Steelers Training Camp Day 11: Joey Porter Jr. struggles, offense dominates
The Pittsburgh Steelers were back in full pads today, kicking off week three of practices but more importantly, game week. That meant the intensity was ratcheted up a level, with the debut of 1 on 1 tackling and goal-line drills. But unfortunately for Joey Porter Jr., that brought some pain he wasn't ready for: Joey […]
The Pittsburgh Steelers were back in full pads today, kicking off week three of practices but more importantly, game week.
That meant the intensity was ratcheted up a level, with the debut of 1 on 1 tackling and goal-line drills.
But unfortunately for Joey Porter Jr., that brought some pain he wasn't ready for:
Joey Porter Jr. Gets taken to School
The Steelers debuted some team-based tackling drills in preparation for Friday's game, with the goal to get players' bodies acclimated for the live hitting that will occur.
Joey Porter Jr. had trouble integrating himself however, missing both tackle attempts and struggling to generate any confidence in the drill.
Steelers Super Bowl Champion Ryan Clark was at practice today, and he could be heard yelling "One more step Joey."
That's in an effort to get Joey closer to the ball carrier before he launches. A fix that will take repetition and muscle memory, but leaves me no worry that Porter Jr. will clean up this portion of his game.
Hakeem Butler says lets get Physical
Butler is easily the largest wideout on the 90-man roster, and today he proved that, taking multiple DBs for a ride with a brutal stiff arm.
His work may still be cut out for him when it comes to making the roster, but I don't doubt he's more than capable of handing out a few of these on Friday Night.
Kenny Pickett continues to Roll
The Steelers open nearly every practice working on rolling pockets with Kenny Pickett, and shortly after this drill, he put the reps to work in "Seven Shots' evading the rush and throwing a dart to the back of the endzone for a TD.
Pickett's athleticism isn't equal to the Allen's, Hurt's, or Jackson's of the world, but he is more than capable of creating out of structure, and he has shown that in abundance this camp.
Diontae Johnson gets Jiggy with it
That is some of the prettiest route running you will see in the NFL, and it's on the route that Johnson runs the best, the curl.
Watch how he changes his tempo mid-stem to practice throwing off the would-be DB before accelerating and dropping his hips into the break.
That route is nearly unguardable for most of the league and is something I hope to see plenty of in 2023.
Expect a lot of Tight Ends
The Steelers have been running a ton of 12 and 13 personnel (Two-Three tight end sets) this training camp, utilizing a mixture of Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, and Zach Gentry on plenty of run plays and in heavy passing packages.
Their usage will only add to the multiplicity of the offense, creating advantages in the run game with three above-average to excellent blockers, and matchup nightmares in terms of how teams match them personnel-wise.
Hopefully, Matt Canada carries these concepts over to the regular season, along with the explosive plays that have occurred throughout camp.
And that's a wrap on day 11 in Latrobe. The Steelers will have their last open practice of the week tomorrow, before a closed practice and travel day prior to Friday's preseason opener in Tampa.
It may have been a day to forget for Joey Porter Jr., but he rebounded for a big stop in the team period, and will certainly use today's tape as a teaching tool for the rest of camp.
The offense looked stellar today, dominating "Seven Shots" 6-1 and with multiple skill position players making defenders look silly in 1v1 drills.
Maybe the defense will even score tomorrow, and then both sides come together and perform their best against the Bucs.
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin wants to see consistent urgency from year two player
He would do well to listen
Featured image via: © Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK
