Report on progress of Steelers’ rookies
Mason Rudolph ended the bye week on what Tyler Matakevich considered a high note.
It was the last play of the week and Matakevich intercepted Rudolph’s pass and returned it for a touchdown.
Hooray for Matakevich and the starting, beleaguered defense as “Dirty Red” left Pittsburgh with a big smile.
But, of course, it was too bad for the rookie quarterback.
“Yeah, that’s not how you want to end the day,” said Randy Fichtner. The Steelers offensive coordinator was asked about Rudolph’s development at the 6-week marker.
“Well,” Fichtner said as he pondered, “I’m really pleased where he’s at, minus a handful of plays like that that get you beat.”
Rudolph, the third-round draft pick, had emerged from preseason with 116 snaps under his belt and an outstanding QB rating of 90.6. But since then he’s had to fight for practice reps with Ben Roethlisberger’s other backup, Joshua Dobbs, and has been inactive in all six regular-season games.
Do rookie quarterbacks normally regress in such instances?
“It usually happens,” Fichtner said. “I guess that’s a pretty harsh word, because they’re still getting a lot of work, but you’re right. They’re not getting that game experience. They’re not getting those valued reps like that. The quote-unquote pressure is still on them daily, because in their own way they’re still competing. We’ve made it pretty clear that we want to develop both guys and give everyone an opportunity to see where we’re at, so if Ben tweaks an ankle or something and you have to move forward, both guys would be ready to do so.
“But, yeah, we don’t want to turn the ball over, and that’s what we did today.”
Rudolph and Dobbs try to make up for a lack of game reps by utilizing a virtual-reality tool the Steelers have brought into their practice facility. The team films what, say, Roethlisberger sees from his helmet against the “look” team in practice, and the young quarterbacks take turns with the VR goggles in a conference room upstairs.
“It’s great, another learning tool for him,” Fichtner said of Rudolph. “He’s pretty consistent with his work day. I think the thing I’m most proud of with him is he’s establishing that professional work day. He’s in early; he’s out late. He has a progression of things he does daily. I can’t speak for maybe his eating habits and some other things — that type of stuff once he leaves here — but I know that (throughout) his day he’s doing the right things. That can only help him. And that’s just one tool.”
Here’s a look at how the other Steelers rookies are progressing at the breakpoint following six regular-season games:
Terrell Edmunds (Round 1) — Easily the team’s top rookie thus far. Edmunds has started 5-of-6 games at strong safety, and he’s unlikely to give it up, even if Morgan Burnett returns from his groin injury.
Edmunds has played every defensive snap in the last four games and is tied for sixth place on the team with 21 tackles. He’s also flashed future big-play skills with his interception and blazing return for 35 yards. He’s becoming more comfortable and fulfilling his assignments, and the next step is for him to begin living up to his potential as a playmaker.
“He’s gotten better each and every game,” said DBs coach Tom Bradley. “The thing that got him three games ago doesn’t get him now. He tweaked it. There’s something else he picked up that becomes easier in his repertoire as we progress through this thing, and he’s playing a lot of plays for a young guy. I think he logs about 75 plays a game, which is a lot for a rookie. We ask him to do a lot of things. As we go along, and through this process he’s able to adjust and we’re able to give him more.”
Edmunds’ average snaps-per-game is actually 65. He played only 32 in the second game, the game he didn’t start. He’s also adding an average of 18 snaps per game on special teams. And the safety from Virginia Tech is a hard worker in practice.
“All the time,” Bradley said. “He’s very conscientious in everything he does and how he goes about his practice. There aren’t many practices I come out of and I’m disappointed in the effort he gave us. One of the things he takes to heart is when he makes a mistake, he’s not going to let it happen again.”
What was that aspect he wasn’t getting three games ago?
“The fire zones gave him trouble before,” Bradley said. “Along with his line up on some of our formation blitzes that he’s been able to pick up. It’s just little things. Each week there are one or two things he now puts in his back pocket and he knows it now because he’s done it a lot of times.
“Playing defense a lot of times is like driving a car. When you first start out, you’re all 10 and 2, staring constantly, and now as you start to drive more you see it more often and you still see everything, but you’re able to look, talk to people, do different things. As time goes on, you’ll see he’ll start to play faster.”
James Washington (Round 2) — After catching five passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the second preseason game, the rookie wide receiver has been quiet. A core-muscle injury bothered him late in the preseason and in the regular-season opener, but he started games 2-4 as the third receiver, and against Kansas City he played a season-high 66 snaps and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass. But Washington’s only caught four passes for 35 yards since, and the 14-yard touchdown remains the long catch by one of college football’s top deep threats last season.
“He’s coming,” said WRs coach Darryl Drake. “It’s a process for him, too. He’s coming, and we’ve got to push him along faster and get him more involved. When those opportunities come for him he’s got to be ready to deliver. And those opportunities will come.”
