Steelers Camp Takeaways: QBs Struggle, First Camp Fight
LATROBE, PA -- Heavy rain made practice a little more interesting for the Pittsburgh Steelers on day two of training camp. And while anyone standing around the field wasn't too big of a fan of the weather, Mike Tomlin was loving every second - and the head coach got everyone's blood flowing.
The day wasn't the greatest for the quarterbacks, who all threw interceptions throughout the afternoon. Outside of the QBs, the offensive line made some changes, rookie corners continued to impress and the first camp fight happened.
Here's what we learned from day two.
Kendrick Green Starts at Left Guard
The left guard rotation is starting to switch up. After working both Kevin Dotson and Kendrick Green with the first team on day one, the Steelers have made Green the starting guard for day two.
Mike Tomlin said changes could be coming to the group, and Green overstepping Dotson might be what he was hinting at.
Chances are Dotson and Green continue to switch roles over the next few days, but right now, it's as true of a competition as it's ever been.
Kenny Pickett Struggles
Kenny Pickett had a rough day two. After starting the aftenoon with an interception on his first throw, he continued to let the weather conditions effect him.
A deep ball to no one highlighted the rest of his day. The rookie has been shaky the last two days, but today was rough. That being said, he is a rookie, and rookies have their ups and downs. Pickett did look comfortable moving outside the pocket. Mostly, his struggles appeared to be ball control.
Those gloves already have eyes on them. This isn't a great sign.
Check the entire QB notebook out.
Mason Rudolph Has No Deep Ball
Mason Rudolph remains the most consistent quarterback of the three, but it's very apparent he has zero deep ball.
Rudolph completed one deep pass to Gunner Olszewski down the middle that was, well, rather perfect. Outside of that, anything past 15 yards was nowhere near the mark.
There was an outside pass to Olszewski that landed four yards away from him and was a complete duck. Before that, he tossed one up to Calvin Austin that would've been picked off by a starting cornerback.
Rudolph was the second-best quarterback of the day, but short passes aren't impressive if you have no deep game.
Rookie Corners Keep Coming Up With Interceptions
On day one, Carlins Platel finished practice by intercepting Kenny Pickett on the sideline. Today, it was Chris Steele who started Pickett's day off with an INT.
Not great for the first-round pick. Very good for the undrafted rookie corners.
The Steelers have a lot of talent at the front of their cornerback depth chart, but finding pieces behind the starters could be on their to-do list. With Justin Layne and James Pierre both being less than impressive last season, Steele might have a shot.
And for Platel, he's primarily a slot guy. Arthur Maulet has started on the inside with Cam Sutton moving in to support him. Platel could be a candidate to add real depth to the position.
Robert Spillane Picks Off Mitch Trubisky
Robert Spillane was nowhere to be found on day one, but day two he made himself known. There were a few plays where he was on the ball and causing problems. Then, he had a very nice interception over the middle of the field against Trubisky.
Spillane is working with the ones behind Devin Bush and Myles Jack. The three of them seem to have a steady rotation at inside linebacker.
Diontae Johnson Snaps a Pic
Diontae Johnson continues to work off to the side while he "holds in" at camp. During these contract negotiations, fans haven't been too happy about it. But say what you will about Johnson, he's a genuinely nice person.
In the middle of practice, a young fan came up and asked him for a picture. Johnson, with a big smile, said yes and snapped a pic. As he walked away, his look of joy stayed.
This guy is hard to root against.
Mason Cole Fights Entire Defensive Line
It's not training camp until there's a fight. New center Mason Cole made it official by taking on the entire defensive line during team drills.
Now, fights at training camp are never full punches, just heat of moment incidences where a lot of pushing and shoving goes on. And when you're 300 pounds and are already in motion, those pushes tend to be much more dramatic.
Cole was in the middle of a scrum with roughly five or six defenders on the sideline. It didn't last more than a minute, but it got the juices flowing.
Welcome to camp.
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