Stanley Cup shows up at minicamp
PITTSBURGH 鈥� It looked like someone was lugging in a keg.
What with the Pittsburgh Steelers wrapping up minicamp, apparently the five-week party was underway.
But this was no keg. This was the Stanley Cup being lugged in by injured Pittsburgh Penguins cult hero Nick Bonino.
The Penguins on Sunday won their fifth NHL title, second in a row, and on Thursday they shared their fortune a bit with the Steelers as they filed off the practice field for the final time this spring.
The oldest existing trophy in professional sports, the Cup paraded around the field a bit, posed with dignitaries big and small, and checked out the locker room before heading to the front office.
鈥淢an, that鈥檚 Lord Stanley. That鈥檚 a beautiful thing, isn鈥檛 it?鈥� said Mike Tomlin. 鈥淚 have a lot of respect for what they鈥檝e gone through and accomplished, and really appreciate them for showing a token of their appreciation for our support by allowing us to get a little glimpse of it. Hopefully we represent Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania in a similar way here in a few months.鈥�
Tomlin鈥檚 (W)rap
Tomlin鈥檚 light-hearted (even meaningless) minicamp wrap was interrupted by a serious question pertaining to suspended players not being allowed with the team.
鈥淚鈥檓 not getting into all of that. I came to summarize minicamp,鈥� Tomlin said.
And the meaningless wrap continued.
Does he feel good about his team?
鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 thought a lot about it, to be honest with you,鈥� Tomlin said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not a person who seeks comfort in that way. I just try to take advantage of the opportunities that are these days. Hopefully I feel good about them in February.鈥�
Health report
The team that went into last year鈥檚 training camp juggling several injured starters left its 2017 spring with a clean bill of health.
Expect Le鈥橵eon Bell, Stephon Tuitt, Sean Davis and James Conner to have recovered from surgery, or in Conner鈥檚 case a hamstring pull, by training camp. It also appears that all of the following question marks will be fine:
n Senquez Golson 鈥� The third spring has been the charm as the cornerback made it through healthy for the first time. And that foot/Lisfranc progress report?
鈥淚鈥檓 100 percent,鈥� Golson said. 鈥淚 finally made it through Phase III. I鈥檓 going to go back and train at Ole Miss.鈥�
Does the guy who鈥檚 missed his first two pro seasons with injuries allow himself to become excited?
鈥淎nxious. But I still try to keep it under control,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have five weeks and then our preseason. But it鈥檚 coming along good.鈥�
n Cameron Heyward 鈥� Suffered a torn pectoral last November. He skipped a few practices this spring but feels fine after the padless workouts.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still naked out there,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 overreact to anything.鈥�
But everything鈥檚 fine?
鈥淵es. Totally fine. Yes, sir.鈥�
n Tyson Alualu 鈥� Sat out of all but Wednesday鈥檚 minicamp practice with a calf injury. The eighth-year vet/free-agent acquisition from Jacksonville, who鈥檒l add polished depth to the defensive line, expects to be ready for camp.
鈥淚 felt great,鈥� he said after Wednesday鈥檚 practice.
n Ramon Foster 鈥� Could鈥檝e practiced this week 鈥渂ut Munch held me out,鈥� Foster said of OL coach Mike Munchak. Foster missed all spring practices after minor knee surgery. He ran on the far field this week to begin conditioning.
鈥淚 thrive in this stuff,鈥� Foster said of the hot weather. 鈥淚 love the heat, man. That鈥檚 what I do in Tennessee.鈥�
Rookie report
Brian Allen was the fifth-round pick, intriguing because of his size (6-3, 215), speed (4.43) and upside at a new position.
The former Utah wide receiver, in his third year at cornerback, brings to mind Ike Taylor in mannerisms. Two-and-a-half inches taller, a quarter-step slower, possessor of Ike鈥檚 hard hands, Allen might turn out to be that press-man corner the Steelers have lacked since Taylor retired.
鈥淚 feel like everything鈥檚 going real well,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淭he vets showed up for OTAs and took me in with open arms and showed me the ropes, staying out there with me after practice and working on things I need to work on. It鈥檚 a big family atmosphere.鈥�
What does Allen need to improve?
鈥淢y off-coverage,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o staying out there with Will Gay and Artie (Burns) and all those guys who鈥檝e been here and played in the system and showing me some new techniques on how they play was real helpful.
鈥淲e were more a get-up-in-the-face, bump-and-run type team in college, so it wasn鈥檛 something that I was all-the-ways used to. I felt adding that element to my game would be helpful, and those guys helped me with that.鈥