Mike Tomlin changed things up a bit on his team after a few weeks of working in the afternoon sun, having their first Saturday practice in pads at Heinz Field come in a nighttime setting.
It wasn't the Friday Night Lights practice they would have held at Latrobe Memorial Stadium had they held training camp at Saint Vincent College, but it did provide a different kind of environment.
The lights at Heinz Field were on. And Tomlin and his coaching staff created as many game-type situations for the Steelers as they could -- at least prior to practice.
Players were announced. They were in full uniform. Crowd noise was used.
"I thought it was important for us to simulate a preseason environment, and by that I mean some procedural things leading up to the game," Tomlin said. "We proceeded with that in terms of our pre-practice work, the timeline that we followed leading up to the work, the routine, the stretch routines and all the things that we would do in a preseason game. It's just another step that we take to ready the group for the regular season. We don't want to be getting to New York and that's the first time they're finding their rhythms prior to kickoff. We're doing some things we would do before a preseason game, we're just attaching it to practice."
But it's still not a preseason game.
For players such as Mason Rudolph, missing those preseason games are huge.
Unless something happens to Ben Roethlisberger, Rudolph isn't getting a chance to play again this season in a regular season game. The preseason would have been an opportunity for Rudolph to show what he learned from his eight starts and 10 appearances in 2019.
And the Steelers would obviously be OK if that happens, since it means Roethlisberger is OK.
Look who was back in a Steelers uniform tonight. #Steelers #dkps pic.twitter.com/CLWXyDBMKp
— Dale Lolley (@dlolley_pgh) August 23, 2020
And Rudolph's up-and-down 2019 season was ended last December against the Jets when he came off the bench to rally the Steelers from a 10-0 deficit only to suffer a shoulder injury that ended his year.
"I think that is something you can build on going into this year. I thought there were things there that you can build a foundation upon," Rudolph said. "(It's) just good to get back into the action and get back playing football and scoring points. Obviously, it was unfortunate the way with the injury there and kind of being removed when you felt like we were heading in the right direction with a chance to make the playoffs there. It was hard, but that is football and there are injuries. Every game you can pull something from it. I am very confident right now going into this year. Putting a finishing touch [on it], even with the injury and losing the game, there are things to build on."
But he won't get to show -- at least not the general public -- what he learned from that season anytime soon.
Rudolph had a tough day at practice Thursday, having a couple of passes that could have been interceptions dropped. But he's been solid the past two days, including throwing a touchdown pass Saturday on his first rep in Seven Shots to start practice.
Rudolph said he spent the first portion of his offseason recovering from his injury, watching all of his game film from 2019 multiple times. Then, once he healed up, he began his on-field work.
"I kind of had a feeling of what I need to work on, but it is always great to have another set of eyes and someone else bringing something to your attention," Rudolph said.
That person was new Steelers quarterbacks coach Matt Canada.
The main reason Canada was brought in was to work with the Steelers' young quarterbacks, with Rudolph topping that list.
He completed 62 percent of his passes last season, throwing 13 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. But for a player viewed as a potential replacement for Roethlisberger, it wasn't quite enough.
"Experience is huge, and everybody doesn’t get that. So certainly, for last year, what wasn’t scripted or what wasn’t planned, he was able to get that experience," Canada said. "He was able to learn from it. We have had a lot of film time to study what went on last year, what we can maybe do better, what he can see, what he did well. obviously, you want to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses. Those things that we did well, we want to keep trying to find those plays, those concepts. And the things we didn’t do as well, we want to correct and improve, which we are going to do."
They just won't be doing it in any preseason games, which is why practices such as Saturday night's event are so important. The Steelers only have 12 padded practices with which to work before they line up Sept. 14 to play the Giants at MetLife Stadium to kick off the 2020 season. And they have already used up four of those.
"I think when I look back last year, I didn’t run our offense at the level to meet the Pittsburgh Steelers’ standard," Rudolph said. "You look at the film and you look at your deficiencies and the way to improve. There is a lot of meat on the bone there. I get excited because you have been through a lot of game experience and reps and you have felt what it’s like to prepare each week in the cyclical manner of a season. I am confident that I will be a starting quarterback in the NFL."
• Maurkice Pouncey remained out Saturday after attending a family funeral in Florida.
He must now go back through the NFL's COVID-19 protocols before he will be permitted to rejoin the team, meaning Pouncey won't be allowed to practice with the team until sometime early next week.
Pouncey previously missed last Monday's practice, the first padded session, and again on Friday. According to Tomlin, Pouncey is not the only player who is currently in COVID testing, though he would not elaborate.
"There's no one to mention at this time for being on the COVID list, but we do want to exercise precaution at this time and make sure we adhere to it in the fullest," Tomlin said. "I'll have a further update on the status of those guys once we come back."
• With a more physical practice, the Steelers had several players who were injured Saturday.
Linebacker Robert Spillane suffered a finger injury and running back Wendell Smallwood and defensive end Chris Wormley, who had returned to practice Friday, suffered shoulder issues.
The most serious seemed to be long snapper Kameron Canaday, who left the field during a special teams session and was replaced by tight end Vance McDonald. McDonald's snaps looked like a weekend duffer's tee shots, coming in low, high with only a handful on the money.
James Harrison would have been proud.
"We're determining who that is at this juncture," Tomlin said of who will be the team's backup long snapper. "We have some candidates. We've worked (Stefen Wisniewski) in that capacity. We've worked Vance McDonald in that capacity. Maurkice Pouncey has worked in that capacity in the past. I don't know that anybody has a lock on that position. This process will reveal that to us."
• One of the more comical moments in this practice came during a special teams drill. Second-year tight end Zach Gentry lined up in a punt coverage drill opposite defensive tackle Henry Mondeaux.
At the kick, Mondeaux began working Gentry over, refusing to allow him to get off the line of scrimmage. By the time the ball was caught, Gentry had made it about 10 yards downfield before Mondeaux finally threw him to the ground.
Gentry was just a pawn in Mondeaux's game of life.
• All week, the defense has lined up during the inside running period and put the clamps on the offense.
Second-year back Benny Snell, however, changed that on Saturday. Though the defense again had at least five stops in the backfield, Snell ripped off a long run, blowing through a big hole in the line.
Defensive end Stephon Tuitt -- along with running back James Conner -- was among those who were held out of Saturday's practice, but the big run was not lost on Tomlin.
Good defense or good offense? Or bad defense and bad offense?
"There were also a couple of big runs in that period, so you could ask yourself the same question," Tomlin said. "I think that's the questions we all ask ourselves when you practice against yourselves in preparation for a season. One man's success is another man's failure. One unit's success is another unit's failure. There's going to be ebb and flow and it's all the story that you choose to tell."
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