One came last Sunday when Roethlisberger unloaded a deep pass to Washington in the fourth quarter. He had a step on Bengals cornerback William Jackson, but the ball was directly over his head and Washington couldn’t get a good enough read to go up and make a “combat catch.”
“Been a combat catch guy,” Drake said. “But you know in the National Football League when we talk about separation, separation in the National Football League is a step, especially when you have man coverage. He’s able to do that in a lot of instances.”
In six games, Washington’s played 215 snaps and been targeted 14 times. He’s made five catches for 49 yards and the touchdown. He averages 9.8 yards per catch.
In JuJu Smith-Schuster’s first six games as a rookie last season, he played 277 snaps, was targeted 23 times, made 15 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 12.8 yards per catch.
“We ask them to do so much,” Drake said of rookie receivers. “They really have to understand the coverages, they have to understand what safeties are doing, they have to understand the concepts of what we’re asking him to do, and they have to be able to make that decision in less than a second. The thing that I’ve tried to do is get him to not think, react. The game is a reaction game, and you’ve got to react in the right way. As time goes on, they get more and more comfortable, they get more and more of an understanding of what’s happening to them.”
“I was very surprised last year,” Fichtner said of Smith-Schuster. “Having been in that room for several years in this League, rookies, it’s hard. There’s a lot you have to learn, and if you make a mistake at the wrong time, it’s usually critical. JuJu didn’t make those mistakes. I think the thing that allowed him to do that was his physicality, his toughness, and mentally that just allowed him to fight through that little freshman training camp and the toughness of a long training camp and preseason. James is the same type. James got a little nicked up in just about the middle of the preseason. It might have set him back a little bit, but you’re starting to see him being capable of doing those same type of things and his consistency has gotten a lot better.”
Chuks Okorafor (Round 3-B) — The rookie tackle from Western Michigan started three preseason games at right tackle, but has played only a handful of mop-up snaps at tackle this regular season. Okorafor did make a start in the opener as one of the extra tight ends in the jumbo package, and played a season-high 17 snaps, but he’s only played 27 offensive snaps since.
“The good thing is — like we did with other players since I’ve been here — we’ve gotten him in the rotation at tight end,” said OL coach Mike Munchak. “He’s on the field, he’s in the huddle. The good thing is we’re getting him in there, so he’s getting on the field and getting a feel for it, and then just out here (in practice) he’s playing both tackle spots. So, yeah, he’s come along.”
So, Munchak’s happy with him?
“Yeah,” he said. “And this is a good week for him to get a lot of the work in practice and continue to develop. But, yeah, he’s moved a long way. He’s way ahead of where I thought he’d be when you draft a kid. You’re not quite sure how they’ll adjust to what you ask them to do, but I think he’s done a nice job.”
Marcus Allen, Jaylen Samuels (Round 5) — Samuels, the H-back from North Carolina State who was drafted as a running back, has been prepared for specific duty for a couple of games, but has yet to be targeted with a pass or handed the ball to run.
Active for every game, Samuels has played only two snaps on offense, and both times he was flanked wide. He’s played 23 snaps on special teams.
In the preseason Samuels carried 28 times for 86 yards (3.1 avg.) and scored a 1-yard touchdown. A player who was utilized so often in “Seven Shots” as a mismatch receiver for linebackers, Samuels caught eight preseason passes for 50 yards.
“I love Jaylen,” said Fichtner. “And I’ve said this before about (Stevan) Rid(ley), we’re trying to get him in and fit him in as best as possible. It isn’t anything that has been NOT done. Situationally, we’ve had opportunities to put him in and it just didn’t fall right. It just wasn’t the right timing. He’s played a little bit in every game, just not enough. Hopefully this week was good for him, getting a lot more reps and maybe we can see how we can fit him in more.”
Allen, the strong safety from Penn State, has been inactive in all six games. He had 13 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble in three preseason games, and no doubt needs more experience before stepping into his natural niche as a dime linebacker.
Matthew Thomas, Ola Adeniyi (Undrafted) — The two defenders were preseason highlights on defense, as Thomas was the runaway tackles leader with 22 and Adeniyi was the sacks leader with three, and two of those resulted in turnovers.
But Adeniyi injured his hamstring in the final preseason game and was placed on injured reserve.
Thomas has been active for all six games but has primarily played special teams, in which he’s made two tackles and shown potential as a 232-pound gunner. He also played four snaps on defense after being prepared for spot duty when Vince Williams missed with an injury.
Thomas titillates the coaching staff with his athleticism as an inside backer, while Adeniyi packs a James Harrison-type wallop as a short-but-bullish outside backer. Adeniyi has been healthy and is eligible to return to the roster in after Week 8. OLBs coach Joey Porter was asked if Adeniyi will eventually contribute.
“Hopefully,” said Porter. “That’s the plan of keeping him. That’s the plan of getting him ready, and when his number’s called hopefully he’s ready.”