Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is excited to see his new-look secondary.
The Steelers overhauled the position following a bumpy season which included a disappointing upset playoff loss against Jacksonville in the divisional round. The team followed by parting ways with several long-time veterans http://www.giantsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-b.j.-hill-jersey , and their position coach, while adding experience, depth and a pair of hard-hitting draft picks.
"We have some guys in that position that are new to us," Tomlin said. "It's going to be an active, active training camp for that group. I'm excited about seeing them all."
Pittsburgh cut ties with veterans Mike Mitchell, William Gay and Robert Golden, in addition to J.J. Wilcox and position coach Carnell Lake. The Steelers added long-time Penn State assistant Tom Bradley as the defensive backs coach along with former veteran Green Bay safety Morgan Burnett and special teams standout Nat Berhe. They also invested a first-round draft pick in Virginia Tech safety Terrell Edmunds and another in fifth-rounder Marcus Allen out of Penn State.
"We didn't go into the draft saying we were going to draft another safety," Steelers' general manager Kevin Colbert said. "We went into the draft saying, OK, if safety is the best position available, we can add another guy Joe Mixon Jersey , and that's what we did."
The Steelers also plan to switch Sean Davis from strong to free safety this season. Davis said he's more comfortable on the strong side, but he's anxious to improve at free safety.
Davis, who enters his third season, is a veteran in the room of sorts as he and Jordan Dangerfield are the lone returning safeties who have experience with the team.
"The coaches talked to me and said we need you to be a leader. to be a veteran," Davis said. "I'm embracing my role. I have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and take a bigger step in helping this defense reach our goals."
Burnett was versatile during eight seasons in Green Bay. He moved around late in his tenure, but primarily played safety with the Packers. Burnett started 102 games for the Packers and won a Super Bowl ring in 2011 when Green Bay beat Pittsburgh.
"I'm a firm believer that you let your work do the talking, and you go about doing things the right way," Burnett said. "You have to earn the respect of your teammates."
In last season's AFC divisional playoff round, the Steelers allowed 45 points at home to a Jacksonville offense that scored just 10 points a week earlier. The secondary gave up two pass plays of 40 yards or more in that game, a communication issue the new group looks to rectify this season.
Tackling is also a priority for the secondary.
"We were 31st in the league at missed tackles, so that's definitely a point of emphasis Authentic Mike Hughes Jersey ," Davis said. "We all know 31st is unacceptable, and for us to be world champions, that needs to be worked on and corrected."
The Steelers hope Edmunds, their first-round pick, can help.
Edmunds is classified as a safety, but he also served as a linebacker at Virginia Tech when the Hokies played with five or more defensive backs. He could play a similar hybrid role with the Steelers.
"Of course I want to start, but whatever position they put me in, I gotta go out and make a play," Edmunds said. "If that's strictly on special teams, if it's coming in on certain packages, I'm just trying to go out there and help the team win."
NOTES: Steelers starting left guard Ramon Foster exited Saturday's practice on a cart with a lower body injury. Tomlin said after practice that Foster was being evaluated and did not have an update on his status. Trainers worked on Foster's right knee and leg following a play during the Steelers' first padded practice of training camp. ... Burnett missed his second practice on Saturday with a minor hamstring injury. ... The Steelers announced Rocky Bleier Authentic Jason Castro Jersey , Buddy Dial, Alan Faneca, Bill Nunn and Arthur J. Rooney, Jr. to the team's 2018 Hall of Honor.
Restless nights became common for Donovan Mitchell during his rookie season.
Mitchell worried about being able to make the playoffs and he worried about whether he was doing enough of the right things to get the Utah Jazz there.
”There would be nights where I just couldn’t fall asleep,” Mitchell said. ”I’d just be in bed and couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about it. This is crazy how all this has come together to be honest.”
Crazy sums up how the season played out for Mitchell and the Jazz.
Few NBA teams have ever experienced as dramatic an in-season turnaround as Utah. The Jazz fell to 19-28 in mid-January and seemed headed for a lottery pick rather than a playoff spot. Things changed dramatically once Rudy Gobert came back from a knee injury and Mitchell emerged as the team’s top playmaker on offense.
The Jazz won 29 of their final 35 regular-season games to claim a playoff spot. They beat Oklahoma City in six games to reach the Western Conference semifinals, where they lost 4-1 to the Houston Rockets.
”There was a good team in there somewhere, we just didn’t know to what degree,” Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey said Wednesday as the team prepared to head into the offseason. ”It took us a while to figure out things.”
Mitchell emerged as a true star during the journey. He set multiple franchise rookie records and finished the season leading Utah in scoring at 20.5 points per game. Mitchell also developed an ability to take over games offensively late in the season, giving the Jazz a boost at critical times.
Like he did during his rookie season, Mitchell aims to set the pace during offseason development. He is pushing himself to become an All-Star, a top defensive player and even an MVP at some point.
With Utah returning much of its young core next season, the Jazz are focused on making internal improvements to help those players reach their full potential. Utah has only four players 30 years old or older on the roster and only one, Joe Ingles, is in the starting lineup.
Here are other things to ponder going into the Jazz offseason:
FAVORS FREE AGENCY
At one point, it seemed like a sure thing that Derrick Favors would go elsewhere when he became a free agent after the season. Now such an outcome isn’t so certain. Favors bounced back after a pair of injury-plagued seasons and averaged 12.3 points and 7.2 rebounds and accepted a more complementary role this season. Bringing Favors back will still be tough. The demand could be robust for Favors and Utah may opt to bring in a stretch four rather than pair Favors and Gobert in a spacing-challenged frontcourt again.
EXUM’S HEALTH
Retaining Dante Exum is going to be a priority. Exum enters free agency as a player with tantalizing skills whose development has been slowed by injuries. He missed all but 14 games this season after suffering a preseason shoulder injury. Still, Exum averaged a career-best 8.1 points on 48.3 percent shooting and showed an ability to be a lockdown defender. The Jazz are willing to gamble he can stay healthy and develop into their point guard of the future.
SCORING PUNCH
Boosting offensive production will be an area of emphasis for the Jazz. Utah emerged as a strong defensive team. But the Jazz lacked many consistent options beyond Mitchell when it came to players who could create their own shot. The Jazz will need to shore up an offense that generated 104.1 points per game – ranking 19th out of 30 NBA teams.
NON-GUARANTEED CONTRACTS
Utah could bring a radically different second unit back for next season. Thabo Sefolosha, Jonas Jerebko and Ekpe Udoh all enter the second year of two-year deals. All three are cap-friendly deals but they’re not guaranteed until July, giving the Jazz some flexibility to make some upgrades if the right pieces are available.
CROWDER’S SHOOTING
Jae Crowder joined Utah at the trade deadline and gave the Jazz a much-needed physical wing defender. Crowder struggled with his shot at times while learning the offense on the fly. He shot just 38.6 percent from the field in 27 regular-season games with Utah and it dipped to 32.4 percent in the postseason. Crowder’s shot will need to improve considerably for him to become a consistent sixth man for the Jazz.
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21.08.2018 10:42
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