Even though it is an offense against defense, things can get tense at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, as they did on Wednesday.
Justin Fields took it for about seven yards on a routine read-option run before Elandon Roberts hit the quarterback and sent him tumbling. Following that, rookies Troy Fautanu and Mason McCormick decked Roberts and linebacker Patrick Queen, which led to chaos.
Roberts knew this would happen, and when he spoke with reporters after practice, he smiled about his extracurricular affairs and certainly did not blame the offensive line for what they ended up doing.
“The offensive line and offense were doing what they were supposed to do. And all the time it was protect the quarterback,” Roberts said.
A veteran linebacker like Roberts knows the code around quarterbacks. It is not crazy to say that Roberts knew what he was doing and wanted to see how the young offensive lineman would respond to it.
“It was just a little tap,” Roberts said. “But the offense did what they were supposed to do. You’re always supposed to protect your quarterback. I think it’s a real good thing you even see the mentality of your offense. Protecting the quarterback and stuff like that.”
And make no mistake, this is the type of mentality that the Steelers like to see out of their offensive linemen. Defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk sees McCormick and Fautanu bring a certain nastiness. They just displayed it in plain view on Wednesday.
“You can tell these rooks are dudes who will step up. Strong-willed, strong-minded guys,” Loudermilk said. “That’s really what I’ve been getting from him. You know, even working with McCormick one-on-ones, you know, we battle it out. You know, things can get chippy and stuff like that. But afterwards, you know, we’re just straight back to being teammates. But this group of young O-linemen are definitely hungry. And, you know, I don’t think they’re scared to go out there and, you know, be aggressive and show who they are.”
The Steelers rookies have started their ascent. That includes some natural chippiness between the offense and defense. The rookies stepping up for their quarterback and showing some stones on the second day in pads is reflective of the exact culture that the team is building around their quarterbacks.”
“Of course, you don’t want fighting and things like that. But at the same time, people are competing, people are competitive. And people want to stand up for their side of the ball. Even though, you know, we all are teammates when we’re out here,” Loudermilk said.
The fight at Wednesday’s practice is not out of the ordinary for the Steelers or any team at training camp, but the rookies being in the thick of it instills an immediate culture that they can all embrace. And more than anything, that might be the biggest takeaway of all from the Steelers’ physicality over the first two days in pads.
