August 8th from Dale Grdnic
Latrobe PennsylvaniaSATURDAY AM:
After his team's practice under the lights Friday night at Latrobe High School's Memorial Field, Pittsburgh’s coach Mike Tomlin praised his team for its work ethic but quickly added that it wasn't exactly a high-energy, up-tempo performance despite a raucous crowd in attendance.
That type of practice apparently carried over to Saturday morning's 90-minute workout at Saint Vincent College, and Tomlin was quick to nip it in the bud.
After about a half hour's work, which consisted basically of a walk-through and stretching exercises, Tomlin gathered the Steelers together in the middle of the field and appeared to give them a good tongue lashing.
While all the words weren't audible, the intention was clear. Tomlin certainly let the team know that a lackadaisical attitude would not be tolerated. Sure, they had a solid workout the night before, and this wasn't much more than a glorified walk-through. But a more business-like approach was needed.
"He basically just told us that it looked like we were going through the motions,'' second-year defensive back Roy Lewis said. "We got the message and were a little sharper the rest of the way.''
Just Stopped By
Apparently the Steelers had two interior linemen in for brief workouts Friday. Alex Stepanovich, a six-year veteran who was with the Atlanta Falcons last season, and rookie Alex Derenthal from Temple were on campus.
Stepanovich, who played at Ohio State and was a fourth-round draft pick and former starter for the Arizona Cardinals, was released by the Falcons in June. Derenthal signed as an undrafted rookie with the New York Giants, but he was released before the start of their training camp.
Walking Wounded
Wideouts Martin Nance (leg) and Brandon Donovan (ribs), tight end-fullback Sean McHugh (left knee), outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley (right knee), defensive tackle Scott Paxson (right knee) and defensive end Sonny Harris (groin) did not take part in the individual or brief team portion of the brief morning practice. More should be known later today.
Teamwork
There was an 11-on-11 session that lasted about 10 minutes to end Saturday morning's practice, but the second- and third-team groups received the majority of the reps there.
It appeared that the short passing game, underneath routes and dump-offs to the running backs, was the primary focus.
Lend A Hand
After the morning practice, 11-year veteran defensive end Aaron Smith remained for some 15-20 minutes to work individually with No. 1 pick Ziggy Hood. The two worked on Hood's footwork and technique over and over until Smith was satisfied that Hood got it right.