Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Anxieties: Players facing their fears

LATROBE, PA - JULY 29: An NFL football sits on the practice field during the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp on July 29, 2011 at St Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
LATROBE, PA - JULY 29: An NFL football sits on the practice field during the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp on July 29, 2011 at St Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Even being a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers comes with worries, and at this time of the year, they’re worse than usual.

We’re Baaaack! Strap Up is back bringing you all of the musings of everything Black n’ Gold with the flavor of your Grandma’s home cooked fried chicken meal. Serving up some of the best in Steelers jock talk this side of the Fort Pitt Bridge with a slice of brash (or crass ) that can only be found in a Primanti Bros. sandwich.

This time I have in tow with me, none other than one of my passionate pundits, purveyor of prognostication, pontificate extraordinaire and just overall trash talker…PT. Be forewarned, the man can spit Steeler knowledge with the best of them with a unique style that is certain to get your attention.

July 25, 2018. Uh Oh! It is here like the sequel to another blockbuster movie, Steelers Training Camp for the 90 or so invitees is at the doorstep of their collective lives. As a Steelers fan, if you have not marked that date on your calendar, send in your card because your Steelers fan license has been revoked. But I know any real fan had that date marked on the calendar like a wedding anniversary or when Ray Ray and Pookie was scheduled to come home from their ahem, vacation.

I can tell you who has it firmly marked without doubt are the free agents, rookies, and veterans alike. That is the date where it all begins in earnest ( for some, again and others for the first time) for the players who have trained and dreamed all of their lives to pursue their goals of belonging to that distinguished fraternity called the NFL.

Imagine the anxiety, the anxiousness, and the many sleepless nights the players experience with the understanding that so much is on the line. I was chopping it up with PT the other day and he was saying it was akin to when we were kids getting ready for our first summer camp with a bunch of kids we didn’t know. Kids from all over the city got the opportunity to join together for two weeks of non-parental intervention under the tutelage of guidance counselors who were there for summer jobs.

Must Read: 30 greatest Steelers in franchise history

We can remember not wanting to leave our homes by ourselves and the fear of something happening to us. Then big Buster happened, the man-sized child who would be the torture of every kid during the entire camp. Every day was a challenge to try to avoid Buster or become a victim to his often over the top pranks. Towards the end of summer camp, I was determined to face him (on my own terms of course, but face him nevertheless) and found the courage as well as the right opportunity to do so. I won’t say what happened, but needless to say, Buster went home with a new outlook on life. We saw him years later working as a librarian with the humility of a butterfly.

The players, however, have to face and conquer their dreams even their fears to overcome the challenges to win eventually one of the 53 spots on the team, or for some Practice Squad positions. The Free Agents that weren’t drafted have the highest hills to climb because of the perception they were not good enough to draft, contrary to what they may be thinking in their own minds.

Take for instance wide receiver, Quadree Henderson, who is from Pitt with good pedigree and talent trying to make a roster that is deep at his position. A person can only imagine the initial disappointment of not being drafted he felt and now having to battle for his NFL life. Or inside linebacker Matthew Thomas from Florida State, which is continuously one of the top programs in the nation, coming out of high school with top-level credentials and excelling in college, not getting drafted. There are other free agents as they are referred that have the same level of anxiety for all of the same reasons…their NFL dreams have yet to materialize. Remind me of the time I was trying to date, oh, never mind.

The rookies are pretty much in the same place in terms of still having to make the team in spite of their draft positions. There have been countless stories of players drafted high that were bust early as training camp, so there aren’t any guarantees. (Except the first round picks who get a chance at going through the season to bust status – See Ryan Leaf, Tony Mandarich, etc. etc. etc. ) However, the confidence level and swag of being drafted are much higher knowing your skills were recognized in the overall talent pool by the teams in the league.

This year, the seven draftees all have a chance of affecting the roster one way or another by claiming a spot-starting or as backup towards the final player count or even assuming a position on the Practice Squad. PT was saying, man, Terrell Edmunds is a baller but don’t sleep on the impact James Washington is going to make during the entire season. He looks like a cross between Hines Ward and Louis Lipps with a dash of JuJu on the beat thrown in. I told PT that my guy to watch out for is Jaylen Samuels the RB from North Carolina State, who has a chip on his shoulders the size of Texas. The dude balled out at a number of positions but the coaches never allowed him to master any one in particular.

So, as the coined phrase goes, he is the Swiss army knife player that can be used in multiple sets and if properly used, can add a dimension to the offense this team has never seen before. Yet, the same anxiety looms in terms of these draftees being able to perform up to the “Standard”.

Most of the veterans are pretty much secure in their positions and the obvious ones have been clearly referenced across other articles, but you still have the battles for starting positions as well as those on the borderline. The starting position battles this year, in particular, are going to be epic. If you have never experienced a training camp through participation or observation; it is like nothing you have ever seen, there is one bone with a bunch of dogs trying to eat.

I coached pop warner football (Shoutout Ironmen), high school Football and experienced some college settings but nothing compares to NFL training camps where hearts are taken and dreams can die quick. Click clack baby, strap up! If you aren’t hungry you aren’t going to eat. Come on young pup, don’t let him punk you, you here to make the team or what? The coaches get in your face, other players are barking at you and testosterone with adrenalin running at an all-time high.

Veterans that are borderline probably have the most anxiety because this may be their last chance at continuing their careers. With competition high and the salary cap low there are the young hungry pups that are less expensive ready to come in and take those spots. This year has tenured players such as Darrius Heyward Bey, big Dan McCullers, Coty Sensabaugh, Stevan Ridley, Jordan Dangerfield, L.J. Fort, and Fitzgerald Toussaint all fighting for their NFL lives.

On the battlefront, can Tyler Matakevich hold off Jon Bostic, can Terrell Edmunds impose his talent on the other starting safety position opposite Sean Davis, what does the future hold for Joshua Dobbs as the possible third string QB and will Jesse James remain number one at tight end or be replaced by Vance McDonald? There are other battles to be sure with some surprises making their way onto the field but as the saying goes, If your hungry, then you have to learn how to “eat”.

Not only do the players have levels of anxiety that give them bitter beer faces during training camp, the coaches also have a measure of anxiety that isn’t always evident to John Q. Public. They do have jobs on the line with the decisions, evaluations and the subsequent end results coming out of Training camps that can affect their futures. Picking the right players, putting in the correct strategies and managing the season is more than enough for them to pull their hair out (a lot of bald coaches in the league or those with the Bozo cuts on their way)  hoping for the results they expect.

Next: 4 players who will be jobless after camp

Lastly, the fans also assume anxious moments, of course, being vested in this form of maniac entertainment through training camp and well pass season’s end. Training camp, is it going well, do we have ballers shot callers is everyone staying healthy, how does Big Ben look, any new plays, is the defense looking hard, secondary covering and tackling, who is getting the most shine, is this Bells last year, Tomlin got those boys ready, Butler scheming the defense different and on and on and on. Fans will have a million questions daily during camp and the writers will pen the articles to appease the masses. But the Still Curtain crew will always give you a unique look into all things Black n’ Gold by displaying the pulse of the team while giving you the readers the inside to our thoughts. So get those chin straps buckled for Training Camp. We will see you there and Strap Up will deliver the antidote to your Steeler anxiety woes.

Schedule