One of the things we often forget about the guys who play for the Steelers is that they are real, live people.
I was reminded of that today when talking to a couple of guys.
First came Stephon Tuitt, whom I ran across by the locker room while walking back to do radio. Tuitt married his college sweetheart a couple of weeks back and was away last week on his honeymoon and doing some off-field charity work. But he was back in the building and all smiles Tuesday morning when I greeted him and congratulated him.
I asked him if he's come down off that mountain yet. "Nope," he said.
Tuitt posted a video of his wedding on social media. He was proud to be marrying his wife. And most of the replies were congratulatory. But some felt they needed to take shots at him.
Chris Boswell learned that the hard way in 2018.
Celebrated in 2017, Boswell had tough going in 2018. He's become much more guarded as a result. I approached him and asked if he had a minute to talk after practice. As expected, the rest of the media came running over.
Boswell quipped, "I'm not that interesting."
Of course, we all would disagree.
The Steelers' placekicker is a big story this offseason and had been quick to exit the field after practice each day. I found it particularly compelling when he was asked if he had gotten kicking tips from fans on social media.
"Yeah," he said. "I’m not going to comment on that."
No doubt. And no doubt most of the "tips" he got from fans included quite a bit of nastiness.
Guys handle that differently. Some shut down their social media -- as Boswell did last year. Others fire back at the trolls. Some just ignore it.
No matter how it's dealt with, it has to be difficult on those guys as people. Sometimes, we forget they are just guys trying to do a job. And there are times when they aren't going to be successful. Yes, they are paid pretty well to do that job, but so are other entertainers. Anybody boo Tom Cruise after "The Mummy?" Or take shots at him on Twitter? It was so bad it lost $95 million. But Cruise got paid $25 million for that one flick, much more than most football players.
Football is a game we all enjoy. And it's also entertainment. The players are trying their best to play well at all times because the fact is, if they don't play well, they won't be around very long.
So there's nothing anyone could do or say that would make them take things any more seriously than they already do.
AGE MATTERS
Here's a fun fact about Tuitt: He's entering his sixth season in the NFL and just turned 26 last week.
The Steelers like to draft good players who are young and allow them to grow into being potentially great players. Because of that, there were a number of players available in this year's draft who aren't much younger than Tuitt. Chase Winovich, as an example, is less than two years younger than Tuitt. Many fans were upset the Steelers didn't take Winovich in the draft.
But at 24, he's already pretty much what he's going to be physically.
Think about it this way: Devin Bush doesn't turn 21 until a week before the Steelers head to training camp. JuJu Smith-Schuster will be 23 when the Steelers start talking to him about a contract extension after this season.
It doesn't always work. After all, Artie Burns had just turned 21 when the Steelers drafted him. He just turned 24 earlier this month and is probably on his last legs in Pittsburgh. But it's an interesting approach. Lawrence Timmons spent 10 years with the Steelers and had just turned 30 when his second contract ended and he was starting on a downward trajectory. If the Steelers had taken him in the draft when he was, say, 23, he would have been 33 when that second deal was ending. Or, perhaps they wouldn't have signed him to the second deal at all.
BEING YOUR BEST
Vince Williams brought up an interesting point on Steelers Nation Radio today when he joined as a guest.
Williams said he realizes the league is all about passing and pass coverage now. And he knows that is not his strong suit. So when he gets matched up against, say, Christian McCaffrey in the open field, he knows he's at a disadvantage. But, Williams said he tries to make up for that by taking advantage of those guys when he gets a chance.
That means if he's on a pass rush against a running back or tight end, his goal is to run through that guy. They have their advantages, and he has his.
BIG BACKS BEWARE
One of the things I made note of today is how the big back has gone the way of the dodo bird in the NFL.
What made me think of it is that Benny Snell, all 225 pounds of him, is now looked at as a power back in today's NFL. Just 10 or so years ago, he would have been considered a mid-sized runner. But in today's NFL, any back who is more than 220 pounds is considered big. And we don't see guys such as Jerome Bettis, Christian Okoye or Pete Johnson coming out of college any more.
In fact, the first thing the Steelers asked Le'Veon Bell to do when they drafted him in 2013 was to lose weight. Bell had played at Michigan State at 240-plus pounds. The Steelers wanted him in the 220-to-230-pound range. It improved Bell's foot speed and elusiveness. And it made him a more valuable player.
It also raised this question: If Bettis came out in the draft now, where would he go — a 250-pound runner go, who doesn't catch the ball particularly well? Bettis went 10th overall in the 1993 draft. Now, he'd be lucky to go in the third round.
