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Steelers News: Tomlin match, camp watch, reactions

By Kim Myers

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The Steelers summer vacation is winding down. They’ll be reporting to the dorms of Saint Vincent for the Steelers’ 50th season of training camp in Latrobe in just a few days. While the Steelers are enjoying the last of their summer break we’ll be busy looking for mentions of your Black & Gold so we’ve got you covered. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Friday, July 24th.

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Tomlin and Pittsburgh a perfect match

Bob Labriola reminds us that the Steelers operate differently than other organizations. They’ve made headlines with the extensions of Ben Roethlisberger, Cameron Heyward and now head coach Mike Tomlin without any leaks in negotiation talks whatsoever.

When Tomlin first came to Pittsburgh in 2007 as a previous defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings and a secondary coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had only worked under 4-3 defensive schemes. He came in and decided to keep the coaching staff and coaching scheme in place with Dick LeBeau’s 3-4 defense.

He didn’t try to immediately overhaul the team and put his own signature on the team.

"“To me, that’s all ego-driven when people come in and believe they have to put their stamp on things. Why would you fix something that’s not broken? That’s just me. I’m more interested in winning than anything else, and that allows us to win. We have great players, we have a great system, and we have great coaches. That decision was very easy for me. The story doesn’t have to be about me, what I do. The story has to be what we do, and what we’re capable of doing as a team.” – Mike Tomlin"

Sure the Steelers have had some 8-8 seasons and Steeler Nation thought the sky was falling but Tomlin deserves credit for keeping the team competitive through the transition that saw some of the greatest players we’ve known end their careers here while still going through the normal turnover each NFL season brings.

Perhaps the Steelers are doing something right with their coaching stability. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

Who to watch in camp

Steelers insider and the PPG’s Ed Bouchette joined the Starkey and Muller show on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday and discussed who he thought fans should keep an eye on during training camp.

"“Jarvis Jones, Ryan Shazier, Cortez Allen and Shamarko Thomas. Those are the four guys who can really make this defense go or not go, if you will. The Steelers coaching staff is counting on those four a lot and I’m eager to see what’s going to happen there.” – Ed Bouchette"

Those four players certainly have a lot of pressure riding on them in camp as well as this season. Jones will have to put together a full, healthy season, Shazier needs to improve and not regress and Thomas has an opportunity to set himself as a starter for years to come if he can prove himself worthy of the spot.

Allen might have the most pressure on him. He’ll not only need to stay healthy but he’ll also have to prove his worth on the roster.

Tomlin’s extension reactions

The Steelers made big news on Thursday with the announcement that they had extended Mike Tomlin to a two-year extension. Here are some of the reactions from the Twitter world to the news.

Next: Who will step up for Steelers defense?

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