OTAs: Hope Springs Eternal

By Jim Wexell

The Pittsburgh Steelers take the field this week for next phase of 2016 season

Organized Team Activities begin this week and that means football in the morning, in the brisk spring air, amid the chirping birds, when the coaches are in a good mood and 90 players have hope.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will hold their first of 10 such practices tomorrow and I'll be there to chronicle the following:

* Ben Roethlisberger's conditioning. He reportedly lost 15 pounds only two months into the offseason.

* The recoveries of Maurkice Pouncey and Le'Veon Bell. These two leaders have been getting hurt more often than anyone's comfortable with. Any road to a seventh title must include them.

* The true start of the career of Senquez Golson. The 2015 second-round pick had this spring cup of coffee last year but missed his rookie camp and season with a shoulder injury. He'll be given an opportunity to start outside, although nearly every fan and reporter believes he's destined for a slot cornerback position.

* The rookie beginnings of Artie Burns and Sean Davis. These two highly drafted six-foot defensive backs might just get thrown into the fray this spring and start this fall. Of course, while the comparison to 1987 -- when rookies Delton Hall and Thomas Everett started and Rod Woodson was first off the bench -- might be a little strong, a more reasonable comparison is 1989, when safety Carnell Lake was an opening-day starter and cornerback D.J. Johnson played in all 16 games.

Read more here: http://www.scout.com/nfl/steelers/story/1671960-otas-hope-springs-eternal

OTA news

Steelers Bell thought everybody plays football "just for love of the game, but people are out here to try to really take people out,"

— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) May 24, 2016

Steelers Le'Veon Bell says Burfict and Bengals tried to take him out last year. And the did. Said he will better protect himself now

— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) May 24, 2016

Bell has not been fully cleared, said coaches and docs are bringing him along slowly. Hopes to get contact during camp

— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) May 24, 2016

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2016/05/steelers-rb-leveon-bell-still-not-fully-cleared-practice-fully/

No question the Steelers despise how the Bengals are coached to play - Marvin Lewis could stop this if he wanted to - fish rots from the head down

And Pouncey's recovery apparently was even rockier than had been indicated last year

Maurkice Pouncey said he is full go. Does not want to miss anything between now and start of the season

— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) May 24, 2016

Pouncey also said he had more than two surgeries. Wouldn't say if it was more than three, but he said it was definitely more than two.

— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) May 24, 2016

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2016/05/report-steelers-c-maurkice-pouncey-practices-fully-teams-first-ota-session/

watching the replay of bell's injury it was blatantly obvious burfict was trying to hurt bell. he already had the tackle, but instead of riding him to the ground he kept his legs off the ground and whipped his legs around and into bell to trap the leg.

i'm not buying this accidental crap, burfict is out to injure people

Fire Arians wrote:

watching the replay of bell's injury it was blatantly obvious burfict was trying to hurt bell. he already had the tackle, but instead of riding him to the ground he kept his legs off the ground and whipped his legs around and into bell to trap the leg.

i'm not buying this accidental crap, burfict is out to injure people

Right. And it is the other teams job to end his season when he comes back. I have no sympathy for Burfict. He needs to be taken out.

Ben: 'You want to win Super Bowls'

Teresa Varley
Steelers.com

OTAs get rolling: The Steelers hit the field on Tuesday for the first of 10 OTA sessions, with an incredible turnout of players for the voluntary program.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger liked what he saw on day one, even if it was ‘football in shorts.’

“It’s fun to get on the field with the guys,” said Roethlisberger. “It’s always fun because it’s football.”

Welcome back: The start of OTAs meant the return of a few familiar faces to the field, including running back Le’Veon Bell.

Bell suffered a season-ending MCL injury last year against the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field on Nov. 1.

“I was excited to have him back out there and excited to get him playing real football,” said Roethlisberger.

Center of attention: Also back on the field was center Maurkice Pouncey, who missed the entire 2015 season with an ankle injury he suffered in the preseason.

“It’s awesome,” said Roethlisberger of having him back. “If feels good to have him back out there. I am excited he is out there, healthy and our leader.”

Big Ben: He is still Big Ben, but there is a little less of him this season as Roethlisberger put in a lot of cardio work this offseason to drop some weight.

“It feels good,” said Roethlisberger. “You want to be the best you can be. You want to win Super Bowls. I just felt like it was the right thing at the right time.”

