August 5th from Dale Grdnic
Latrobe PennsylvaniaWEDNESDAY AM:
Terrell Suggs and the Baltimore Ravens apparently are so obsessed with the Pittsburgh Steelers that they've taken to wearing a T-shirt to drive that point home.
The T-shirt front has the acronym YBYSA, while the back has the complete message: "You Bet Your Sweet Ass, I Hate The Steelers.''
Suggs said he saw the shirt at a store in the Baltimore area and believed it would be good to wear at training camp. Several Steelers players were asked their thoughts on the Ravens and that shirt.
"They can wear their shirts,'' Ryan Clark said. "I guess while they wear their shirts, I'll wear my (Super Bowl) ring, and we'll see which ones look nicer. But that's OK for them. We're not all about wearing shirts. We're more interested in winning a championship.''
Suggs, you'll remember, suggested that the Ravens had a bounty on Steelers wideout Hines Ward last season. Ward reminded Suggs that the NFL has a policy against such actions. And then the Steelers went out and beat the Ravens three times last season, including 23-14 some seven months ago at Heinz Field.
LaMarr Woodley intimated that the Ravens might just be thinking about Super Bowl champs too much right now.
"I don't even pay attention to that, but it just goes to show that they're worried about us,'' Woodley said. "We're more worried about our first game, and that's against the Tennessee Titans. We're not worried about playing Baltimore right now. When you focus more on the teams you have down the road, that's when the teams you face right in front of you can knock you around.
"And we won the Super Bowl last year, but all I'm concerned about now is what we're going to do this year... It sounds like we're in their heads, but that's their problem to worry about. Not ours. We've got too much else to worry about than to think about the Baltimore Ravens in August.''
While Woodley was unaware of Suggs' T-shirt, inside linebacker James Farrior noted that he did get that memo. But he didn't mention who told him about it.
"You know, we beat them three times last year, and they've had to sit with that throughout the offseason and all the way up to the next time we play them. (But) maybe that's their problem. They're just worried about beating us, instead of worrying about winning a world championship.
"But I think that's all for show, to give the Baltimore reporters something to right about. Maybe that gets them some false enthusiasm and false motivation. I don't know, but that's their problem and not something we worry about.''
Broken Coverage
The Steelers secondary had a tough time staying with the club's receivers in a coverage drill, as quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger, Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon were pretty sharp from start to finish. In the 11-on-11, team red-zone drill, Roethlisberger threw three touchdown passes: to Santonio Holmes, Shaun McDonald and tight end Dezmond Sherrod.
In the coverage drill, wideout Steven Black beat cornerback Keiwan Ratliff and safety Derrick Richardson with a strong pass from Batch... Roethlisberger fired a quick slant to McDonald after he lost cornerback Joe Burnett in front of the end zone... Batch also hooked up with McDonald, who beat Ratliff and cornerback Anthony Madison... Batch found McDonald near cornerback William Gay, and McDonald's veteran savvy got him open for a toe-dragging touchdown... And several plays later, McDonald beat him in front of the end zone for a score by holding the ball over the pylon before he went out of bounds... Dixon was able to find Black open in back of the end zone, as safety Tyrone Carter was late... And the two did the same thing to Carter a short time later... Cornerback Roy Lewis almost made a spectacular pickoff, but he was out of bounds when he gained control... Burnett and Ryan Clark couldn't stay with Mike Wallace, as Roethlisberger found him open in a seam... Batch hit Wallace a short time later, as Burnett couldn't make the play.
Any Way, Any Position
When talking with former South Dakota speedster Stefan Logan, the running back said he'll do whatever it takes for him to make the Steelers. He likely will play a large part in the club's return game and possibly on other special teams units. At the Wednesday morning practice, Logan worked out with the wideouts, ran routes and caught passes during their individual drills.
Holmes Helps Out
Former Steelers inside linebacker Earl Holmes is a visiting coaching assistant for the week. He has some time before the college football season begins. Holmes currently works for his alma mater, the Florida A&M Rattlers. The 10-year NFL veteran is the defensive coordinator at FAMU.
Walking Wounded and Others
Defensive end Sonny Harris was still working out on the sideline. He has missed several days now with an injury. Also Heath Miller (sports hernia surgery) and center Justin Hartwig (right big toe) have increased their workloads, but they have not yet rejoined the club for team drills.
Center-offensive guard Darnell Stapleton's right knee has not improved, so a decision has to be made concerning him. Tomlin could address that following the afternoon practice. Other than that, it seems like the Steelers are healthy. Hines Ward, James Farrior, Deshea Townsend and Troy Polamalu were given the morning off. Polamalu had his left hamstring and right calf iced, while Townsend had bags on both hamstrings.
Coming Up
The Steelers have just one practice Thursday afternoon. There is a morning special teams workout Friday and then a night session beginning at 7 at Latrobe's Memorial Stadium. Players will sign autographs at 6:45 p.m., with a nominal fee for fans to enter the stadium.