Football
Throughout the next three weeks of Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp, the team will have plenty of points of emphasis. Situational football that focuses on two-minute, like it did Wednesday, first down, goal line, and everything in between. Each day will feel a little different and have its own install and goal. One thing Mike McCarthy isn’t likely to change is his pace.
For someone accustomed to Mike Tomlin’s practices, the tempo of a McCarthy practice was the most head-spinning difference. I’m still trying to process what I watched, and I was there to write it all down.
That was evident from the moment practice began. Aside from the multiple two-minute “hydration breaks” McCarthy sprinkles into the day, players are always on the move. No one is standing around watching. No one is sitting either – the four benches that sat between Fields 1 and 2 under Tomlin have been removed.
Once the stretch line is over, the team is hustling. Players aren’t sprinting drill to drill, but the pace of practice is fast. One period ends, the next gets called out, and players are on the move. Idle time is minimal.
In past years, players may stand around for their turn in an 11-on-11 period. For the first full team period yesterday, McCarthy ran dual 11-on-11 sessions. One on the field closest to the bleachers, the other on the middle field. Maximizing reps in the allotted time. And like the spring, positional coaches don’t take the field until they have to. They also exit as soon as practice ends.
In the past, positional coaches would be on the field upwards of a half-hour early, whether that was Scott McCurley working with ILB Payton Wilson on the blocking sled or Alfredo Roberts putting the tight ends through their individual paces. Now, those players work without coaches in the early going.
Reps are maximized, too. During a special teams period focused on punting, McCarthy didn’t have just one set of gunners take part. He had two pairs. One downfield to focus on their angle to “tackle” the returner; it was all two-hand touch. The other pair was working on their releases off the line against the jammers trying to stick them.
Another example. The centers and quarterbacks stretch early and separately so they can get extra snaps, under center and shotgun, while the rest of the team goes through stretch line.
A bank of six JUGs machines align the back of the near end zone, ready for players to hop on before and after practice. No longer is there a Disney-level line with backups standing around for 15 minutes while the starters get their catches in.
If Mike Tomlin’s saying was putting eight pounds in a five-pound bag, McCarthy is living it during practice. A dizzying array of movement from place to place, drill to drill, situation to situation.
Some of it, I’m sure, is the newness of it all. It feels faster because it’s a change. In time, it’ll slow down, just as I’m sure it has from veteran old heads who felt the pace pick up this spring. Still, it’s objectively quicker.
It’s not the only difference. After a couple of practices, I’ll write a separate post detailing all the changes and how a McCarthy practice generally works. This is the most obvious and immediate change.
There’s rarely a right or wrong way to handle practice. If there was a perfect strategy that guaranteed results, everyone would adopt it. Still, there’s no debating that things are different. And faster. Much faster.
Read More Alex Kozora