Reaching for 30: The goal for the Steelers offense last season was to score 30 points a game, and while they came up shy of that with 26.4 points per game in the regular season, the goal is still the same this year.

“Coach (Todd) Haley goes over our goals today as we start this process,” said Roethlisberger. “That was one of our goals, 30 points. We were close last year, but didn’t get there so we didn’t reach our goal.”

7 to start: It’s referred to by Coach Mike Tomlin as ‘seven shots,’ a drill where the ball is placed at the two-yard line with the offense looking to punch it into the end zone. The offense throws everything at the defense, and the challenge is simple, stop them.

It was commonly run in training camp last year, and during the season, but Tomlin pulled it out to start off OTAs.

“That’s Coach Tomlin’s new thing, that’s seven shots,” said Roethlisberger. “We were a little surprised we were doing it, then we weren’t surprised because that is what he loves. He loves that little period.”

Time to step up: Roethlisberger knows the offense is going to miss receiver Martavis Bryant, suspended for the entire season, but he also knows that everyone else will pick up their game as a result.

“He is a big weapon for us, one of the best and had the chance to be one of the best in the NFL. It’s unfortunate,” said Roethlisberger. “All of us need to step up. We have had a lot of guys carry a lot on their shoulders. I would like to see some of the young guys take the next step, especially some of the young receiving guys.”

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Ben-You-want-to-win-Super-Bowls/4832e735-462f-40f7-9bbd-1b52ba69690f

Pouncey returns to practice with no restrictions

By Ray Fittipaldo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey was a full participant in the first practice of the spring Tuesday and he doesn’t plan on missing any between now and the start of the season if he can help it.

Pouncey, who missed all of last season after fracturing the fibula in his left leg in a preseason game against the Packers, said his injured leg is 100 percent despite having multiple surgeries last fall to repair the bone.

Pouncey said he took every snap with the first-team offense in practice Tuesday and does not plan on getting any special treatment from coach Mike Tomlin.

“I’m 26 years old, man,” Pouncey said. “I’m doing everything. I don’t need time off. I’m [ticked] off I missed a lot. I’m ready to go.”

READ MORE: http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2016/05/24/Steelers-center-Maurkice-Pouncey-says-he-s-ready-to-go/stories/201605240167?utm_campaign=echobox&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1

By Ray Fittipaldo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote:

Pouncey, who missed all of last season after fracturing the fibula in his left leg in a preseason game against the Packers, said his injured leg is 100 percent despite having multiple surgeries last fall to repair the bone.

Didn't the Steelers last year deny Pouncey had more than one surgery?

OX1947 wrote:

Fire Arians wrote:

watching the replay of bell's injury it was blatantly obvious burfict was trying to hurt bell. he already had the tackle, but instead of riding him to the ground he kept his legs off the ground and whipped his legs around and into bell to trap the leg.

i'm not buying this accidental crap, burfict is out to injure people

Right. And it is the other teams job to end his season when he comes back. I have no sympathy for Burfict. He needs to be taken out.

That doesn't make us any better than him. It's the league's job to police douchebags like him and they are ignoring him. I don't want to see anyone cheap shot him but I'm all for a legal "slobber knocker" as Madden puts it. He should be sitting out at least a couple games. If I were Marvin Lewis I'd cut him and Adam Jones to send a message to the team.

Can't wait for this season to start. Minicamp, OTAs, and Training Camp are such cruel teases!

solardave wrote:

If I were Marvin Lewis I'd cut him and Adam Jones to send a message to the team.

It's clear Marvin Lewis fosters this type of environment within his players or it wouldn't CONTINUE to happen every game.  He is just as big a scum bag as the other asshats on that team because of that.

Jeremy Fowler - ESPN wrote:

Pittsburgh Steelers first-round cornerback Artie Burns was bound to cover Antonio Brown at some point in offseason workouts. He got his chance Thursday.

He went 1-for-2 on isolated matchups.

After Thursday's session, Burns detailed his work against Brown, including Brown's goal-line touchdown on a counter move and Burns' pass breakup on a deep ball attempt to Brown.

Read the rest of the article here.

Former Steeler Alan Faneca present at OTAs

Video: http://www.steelers.com/videos/videos/Former-Steeler-Alan-Faneca-present-at-OTAs/58c8397c-f319-41e7-8e8e-6917782a4cb8