First off, what’s new with you there?
It’s crazy to think that I started this Steelers beat with the Tribune-Review in 2014 – 10 years ago now. It’s wild to think that I’m not that young guy any more! I have four children and just moved recently. It’s been a ride here with the Tribune-Review but I think all is good now relative to how the industry is looking.
With social media and more self-branding, how much harder is is to cover the team? I remember talking to Vito Stellino who talked about reporters getting every player’s phone number and having access to the dorms…
Oh wow yeah we don’t get any of that for sure! When I went to college everything we learned was geared towards print journalism. I’m realizing how old I am – so much has changed. We used to hold stories for the print paper so everyone would be surprised when they read the story the next day. Those days are long gone now. I appreciate people who break stories – but those are great for five minutes then everyone writes their own stuff off of that. It’s a 24-hour news cycle now.
Players don’t “need” us as much as they did in the past either. There’s still some of that – some still like to work with the media – but they can get their messages out by themselves. If they are unhappy with a contract they can just post a picture in seconds.
How has the increasing rise of content-aggregation affected you?
That’s the biggest reason why our industry is in trouble. I know some people who get more bitter and angry about it, but I don’t blame those that do it – it’s just the reality of things. Some people are really good at it – but it siphons away the people who read the work of guys who have their boots on the ground and who speak directly to sources.
Overall I think there are more people than ever who read about the Steelers – it’s just harder to monetize.
Moving to the Steelers – do you think people are overreacting to Canada’s comments that there will be few changes to the offense?
I think part of it is just that Matt could have been smarter about how he said it – he’s smart enough to know how it would be taken. But functionally, I don’t think what he said is a big deal. No one needed to tell us what the offensive philosophy was going to be this year. They drafted and signed more offensive lineman, drafted a running back round one a couple of years ago and drafted a blocking tight end this year. You could see it in every move they made – they told you how they were planning to operate.
Do you think Canada really is allowed to open up the offense more – or is is there more of a mandate by Tomlin to play close to minimize mistakes and have the defense close out games?
I think we all thought Canada was coaching for his job last year but that clearly wasn’t the case. This year his contract will be up, so I think that is the case. Last year Trubisky knew his job was tenuous and couldn’t afford to make mistakes or he’d lose his job, and that’s what happened. I thought he may have been the issue, but not much changed when Pickett went in.
There are usually a lot of options for guys on every play – but we saw Pickens’ route tree for example – it was limited on many plays. But I don’t think there’s an edict from Tomlin not to take shots. With Pickett in his second year and the swagger he has, I think you may see more of that.
There are a few guys still recovering from injury – Holcomb, Robinson, Freiermuth – anything to worry about there?
I think we believe the injury reports at our own peril! I’ve been fooled before, but I don’t think there are reasons to worry. The only one maybe to worry about is Holcomb – the surgery was six or seven months ago and he’s still recovering a bit – so I’m not sure what six more weeks will do. He’s the only one that concerns me.
Half of the receivers were injured in mini-camp too – but I’m not concerned about those guys. I’ve been fooled before though with guys like Ladarius Green – so we’ll see what happens on July 28th.
What are your thoughts on how the nickel plays out?
If you asked me before mini-camp I’d have said Sullivan is the guy. But if Porter is ready to come in and start he’ll be on the outside. If as Tomlin says you want to get your best guys on the field – the best three corners are Peterson, Porter and Wallace. That would mean Porter and Wallace on the outside and seeing Petersen play in the nickel. He hasn’t done that a lot over his career, but he’s had a Hall of Fame career and has the skillset to do it. I’m leaning that way with how it shakes out if Porter doesn’t get overwhelmed in camp. And there’s no reason to think he will – he looked good in practices so far.
Are they comfortable with what they have at inside linebacker?
If Holcomb stays healthy it’s he and Roberts as your starters on early downs. Robinson is fascinating to me – he may be my second most intriguing player on the team. How much can he contribute this year and can he take that next step to be a starter, or will he be a fill-in guy who plays on special teams?
On passing downs now, there’s a reason why they have three starting-caliber safeties. You’ll see Neal come in on passing downs.
Any thoughts on their ability to generate more big plays on offense?
If Robinson is my second most intriguing player, Austin is my first. You can’t evaluate guys like him in practice – guys that size can struggle when the pads are on in practice and in games. He has to stay healthy first of all and they need to see how his speed translates in actual gams.
But yeah, not getting big plays has been the Achilles heel of the offense. They didn’t have a touchdown outside of the 10 yard line I don’t think until November. But with the guys they have I think they have the ability to get more big plays.
Should we temper the early enthusiasm with guys like Butler, Tice and Washington?
I learned a long time ago not to be fooled by how big wide receivers look in camp. I’ve seen a lot of big, fast receivers look like Randy Moss in camp. I remember when Justin Hunter was there and he looked terrific in camp – I thought he would be a great weapon. But then in games it didn’t happen as much. There’s a reason why they don’t perform well in pads or in games.
Washington though – the receiving game wasn’t supposed to be his strength. Blocking was. So he has definitely surprised me with his catching ability so far and how often they’ve used him in the passing game in practice. Six weeks ago I would have said I wasn’t sure about him as a receiver but now I think he can be a real weapon in the passing game.
Any concerns with any of the rookies – especially Jones?
I’m less concerned with Jones – he may not start right away but I think that has as much to do with how good Dan Moore has looked as anything. I think Jones will end up starting this year at some point.
Benton is hard to evaluate – defensive linemen are hard to evaluate without pads on but I’m sure he’ll be in the rotation and probably be the starting nosetackle.
Herbig stands out on the edge – we’ll just see at his size if it translates well in stadiums, as Tomlin says. He did beat Broderick Jones a few times in practice.
Lastly, anyone surprise you so far – including any progression you see in Pickett?
I’d say Hakeem Butler but I just don’t want to put too much stock into it this early. Herbig popped in terms of his pass rushing. Those are the probably two of the bigger surprises.
I know with Pickett his numbers weren’t that good last year, but when you watch every game you feel better about him than what his numbers suggest. Especially those last six weeks, he cleared a lot of hurdles for me and I think he can take that next big step. It’ll be fun to watch him.