Tim Benz: ‘Are the Steelers going to have a good training camp?’ Here are a few ways you’ll be able to tell
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One of the hardest questions to answer about the Pittsburgh Steelers every year is, “Did they have a good training camp?”
I mean, does anyone ever really say “no” to that?
Barring a run of bad injuries, you always want to at least say, “Yes. They got better as it went along.” Because if you can’t say that, they are going to be in real trouble.
But how can you genuinely tell until the regular season starts? This is why I always keep my training camp expectations low, and I rarely assign some sort of seismic shift of positivity or negativity based on what I see at Saint Vincent College.
Or, thanks to coronavirus protocols, Heinz Field and the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side for the second straight year.
The team reported Wednesday with the first training camp practice set to go Thursday. So, I decided to preemptively answer that annual “Did they have a good camp?” question by coming up with a six-pack of variables — not counting health. Injuries are a separate, obvious game-changer.
You will know if the Steelers had a good training camp if these six things happen.
• … if the wide receivers — particularly Diontae Johnson — cure their problems with drops last year. The wide receiver group is the most talented and deepest unit on the roster, especially if we add tight end Eric Ebron to the mix. They stood in their own way in 2020, though, when it came to dropped passes repeatedly halting drives.
Drop Rates among #Steelers
➤ Diontae Johnson – 13.7%
➤ James Washington – 11.8%
➤ Eric Ebron – 11.1%
➤ James Conner – 10.3%
➤ Chase Claypool – 6.1%
➤ JuJu Smith-Schuster – 3% pic.twitter.com/jDfDPFQay3— PFF PIT Steelers (@PFF_Steelers) February 15, 2021
Ben Roethlisberger # of dropped passes:
? 2018 – 2019: 26
? 2020: 41 pic.twitter.com/JGP2QDBYvd— PFF (@PFF) February 19, 2021
If they can get back in the rhythm of never letting the ball hit the ground in camp, maybe that will carry over to the regular season.
The best way to minimize drops is to throw less and run more effectively. But beggars can’t be choosers.
• … if not one, but two unheralded defensive backs emerge.
I know, I know. James Pierre had a strong spring, so the Steelers Twittersphere has already anointed him as the next Mel Blount. However, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I don’t think two interceptions in June proves anything. It would be nice, though, if he or Justin Layne seize the playing time which is available after Steven Nelson’s departure.
Forget just filling one cornerback position, the Steelers need to find two guys. Because if the team is relying on Cameron Sutton to be outside in the base and in the slot for sub-packages, that’s a lot of duty. They are going to need capable reserves when Sutton needs rest or is injured.
If Layne and/or Pierre shine, that’d be great. It’s necessary. But if someone such as Tre Norwood, Lamont Wade, Shakur Brown, Arthur Maulet or even safety Antoine Brooks Jr. show that they can handle slot duties, that would be a welcomed surprise.
• … if Najee Harris shows he is a worthy pass blocker.
We keep hearing he is a three-down back. And pass blocking is part of being on the field for all three downs. Especially in an offense that throws as much as the Steelers do.
That blitz pick-up quality — along with great route running and pass-catching skills — allowed Le’Veon Bell to stay on the field at all times.
Word from Alabama is that Harris has what it takes in that department. He needs to show it in training camp in backs on backers — or whatever minimal contact they are allowed to have at training camp these days.
• … if Pressley Harvin III wins the punting job.
This is a second-tier one. But if the offense struggles the way that it did last year, the Steelers are going to be punting more than we want.
Every year, they try to replace Jordan Berry. Every year, he hangs onto the job. This year, the Steelers seem serious about it. After all, they used a draft pick on Harvin III. Plus, he won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best collegiate punter while he was at Georgia Tech.
If head coach Mike Tomlin and special teams coordinator Danny Smith want to upgrade their ability to swing field position in games, training camp and the preseason would be a good time for Harvin III to show that he is a worthy investment.
• … if Matt Canada’s new offense is at least functional enough that Ben Roethlisberger has faith in it by the time the regular season starts.
The offense doesn’t have to hum like the 1984 San Francisco 49ers by the end of August. It doesn’t even have to be like the first eight games or so of last year.
It just needs to show enough potential that Roethlisberger won’t lobby to scrap it, or constantly change plays at the line of scrimmage.
• …if the offensive line doesn’t get everyone clobbered in the offensive backfield.
Running backs. Quarterbacks. The coaches standing behind the formation. The guy manning the mobile water coolers.
Much like the offense in general, the five to six guys who will be playing up front need to show that they are competent and capable of keeping plays alive long enough so that Canada and Roethlisberger can figure out what works.
And what doesn’t.
There’s your Steelers training camp six-pack. Sober up. Hydrate. The regular season is just around the corner.