Conner said he wasn’t trying to show up Bell
PITTSBURGH 鈥� James Conner vented Wednesday about those who, after Sunday鈥檚 game, wrote that he was trying to show up Le鈥橵eon Bell following his first NFL touchdown.
Conner, in his first NFL start, took a second-quarter handoff as Marcus Gilbert sealed the edge, Jesse James blocked the linebacker, and Ramon Foster pulled for the kick-out as Conner virtually walked into the end zone untouched for a 4-yard score.
Conner then ran past JuJu Smith-Schuster to instead celebrate with his offensive line 鈥� his very excited offensive line.
Author, broadcaster and former lineman Geoff Schwartz, for one, tweeted that the celebration was 鈥渆xtremely over the top,鈥� and inferred Conner and the linemen were mocking Bell.
Conner went off Wednesday when asked what he liked best about his offensive line after he rushed for 135 yards.
鈥淓verything,鈥� Conner said. 鈥淢y first touchdown, I walked in untouched. The media took it way out of proportion saying I was trying to throw shade on Le鈥橵eon because I celebrated with the linemen. I never understood that. They kind of just made that up. NFL running back, I scored my first touchdown untouched. You don鈥檛 do that often as a running back. As soon as I scored I went back and turned and celebrated with them and people took it how they wanted to take it. I was just showing love.鈥�
Conner carried the ball 31 times and caught five passes for his biggest workload since 2014. He said he never lost his wind Sunday.
鈥淚t was a long game but it was good. I was fine,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 perform at a high level if you鈥檙e not conditioned.鈥�
Conner said the most grueling part of his offseason conditioning was the running.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 like running unless I鈥檝e got the ball in my hands,鈥� he said.
MCDONALD RETURNS, BUT BEN MISSES
Tight end Vance McDonald, who caught a career-high 10 passes in last season鈥檚 playoff game, finally returned to practice after injuring his foot during the fourth practice of training camp.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the best I鈥檝e felt,鈥� said McDonald, who said 鈥渇or sure鈥� that he鈥檚 playing this Sunday against Kansas City.
However, Ben Roethlisberger and five other players missed Wednesday鈥檚 practice. Roethlisberger, for one, expects to return soon.
鈥淛ust got hit. It鈥檚 like a bruise. I鈥檒l be fine,鈥� said Roethlisberger, who was hit on the right elbow by the helmet of Genard Avery during the strip sack in overtime. Roethlisberger returned to make another throw, which was dropped by Justin Hunter as time expired.
DeCastro told reporters his fractured hand 鈥� an injury from which he returned to play Sunday 鈥� was worse than expected but that he鈥檒l play Sunday.
Cornerback Joe Haden (hamstring), defensive tackle Tyson Alualu (shoulder) and defensive end Cameron Heyward (knee) also missed practice. Heyward expects to return in time for Sunday鈥檚 game. The status of Haden and Alualu remains unknown.
Eric Berry, an All-Pro safety who鈥檚 been out a year, remained sidelined with a sore heel Wednesday in Kansas City. He hasn鈥檛 played since rupturing his Achilles鈥� tendon last September.
WHAT ABOUT WASHINGTON?
Second-round draft pick James Washington may have provided the best highlight reel of training camp, but in Sunday鈥檚 game he played only 11 snaps and wasn鈥檛 targeted. Roethlisberger may not have even looked his way.
鈥淚f you think about it,鈥� Roethlisberger said when asked about rookie receivers, 鈥渢hey need to learn the offense, right? Then they need to learn all the extra hand signals. Then they need to learn the no-huddle stuff. So there鈥檚 a lot to learn. We ask him to do a lot of things. We asked JuJu to do a lot because we moved him around and asked him to play multiple positions. I think it鈥檚 hard enough just to learn one position, but James is getting it. He鈥檚 learning. When I test him out there on the field he gets it, he understands. Now it鈥檚 just translating that to on-the-field type stuff.鈥�
WATCH THE CHEETAH
They call Tyreek Hill 鈥淐heetah,鈥� and he has the resume to back it up:
n 10.19 100 meters in high school.
n 4.25 40 at his college pro day.
n 23.24 miles per hour during an NFL kickoff return (a NextGen Stats high).
n 13 plays of at least 50 yards in only 2+ seasons.
n Shared records with iconic NFL playmakers Bob Hayes, Gale Sayers and Devin Hester.
Speed, speed and more speed.
In Kansas City鈥檚 38-28 opening-day win against the Los Angeles Chargers, Hill returned a punt 91 yards on any Chiefs鈥� first touch of the season. On their second possession, he took a slant off an RPO and sprinted 58 yards for a touchdown. His catches of 21 and 34 yards set up Chiefs touchdowns, and his 1-yard catch was the Chiefs鈥� final touchdown.
鈥淵eah, he went crazy,鈥� said Steelers cornerback Artie Burns.
鈥淟ast week he showed that he is the Chiefs鈥� receiving threat,鈥� Mike Tomlin said of Hill鈥檚 7 catches for 169 yards. 鈥淗is ability to blow the game open, take a short pass and turn it into a long gain, is something to be contested. He鈥檚 a talented guy.鈥�
He鈥檚 a scary guy, but the Steelers have kept him in check in three games the last two seasons.
Against the Steelers, Hill averages 6.1 yards per reception, 1.4 per carry, 21.0 per kickoff return and 11.8 per punt return. He scored only one touchdown and his longest plays have been a 32-yard punt return, a 21-yard kickoff return, a 10-yard reception and an 8-yard rush.
Against the rest of the league, Hill averages 14.3 per reception, 8.6 per carry, 19.6 per kickoff return, and 13.3 per punt return. He鈥檚 scored 23 other touchdowns and his longest plays have been a 95-yard punt return, an 86-yard kickoff return, a 79-yard reception, and a 70-yard rush.
It鈥檚 not like the Steelers have kicked away from him, either. Hill鈥檚 returned an average of 3.7 kicks per game against the Steelers and 2.5 kicks per game against the rest of the league.
The Steelers don鈥檛 plan on kicking away from him Sunday at Heinz Field.
鈥淲e just gotta put the ball out there and have faith in our guys and use a whole group effort,鈥� said kicker Chris Boswell. 鈥淥f course, if you have to punt or kick into a corner, that always helps, but we鈥檙e going to trust our guys to make plays and tackles because that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e all here to do.鈥