With the Steelers breaking training camp, there is still at least one concern for Gerry Dulac about what wasn’t seen. Basically, the entire starting secondary, or at least most of it, which spent most of practice observing rather than participating. Jalen Ramsey and Joey Porter Jr. are still on the PUP list, while others have had limited participation.
Given how much the Steelers are placing on their secondary this year, how much of a concern is it that they were unable to observe it during training camp? They brought in Jaquan Brisker at safety, while DeShon Elliott is only now beginning to participate fully. Patrick Graham can talk about how it doesn’t matter all he wants, but you have to see something to know it.
“The one thing that I don’t think they’ve been able to address the way they want to is in the secondary”, Dulac said on 102.5 WDVE yesterday, discussing the Steelers’ just-concluded training camp. “DeShon Elliott just came back and was basically a full-timer for the first time yesterday. But there’s been no Joey Porter, no Jalen Ramsey. Jaquan Brisker has been out—was out yesterday. But when you don’t have Elliott, Ramsey, and Porter for the first two and a half weeks of training camp…”
The only starting member of the Steelers’ secondary who was a mainstay in training camp was Jamel Dean, their big free agent acquisition, but he was limited in the spring. They have hardly seen Porter at all, going back to the spring, which may have ruffled some feathers. Brisker has been mostly available but has been recently out.
Instead, what we have been seeing is a lot of Asante Samuel Jr., who has played well both in training camp and in the Steelers’ first preseason game. In fact, that has been one of the silver linings, but you still need to see the starters. Instead, we have seen a lot of rookie seventh-round pick Robert Spears-Jennings, who may not make the 53-man roster. Even Brandin Echols is ailing, so we’re seeing Devan Boykin.
“They know what they can do, but it’s still a new staff with some new schemes, particularly at the back end”, Dulac said, pointing to the questions in the secondary as his one concern for the Steelers exiting training camp. “When you don’t get to work with the people who are going to be playing, then that’s probably a little disappointing for them. Is it troublesome for them? I don’t think so, at this point. But it’s certainly not the way that they would have preferred”.
Of course it’s not what the Steelers have preferred. But you don’t play important players in training camp unless they’re healthy. The question is, how much time do they need on the practice field? Not just individually, but also collectively. And not just as a secondary unit, but as a part of the defense as a whole. Because the linebackers need to know what the safety is doing, too, and vice versa.