Many football fans view training camp and the preseason as a boring part of the NFL calendar. The stars often play very little, if at all, and practices are getting less and less physical each year due to rule changes. Still, teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers need this time to settle several position battles and learn what the roster is capable of.
One of the best ways to bring the most out of players during the dog days of the preseason is with joint practices. According to the Pewter Report, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be traveling to Pittsburgh to participate in one before their preseason matchup on August 16th.
Pittsburgh Steelers get a great opportunity to test themselves against a strong Buccaneers team
Joint practices tend to create many of the best moments from the preseason. Teams are usually tired of hitting their teammates at practice, so getting to hit another team in a practice setting brings out more competitive energy than even the games themselves do at times.
Players often talk a ton of trash, get into fights, and generally make a show out of these practices. The Steelers and Buccaneers are both led by hard-nosed defensive coaches in Mike Tomlin and Todd Bowles, so the defenses in particular will be motivated to flex their muscles.
Tampa Bay is also a seasoned playoff team, with six playoff wins and a Super Bowl so far during the 2020s. Getting to practice against a team that has done what the Steelers have failed to do for over a decade (winning a playoff game) will hopefully motivate the players to give their all.
It's a small piece of the overall preseason puzzle, but every opportunity for the Steelers to test themselves and learn who they are as a team is valuable.
With more questions than answers at key positions like quarterback and wide receiver, practices like the ones that Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay will have in August could play a part in figuring out who is (or more importantly, who isn't) ready to step up once the regular season gets underway.