Camp Notes For Misplaced Steeler Fans

[ZIGGYSTARDUST]

The Steelers hit town July 31 at St Vincent College for the opening of camp( where Zig spent 5 good years lets not talk class ranking ) For the first time in 30 years of going to watch Pitt practice I will be going over to where our punter is kicking and just watch for a good hour.. Then give a standing ovation...Did not appreciate that aspect of the game enough till he got hurt last year and Pitt had a horrid punter.. Early spring practice results were high on last years 2nd round LB Davis (USC).. Also Parker is reported to be ripped..Mendenhall reported 100% and chewing nails.. Looking forward to watching Frank "the tank" Summers RB and Pitt's two new return players ( Wr & db) take the field.. Never in recent memory has Pitt drafted so many need players ( ie.. short yard rb.. two return players..badly needed.. Pitt had a FB returning kickoffs last year.. two o-line....wr..young blood on d-line) Tomlin's fingerprints here IMO .. Going away from a old Pitt tradition of the "best athlete available" ... Camp notes to come.. From the fields of SVC.. New artifical field installed for this year for bad weather practices..

[ZIGGYSTARDUST]

As promised on the first day I went and watched the punter and it was a sweet sight.. Ike Taylor is huge and cut .... Tre Essex (OL) dropped 30lbs and looks like a LB.. Frank "the tank" (rb) is a scary looking dude.. Early darkhorse for this years fan fav.. IMO... New field is state of the art.. Ton of out of state plates in the parking lot this year way more then normal.. Have to admit (Cowher fan) camp is run much tighter under Tomlin ... Way less horseplay.. All business.. IMO this team won a year early last year .. They are loaded this year and the O-line may be the shocker.. breaking in four new guys had its growing pains but it may pay rewards this year.. Plus Hillis back from year long injury and a trim Essex and 3rd round OL pick add depth.. Plus got a feeling former PSU center(last draft pick) may make a push to make the team.. Local kid with a chip on his shoulder..

[Steel]

Ziggy keep posting as I am buried in work and have no chance of making any practice.

[cptkirk321]

Doesn't surprise me that Tomlin is running a tough camp. Heard an interview from him in the offseason and he talked about making sure the guys have their heads into this season right away after winning last year, didn't want that factoring into this years performance and see a replica of the last time they won the Super Bowl and missed the playoffs the next year.

[bill2266]

frank the tank is going to be big in pittsburgh short game.

[ZIGGYSTARDUST]

Originally Posted by cptkirk321

Doesn't surprise me that Tomlin is running a tough camp. Heard an interview from him in the offseason and he talked about making sure the guys have their heads into this season right away after winning last year, didn't want that factoring into this years performance and see a replica of the last time they won the Super Bowl and missed the playoffs the next year.

Not so much that its tougher then Cowhers (actually may be a tad softer)but way more organized...

[ZIGGYSTARDUST]

Stapleton (ol) going under the knife not a good start for the OL.. To be determined how long he will miss.. Tre Essex gets his chance not a drop off, but hurts depth especially with Hartwig limping around.. Rookie WR Wallace making a big splash in camp big time catches and described as very fluid.. Will be a huge upgrade on kickoff returns with Burnett.. Sweed also having a very good camp.. Early MVP is Wallace..

[ZIGGYSTARDUST]

Its now official Mike Wallace (WR) is all the buzz in camp this year.. Pitt feels like they have a game changer on their hands.... Will return kickoffs for an immediate impact.. Plus hit the field as an wideout..Ziggy Hood (dl) impressing coaches with his work ethic.. Tank Summers(rb) is not making anybody forget Bettis as of now ... This year more then any you dont see or hear of many players out ripping up the town (in a small town you cannot hide) its all business for the modern day athlete.. Back in the day if you wanted to see a player you went to Bobby Dales and every night there would be 30 to 40 players in a bar that held 150.. Bradshaw ... the whole defensive line.. Swan... Lambert.. Myron Cope ... ect.. went out EVERY night and hit the door at 10:50 to be back at camp by 11;00... My all time fav was hands down was Bubby Brister .. That dude was famous here in Latrobe.. Made his mark..

[ZIGGYSTARDUST]

Well as far as preseaon games go things could have not gone any better for the Steelers.. First off what a sweet sight watching Sepulveda punt it for a 50 yd average after last years nightmare.. Mike Wallace returning a kickoff for 35 yds ( would have been Davenports longest of the year last year after just one return).. Plus catching two balls... Dixon played great at backup QB.. Ziggy Hood getting a sack and pushing the line around while in there.. Second year LB Bruce Davis who has been a camp star also played a very good game and seems like a different player this year.. Rookie Burnett (db) also looked very comfortable returning punts and showed off his DB skills with a INT return for a TD.. The game backed up all the buzz about Pitts young players strong play during this years camp.. Special teams this year may just be special.. Biggest let down so far ?.... Frank "the tank" Summers... All in all first game grade B+.. If O-line comes together ( big if) this team is loaded for bear.. IMO...OUT..

[ZIGGYSTARDUST]

Camp closed today.. Attended 6 workouts this year.... Buzz is all about the young draft picks this year.. Wallace (wr)leading the way but Burnett (db) also making noise.. Ziggy Hood was all business according to coaches.. Overall camp was soft this year according to reports ... Tomlin felt the vets came into camp ready to play and rewarded them likewise.. Not overconfident but determined.. Another player on the watch list Bruce Davis (lb) had a major leap in production and may just be a hidden gem on defense this year.. Redmond (rb) has also been a major surprise as a short yardage back may just replace the "tank" who has sucked so far.. Backup QB job IMO is going to be a shocker .. Dixon great camp.. Batch not so much.. Dixon may just be this years backup QB.. This years special teams will be "special" after hurting them last year .. Not saying they win it all again but they will be a very good and deep team and take second stage to anybody this year IMO.. Always have contended they won the SB a year ahead of time.. Nice mixture of youth and vets!! To sum up camp this year ... Focused and business like.. Not anything like the Cowher camps...