As usual, Tomlin can’t wait for camp to start
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After three weeks of off- season training activities and three days of minicamp, the Steelers will not convene again as a team until players and coaches report to training camp July 25 in Latrobe.
And Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, for one, can’t wait, even if most of his players will enjoy the five-week vacation.
“I love camp, I’d go tonight,” Tomlin said after the Steelers concluded minicamp Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side. “It’s just how I am. I’m a football lover. I love that environment. I love the unintended consequences of training camp. I look forward to it.”
Of course, not all the players are expected to be at training camp. Running back Le’Veon Bell has not signed his franchise tag and will not be in Latrobe for the start of camp unless he does — or signs a long-term contract. Right, the prognosis for each is not very good, especially after Bell sat out training camp last year.
Tomlin said he expects Bell to be ready to go when he does report to the team.
“I expect him to be ready, be ready to be a big component for us in 2018,” Tomlin said. “He’s been around us long enough to know and embrace that.”
What can be expected when the Steelers get to Saint Vincent College for three weeks of training camp?
Several of the Steelers defensive coaches, particularly coordinator Keith Butler and secondary coach Tom Bradley,said tackling will be a point of emphasis once the players get in pads. But, when asked if that will be stressed when the team gets to Latrobe, Tomlin said, “I haven’t been around defensive coaches who don’t emphasize tackling this time of year. That’s what drives defensive coaches, just like offensive coaches talk about taking care of the ball this time of year. Those are just cliches we throw around because we got to do interviews.”
While several players stood out the past several weeks — rookie receiver James Washington among them — Tomlin said he doesn’t glean a lot from organized team activities and minicamp, other than to see how players pick up their assignments and how well they are being conveyed to them by the coaches.
“I don’t know that I’m even looking for anything in terms of productivity,” Tomlin said. “I’m trying to create an environment where we can teach and they can learn and evaluate that end of it — how they learn and how we teach. That’s what’s important to me right now.”
Tomlin had a message for all his players when they gathered around him on the field at the end of minicamp.
“We challenged the new guys, guys who haven’t been exposed to us, to simply be in the best shape of their lives,” Tomlin said. “They don’t have control of a lot, they don’t know what lies ahead. To give them the opportunity to be the best they can be makes sense to be in the best shape of their lives.
“The guys who have been with us before, we told if they assume anything, assume more will be required this year, more than what’s been required in the past. That’s the prudent approach to take.”