STEELERS BLACK -N- GOLD POST A Pittsburgh Steelers Blog from the heart of Steelers Nation.

By Ramona Dye

For forty-two years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have gone to training camp at the Saint Vincent College one hour east of Pittsburgh in Latrobe, PA. During their three weeks stay, our Steelers stay in Rooney Hall.

                                    photos by Jeff "qbvision"

The stream of Steelers fans who make their annual pilgrimages to Saint Vincent bring many dollars to the local economy. Just how much has never been figured out.

"People know that if it is late July, and it is sunny out, it is time for Steelers football to return to our campus," said Jim Towey, president of Saint Vincent College. "We look at our campus as a canvas where the Steelers begin the creation each year of a masterpiece at this camp, " Towey added.

There will be 13 public practices at Saint Vincent this year and a night practice Aug. 1 at Latrobe Memorial Stadium before camp breaks Aug. 18.

                                     photo by Jeff "qbvision"

Thoughts on the 2009 Training Camp

After returning 20 of 22 starters, our Steelers are in a prime position to become the first group since the 2003-04 New England Cheatriots to win back-to-back Super Bowls, but it won't be easy.

One can notice the humility and how focused our Steelers are on 2009. Rather than thinking of the past season or about the Super Bowl or wearing their rings, they are looking for number seven.

Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes put tape on the front of their helmets with their names on it. Ward who has done it for years, has influenced Holmes to do it. High school coaches have players put tape and names on their helmets when players are trying out for the team. Ward wears his name until he makes the final roster. It is a symbol of players reminding themselves that they still have to work hard to make the 2009 Steelers.

Another trait of our Steelers is how much more time our first-team offense works against our first-team defense compared to other NFL clubs. As TE Heath Miller said, "iron sharpens iron." That is exactly what is happening at camp.

LeBeau's defense goes after the offense hard and our offense which struggles early on. As the o-line unifies, things come together very well.

Champions very rarely repeat in the NFL. It would be understandable that injuries after the rough 2008 season could creep into the lineup. 

Last season, if our Steelers had lost any of our starting linebackers, our top backup was Lawrence Timmons. For this season, we have Keyaron Fox inside and Andre Frazier outside filling out our depth chart. Our Steelers don't have many weaknesses, but an injury to our linebacking crew could send our team looking for help.

Just 13 linemen were brought to camp, and with two already out because of injury, our Steelers are dangerously thin and could find we have some of the same issues from the 2008 season.

Second-year WR Limas Sweed was penciled in as the replacement for speedy Nate Washington, and he might win the job. But Sweed is not a lock to win this spot, and he would never be handed the position.

After watching some of the practice, some fans can see that Sweed will be challenged by veteran Shaun McDonald and third-round draft pick Mike Wallace. Wallace is impressive with his pure speed and leaping ability shown at practice. McDonald is an experienced slot-receiver type who gets in and out of breaks exceptionally well.

First-round defensive end pick Evander "Ziggy" Hood had early success in camp. While he demonstrates great power and quickness, he is starting to feel the rigors of training camp. With both starting defensive ends in the 30-something club, Hood needs to be ready to go.

At camp, Hood has to get up close and personal on people and fight double teams. Hood's veteran teammates like him because he works hard and keeps his mouth shut. He needs to come along quickly if the team wants to repeat its 2008 success.

Ziggy Hood reminded people that in the Big 12 Conference, he played mostly against spread offenses that quickly become a pass-rush situation.

Third-year CB William Gay was very impressive when he sat down to talk about the Steelers' secondary and his role as a starter in 2009. Coach Tomlin said Gay's football intelligence benefits him the most. For years, watching players who are suppose to be a ready replacement for veteran DeShea Townsend compete for the starting job, only to watch the sly veteran keep it. Townsend will make another run at Gay, but this time, I believe Gay will be the winner.

A few of our Steelers defensive players like what they see in the arm of third-string QB Dennis Dixon. Gay says Dixon is not scared to make any throw and is learning how to punish defenders for blitzing him.

OT Max Starks has remarked that the run blocking of TE Matt Spaeth is much improved this offseason because he worked on his base alignment and has a lot more power.

Linebacker LaMarr Woodley (11.5 sacks in 2008) says he feels ready to challenge James Harrison for the team's sack lead. Woodley recognizes Harrison is the best and acknowledges that he chased him all last season and never could catch up to him. Woodley responded to a question about which offensive tackle gives him the most trouble by saying, None of them. I don't give them that kind of respect.

