The Week in Between

So I was at training camp this year in Latrobe, my first ever despite having been season ticket holders since 1973. For those of you who haven’t gone……don’t walk, run to next years camp! Wow, it was SO flippin cool. Forget about the signatures, etc….go get a killer spot in the stands and watch the rotations at practice, and then the scrimmages.

I watched a goal line drill to protect the QB, in this case Charlie Batch, while he finds an out and delivers the pass. Seriously, Lawrence Timmons on 3 out of 4 tries would have annihilated him. He is SO fast..you’re gonna see that a lot this year. With Timmons and Farrior killin’ it in the middle, and The Wood and James “MVP” Harrison on the outside we have arguably the best linebacking corps in the league! If you haven’t already, go get your Timmons and Woodley jersey’s…NOW!

The week in between preseason and regular season is when alot of players get their pink slips, and we as fan aren’t sure who got cut for what reason. A large number of NFL “players” lost their jobs yesterday, but might find work at a later time. James Harrison was cut 276 times(approximate number) before we finally realized he was a freakin’ stud! The Steelers signed a few guys today to the practice squad that they cut last evening from the regular team. The practice team new members are: linebacker Patrick Bailey, cornerback/safety Roy Lewis, safety Grant Mason, offensive tackle Jeremy Parquet, nose tackle Scott Paxson, wide receiver Micah Rucker, tight end Dezmond Sherrod and running back Justin Vincent, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Like Harrison being hidden on the practice squad, I wonder who the next sleeper might be? Roy Lewis was very impressive in practice. So was Patrick Bailey. The team can only carry so many guys at a particular position, and when you are UN-drafted or drafted low, for better or worse, you are valued less than the guy drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round. Hopefully they can put together a practice squad full of potential starters for us at a later date!

This is the week that a lot of teams show their cards and coaches begin to scheme. Some coaches scheme, others scam, and then suggest they didn’t interpret the rules correctly, yet they are considered genius’ by the mass media hype-machine. Can someone get me a ladder to get down off this soap-box? Oh, thanks a lot dude! Tom Brady, still a cheater! He knew the plays being called and he knows it!

I really think that this year, despite a brutal schedule, will be promising. The line is going to be better than last year. Who knows, in the week between they may pick up a Willie Anderson released from Cincy, or a John Welbourn released from NE. Maybe a backup, young D- lineman, but then who goes? That is what is so intriguing about “The Week in Between”!

Thanks for listening to me vent!