; he’s going to be truly great)
Best Defensive Rookie: Nick Herbig (despite injuries, consistently put pressure on QBs)
Most Abused: James Pierre (should get tattoos of grill marks and have Pickens sign them)
Most Surprising: Kwon Alexander (when the man hits, the sound reverberates off the hills)
Most Disappointing: Broderick Jones (he’s certainly not bad, and was good more often than not; but I expected him to walk in and serve up more pancakes than IHOP and steal a starting job… it hasn’t happened yet)
Most Underappreciated: Dan Moore, Jr. (maybe we just give Moore the credit he’s due for still holding off Jones; he’s done nothing to lose the starting job)
Biggest Concern: anybody in the secondary not named Minkah (the constant substitution patterns and multiple safeties shuttling in-and-out while Joey Porter, Jr. subs in at corner but Levi Wallace moves inside has me wondering how many miscommunications on the back end Fitzapatrick will have to cover for)
Most Consistent: Pat Freiermuth (has become a leader on offense, can always be counted on)
Humphrey Hurt Awhile
Nobody roots for injuries, even on division rivals. But if you’re a Steelers fan, you certainly don’t bemoan the calf injury suffered by Joe Burrow earlier in training camp, nor the somewhat-extended absence of Marlon Humphrey the Ravens will have to deal with.
With the Ravens visiting Pittsburgh in Week Five, there’s a possibility this one will have a direct impact on the Steelers.
Skenes Steady Ascent?
Pirates first overall pick Paul Skenes will start for the Bradenton Marauders again on Sunday, and if that outing goes as well as his first two since joining the organization, it sounds like the move could be on.
If the plan was to get Skenes eight or nine brief starts at varying levels of the system, depending on his success, there’s no reason the last one or two of those outings shouldn’t happen with the Pirates in the Majors, culminating on the final weekend at home against Miami.
Let him make 2-3 starts at each level, and get him on the mound at PNC Park by the end of September in order to give fans some more hope headed in to the offseason.
If you really want to step on the gas, let him make just a pair of starts in Altoona and Indianapolis each, and get him here in time for the Yankees series in mid-September. Let him get on the road for a start in Chicago or Cincinnati after that, and then get him back in front of the home fans one last time against the Marlins.
Call it a PR move if you want, I don’t care. Last I checked, teams are still in the business of selling tickets. And I’m a whole helluva lot more likely to go to PNC Park in September if Skenes is going to be there.
ACC Getting Political
I knew there’d be politicking by some programs to take advantage of conference realignment and get themselves in a better spot following the pillaging of the Pac-12.
I just didn’t think it would involve actual politicians.
With a former President and a former Secretary of State lobbying in their favor, it’s quite possible Stanford -and their nearly-conjoined Bay Area twin, Cal- and SMU are soon the 16th, 17th, and 18th members of the ACC (counting Notre Dame).
There are concerns about Olympic sports being thrown around, conversations about academics, and of course, travel.
Don’t lose sight of this, though: It is all about the money. And it always will be.
If the ACC can make more money for its member institutions -even if they’re not excited at the prospect of traveling cross-country for a volleyball match in February- they will make this move. Once the (larger) checks start to cash, especially if they’re disproportionately being handed to the squeaky wheels in Tallahassee, Clemson, and Chapel Hill, then no one will care.
In the world of college athletics football, it’s never been truer that you must evolve expand or die.