Coach Mike Tomlin has eased up a bit from his camp two years ago, when he took over for Bill Cowher. Tomlin talks with the veterans about what they need to be ready for the season. Tomlin also lets certain players rest. He wants to see who emerges as leaders in the case let's say MLB James Farrior isn't with the defense or Roethlisberger is resting his arm. Not to worry Steelers fans, Tomlin is not getting soft, only coaching smart.

Thoughts on the 2009-10 Season

Our Steelers have a good shot at repeating if we get the right answers to these questions.

Will our offensive line improve in 2009?

Our offensive line remains one of the team's few weaknesses. Our Steelers have allowed Ben to be sacked 139 times in the past three seasons. Not all of those sacks can be blamed on the offensive line as we all know but to have a more solid line would decrease the sacks taken.

The running game, normally a Steelers staple, was stalled by injuries in 2008. With the return of a healthy Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall and following up with Mewelde Moore and Carey Davis our run game should be back to normal.

Will our Special teams be as good?

Aware that we do not have very many weaknesses, our special teams was the weakest out of offense, defense and special teams last season. Steelers are trying to find a boost in the return game.

In camp, our Steelers are working out several new players at returning kicks, including the former CFL running back Stefan Logan and receiver Shaun McDonald. The goal this year is to take every-down players such as Santonio Holmes off special teams to help the offense.

Our biggest addition to special teams will be the return of punter Daniel Sepulveda, who missed all of 2008 with a torn ACL. Pittsburgh's punting was one of the league's worst last year and Sepulveda will change that. By the way, he's been blasting punts in training camp so far.

Can Pittsburgh handle off-the-field distraction?

The only distraction in question happened only days before camp opened when Andrea McNutly hit Ben Roethlisberger with a lawsuit alleging sexual assault. Our offseason was quiet until then.

Roethlisberger has apologized to his teammates and the organization last week for shifting attention from Steelers football. It's O.K. Ben, we know there are some psychos out there in this world. We believe in you!

Players to Watch in 2009-10

One players to watch for is second-year receiver Limas Sweed. First, he couldn't find his way on the field. Then when his number was called late in the year, Sweed just wasn't ready although Sweed did show some promise.

Last season's disappointment led to Sweed becoming one of the hardest working players on the team this offseason. In camp, the former second-round pick looks more confident and continues to make plays. Sweed has the inside track to open the season as Pittsburgh's No. 3 receiver and knows his number will be called early if he can hold onto the job. This time Sweed believes he's prepared to produce.

Our Steelers do not usually take defensive linemen high in the draft, but they changed it up a bit with first-round pick Evander "Ziggy" Hood. Pittsburgh likes Hood's speed and versatility. He most likely will be expected to spell both starters at defensive end and maybe play some nose tackle. The three starting defensive linemen for our Steelers are all over 30, so it will be important for Hood to provide depth and inject some youth on the line. Ziggy isn't expected to start which should puts him a little at ease to produce without the normal pressures of a first-round pick.

Roethlisberger is working his arm strength early in camp. After taking a pounding and playing so deep into the postseason, Ben didn't do any throwing independently away from the Steelers this offseason, choosing to rest instead. Many of his deep throws are coming up a little short. With the preseason starting next week, it will be wait and see to figure out how long it takes for Ben to regain his form.

Secong-year Tailback Rashard Mendenhall appears to have recovered from his season-ending shoulder injury against the Ratbirds. The former first-round pick lost a lot of muscle weight in his upper body last year because he was unable to lift weights after surgery. But he has regained his bulk and looks to be more sure of himself in his second training camp.

Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is using inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons in a variety of ways now that the former first-round pick is a full-time starter. Timmons has great range to patrol the middle of the field. But LeBeau also likes Timmons' skills as a pass-rusher and has been turning him loose in pressure packages. I cant wait to see Timmons knocking the heads off of opponents quarterbacks.

Another first-year player making a splash is rookie receiver Mike Wallace. The third-round pick from Mississippi is making a good impression in camp. Teammates are already calling him one of the fastest players on the team.

Looking at training camp and seeing how well our team is coming along, I see a repeat in the cards. The key to a repeat is staying focused on the job at hand. Players from the Super Bowl 40 team still on the roster remember what happened in the following 2006-07 season and I am sure none of them are ready for that type of repeat.

                      photos by Jeff "qbvision"

All considered, I still see our Steelers winning the AFC North and making some noise in the playoffs. Going all the way is too hard to predict with the number of good teams in the AFC but I think this may just be the year.

As Always, here We Go!!!