polamalubeast
07-31-2012, 12:37 PM
At St. Vincent's College in Latrobe, Pa., where the idyllic campus is spread out wide, Steelers fans are plentiful and our ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney, has been a regular.
OBSERVATION DECK
1. The Steelers might not miss Rashard Mendenhall much in the early going. Mendenhall, the Steelers' starting running back, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in 2011 and is on the physically unable to perform list, where he'll most likely start the season. In his stead, third-year back Isaac Redman has looked awfully forceful. The 6-foot, 230-pound Redman is solid, strong and doesn't waste time dancing behind his line. He has deceptive speed, too, and can definitely bust one out (see the 32-yard run that punctuated a 17-carry, 121-yard showing in Pittsburgh's playoff loss to the Denver Broncos). Steelers tackle Willie Colon said it best, though, regarding Redman's grind-it-out mentality: "He doesn't mind getting three yards, he doesn't mind getting five yards."
2. There was definitely a message in receiver Antonio Brown's contract extension. Only it wasn't for receiver Mike Wallace, as many thought. Third-year receiver Emmanuel Sanders heard what the Steelers were really saying loud and clear. "If you're here and you keep working hard, you can earn yourself something," said the talented -- but recently injury-bitten -- Sanders. Wallace, of course, was not there as of this writing. The young receiver with two 1,000-yard seasons under his belt is refusing to participate in training camp without a new contract. After protracted discussions, the Steelers said they're done negotiating until Wallace comes to camp. Still, veteran receiver Jerricho Cotchery insisted that Brown's deal should not be interpreted as a veiled threat to Wallace. "Here, they tell you exactly what they're thinking. There's no games," Cotchery said.
3. The Steelers have an impressive group of receivers, but they still need Wallace. Brown and Sanders run great routes, have good hands and are fast. Save for the recently retired Hines Ward, Cotchery is as tough a veteran leader as the Steelers could want (remember Cotchery's diving third-and-long catch -- WITH a pulled groin -- against the Cleveland Browns when he was with the New York Jets?). And yet, Wallace is, well, special. Santonio Holmes once told Cotchery that Wallace is absurdly fast. Cotchery didn't quite get it, until he became Wallace's teammate; now, Cotchery says Wallace is easily the fastest player he's seen in the NFL. And he runs clean routes, too. "I think the fear is," Cotchery said, "if you get up there and miss him at the line of scrimmage, you might as well just scream, 'Help!'"
read more
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82af22d7/article/pittsburgh-steelers-training-camp-prepping-sans-mike-wallace?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
OBSERVATION DECK
1. The Steelers might not miss Rashard Mendenhall much in the early going. Mendenhall, the Steelers' starting running back, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in 2011 and is on the physically unable to perform list, where he'll most likely start the season. In his stead, third-year back Isaac Redman has looked awfully forceful. The 6-foot, 230-pound Redman is solid, strong and doesn't waste time dancing behind his line. He has deceptive speed, too, and can definitely bust one out (see the 32-yard run that punctuated a 17-carry, 121-yard showing in Pittsburgh's playoff loss to the Denver Broncos). Steelers tackle Willie Colon said it best, though, regarding Redman's grind-it-out mentality: "He doesn't mind getting three yards, he doesn't mind getting five yards."
2. There was definitely a message in receiver Antonio Brown's contract extension. Only it wasn't for receiver Mike Wallace, as many thought. Third-year receiver Emmanuel Sanders heard what the Steelers were really saying loud and clear. "If you're here and you keep working hard, you can earn yourself something," said the talented -- but recently injury-bitten -- Sanders. Wallace, of course, was not there as of this writing. The young receiver with two 1,000-yard seasons under his belt is refusing to participate in training camp without a new contract. After protracted discussions, the Steelers said they're done negotiating until Wallace comes to camp. Still, veteran receiver Jerricho Cotchery insisted that Brown's deal should not be interpreted as a veiled threat to Wallace. "Here, they tell you exactly what they're thinking. There's no games," Cotchery said.
3. The Steelers have an impressive group of receivers, but they still need Wallace. Brown and Sanders run great routes, have good hands and are fast. Save for the recently retired Hines Ward, Cotchery is as tough a veteran leader as the Steelers could want (remember Cotchery's diving third-and-long catch -- WITH a pulled groin -- against the Cleveland Browns when he was with the New York Jets?). And yet, Wallace is, well, special. Santonio Holmes once told Cotchery that Wallace is absurdly fast. Cotchery didn't quite get it, until he became Wallace's teammate; now, Cotchery says Wallace is easily the fastest player he's seen in the NFL. And he runs clean routes, too. "I think the fear is," Cotchery said, "if you get up there and miss him at the line of scrimmage, you might as well just scream, 'Help!'"
read more
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82af22d7/article/pittsburgh-steelers-training-camp-prepping-sans-mike-wallace?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed