Dobbs, Rudolph to handle QB duties
Well, Ben Roethlisberger is in the concussion protocol. Before he went down Tuesday, he was razor-focused.
In fact, Roethlisberger, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Antonio Brown were peaking at Latrobe Memorial Stadium with four scores in four plays during the first half of two-point conversion work.
The trio looked unstoppable, very impressive against a defense that’s not only getting healthy but was very stingy this past week in practice.
Roethlisberger has time to get better as Joshua Dobbs and Mason Rudolph have been assigned the quarterbacking duties tonight in Green Bay for the Steelers’ second preseason game.
For Dobbs, he can show what he can do with the first team, and perhaps make Landry Jones expendable. For Rudolph — a roster lock no matter what Mike Tomlin says — he can gain valuable experience before settling in as the No. 3 this season.
Here’s a quick look at each position and those who deserve close looks tonight at Lambeau Field:
QUARTERBACK: I can’t remember Roethlisberger looking better in training camp, and yes, I saw the famed roll-right/throwback laser beam he threw to Zamir Cobb at his rookie camp. Rudolph has been better than I expected, and if you recall I wrote three articles before the draft on why the Steelers should draft him. He doesn’t have the strongest arm, but on Tuesday threw a beautifully timed out to James Washington that beat Artie Burns in tight coverage. That’s what Rudolph will have to do, and what’s he’s doing. Personally, I’m looking for a way to keep Dobbs. This is a beautiful human being whom I want in my locker room. While he still might be the fourth choice right now, he’s improving, but Jones broke out of his doldrums Tuesday with a beautiful two-minute touchdown drive against the first-team D in Ben’s place. Good place to be, this QB room.
RUNNING BACK: You may remember me writing about Fitzgerald Toussaint helping undrafted rookie Jarvion Franklin learn everything he needed to know about taking Fitz’s job last spring. But Fitz isn’t letting go that easily. He’s been the better back vs. Stevan Ridley so far. Ridley is bigger, so that gives him a chance in these next three games, but Fitz has earned the No. 3 job right now. I’m not sure where that leaves fifth-round pick Jaylen Samuels, but he hasn’t disappointed and I doubt will be cut. They may have to go with four running backs (plus a fullback).
WIDE RECEIVER: Funny how they try to keep Washington down — they’ll call it not handing a rookie a job and making him work through the process, and I get all of that — but Washington refuses to be kept down. On a team with two incredible talents in AB and JuJu, Washington might be the best at hauling in fades for TDs. Undrafted rookie Damoun Patterson is a real threat. He’s gritty and looks like a professional receiver in the making with his sneaky deep speed.
TIGHT END: Jesse James has become difficult-to-pert-near-impossible for Steelers linebackers to cover in drills. He’s said to be blocking better, so that adds up to an outstanding camp for James. I also believe Florida International product Pharoah McKever is holding an edge over Bucky Hodges for a practice squad spot.
OFFENSIVE LINE: B.J. Finney and Matt Feiler have grown into an NFL starters. Center Patrick Morris is turning into the prospect I expected after his strong senior season at TCU and his outstanding workout numbers. He’s a keeper for the practice squad, as are Jake Rodgers (if he doesn’t make the team) and R.J. Prince. I also like Larson Graham. And the new tackle, massive Zach Banner, was showing me some Max Starks-like taxi-cab rides yesterday. Maybe Munchak can prod Banner into becoming serviceable as a fourth tackle.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Watching Stephon Tuitt and Gilbert go head-to-head in one-on-one battles yesterday was a joy. Tuitt told me Gilbert is the best right tackle in the league because he plays like a left tackle with great power. The three nose tackles are all looking good, and my guess is Daniel McCullers makes the team and Joshua Frazier is on the practice squad. But that line could be long because of Casey Sayles and Greg Gilmore.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS: Jon Bostic is the best of the group, and by no means am I using that to slap the face of the group. In spite of a missed tackle early in the preseason opener, Bostic appears to be a find out of the dust pile and will be the defense’s signal caller for the foreseeable future. Tyler Matakevich is being pushed by both Matthew Thomas and L.J. Fort, the latter is coming off a sensational week of practice. But Matakevich isn’t in danger because of his exceptional special-teams ability. I also like Keith Kelsey, so the competition remains hot. Always good.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS: Keion Adams is having a very good week and looked good opposite Bud Dupree on Tuesday. T.J. Watt was sprinting on the side and appears close to returning from his hamstring injury. Ola Adeniyi appears to be practice-squad bound, but Farrington Huguenin still has a puncher’s chance. Do they keep five here? Well, they have excess at ILB and in the secondary, too. Again, hot competition being driven by a strong offseason by the scouting department.
CORNERBACKS: Burns has looked really good. I’m far from a technique expert, but I see Burns smothering excellent receivers (although AB turned a sure Burns interception into a touchdown with an unbelievable reception Tuesday). The constant work against AB is turning Burns into a big-time player, in my opinion, and Joe Haden on the other side routinely makes big plays. He’s the pro’s pro back there and might get beat, like Burns, but it’s the best duo they’ve had in some time. Cameron Sutton is coming off a great week, and his leadership is starting to show through as well. He’s a quality player and possible return specialist. Mike Hilton is also becoming a leader as I gain confidence in this group as one that can win a championship. Coty Sensabaugh looks much better than he did last year and may be used as trade bait, if an OT is needed. They can afford to trade a CB because of Brian Allen and Dashaun Phillips behind them.
SAFETY: Morgan Burnett wasn’t all that impressive in the preseason opener, but let’s give the guy a break. He’s 29 and missed the first week of camp with injury. He’s been much better this week. Sean Davis is out with a “slight” groin injury, but no one seems to be worried about his move to free safety, so I’m not going to worry for them. Marcus Allen missed another couple of practices, and even when he does practice he doesn’t get much more than third-team reps. I wonder sometimes if the coaches like him as much as I did when he was drafted. He needs to turn it up in Green Bay. Terrell Edmunds looks like the player they watched in the 2016 tape before he struggled with a shoulder injury last year at Virginia Tech. He’ll make rookie mistakes, but is fast, powerful and will make plays this season, definitely a factor on special teams. He played on all of the starting teams units last week in Philly. Jordan Dangerfield is having another good camp. Hard hitter who has better ball skills than most seem to think. He will be difficult to cut. That’s a theme with this team, and you have to like that.