polamalubeast
09-13-2016, 08:07 PM
LANDOVER, Md. — When organized team activities opened up late this past spring, the 2016 Steelers began in earnest their preparations for the season.
At that point, DeAngelo Williams and Jesse James were firmly entrenched as No. 2 at their respective positions. Eli Rogers barely was known to Steeler Nation and wasn't guaranteed a roster spot.
On opening night, those three not only played prominent roles, they produced like the starters they are behind on the depth chart.
“It's a lot of credit to those guys for stepping up,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “They did a great job of ... making plays when it mattered.”
Williams, Rogers and James combined for 261 of the Steelers' 436 yards of offense and three touchdowns in a 38-16 win against the Washington Redskins on Monday night.
• With Le'Veon Bell suspended, Williams carried a Bell-like workload: 26 carries for 143 yards and two touchdowns, plus six catches for 28 yards.
• With Markus Wheaton out because of a shoulder injury, Rogers not only picked up the slack in his NFL debut, he played as the top pass-catching complement to superstar Antonio Brown with six catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.
• With Ladarius Green on the physically unable to perform list, James didn't play so much like a Green clone as much as he looked like the man Green was signed to replace. Though the tens of thousands of Steelers fans at FedEx Field resisted the urge to erroneously yell “HEEEEEEATH” when James caught passes, the second-year tight end had a Heath Miller-like day: five catches for 31 yards while rarely leaving the field.
“We gotta play with the guys that we have out there,” Williams said. “Coach (Mike Tomlin's) mantra is ‘Next man up.' And that's a credit to the front office.”
Rogers was undrafted out of Louisville in 2015 and spent last season on injured reserve. He was no higher than fifth on the wide receiver depth chart when offseason workouts began. And even that was debatable after the Steelers drafted Demarcus Ayers.
And that doesn't count Martavis Bryant, who in March was suspended for the season.
read more
http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/11129121-74/james-rogers-steelers
At that point, DeAngelo Williams and Jesse James were firmly entrenched as No. 2 at their respective positions. Eli Rogers barely was known to Steeler Nation and wasn't guaranteed a roster spot.
On opening night, those three not only played prominent roles, they produced like the starters they are behind on the depth chart.
“It's a lot of credit to those guys for stepping up,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “They did a great job of ... making plays when it mattered.”
Williams, Rogers and James combined for 261 of the Steelers' 436 yards of offense and three touchdowns in a 38-16 win against the Washington Redskins on Monday night.
• With Le'Veon Bell suspended, Williams carried a Bell-like workload: 26 carries for 143 yards and two touchdowns, plus six catches for 28 yards.
• With Markus Wheaton out because of a shoulder injury, Rogers not only picked up the slack in his NFL debut, he played as the top pass-catching complement to superstar Antonio Brown with six catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.
• With Ladarius Green on the physically unable to perform list, James didn't play so much like a Green clone as much as he looked like the man Green was signed to replace. Though the tens of thousands of Steelers fans at FedEx Field resisted the urge to erroneously yell “HEEEEEEATH” when James caught passes, the second-year tight end had a Heath Miller-like day: five catches for 31 yards while rarely leaving the field.
“We gotta play with the guys that we have out there,” Williams said. “Coach (Mike Tomlin's) mantra is ‘Next man up.' And that's a credit to the front office.”
Rogers was undrafted out of Louisville in 2015 and spent last season on injured reserve. He was no higher than fifth on the wide receiver depth chart when offseason workouts began. And even that was debatable after the Steelers drafted Demarcus Ayers.
And that doesn't count Martavis Bryant, who in March was suspended for the season.
read more
http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/11129121-74/james-rogers-steelers