A pack of somewhat large offensive linemen were strolling outside the sideline Tuesday morning at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, four of them scoping out the scene and the fifth checking his iPhone. These were Pitt kids, all of them.
As they proceeded, a pack of very large offensive linemen were stretching inside that same sideline to prepare for the Steelers' fourth day of OTAs. And one of them, observing the college kid locked down onto his device, opined out loud, "Now how you gonna be great if you've got your phone out here on the field?"
No one spoke a syllable. The phone, with a flick of the hand, was buried deep in that young man's pocket. That was that.
And in this instant, I'd just witnessed maybe the most compelling example of ... well, anything from that particular positional group in, what, two whole years?
Hey, have to start somewhere.
That's how this feels, to be honest: Management invested unprecedented free-agency cash into the line, signing right guard James Daniels at three years, $26.5 million, and center Mason Cole at three years, $15.75 million, and keeping right tackle Chuks Okorafor at three years, $29.25 million. And it'd seem that an investment of such scope should, in and of itself, bring about some certainty regarding improvement.
But it doesn't. It's a beginning and nothing more. For those three, plus second-year left tackle Dan Moore, plus the two other youngsters, Kevin Dotson and Kendrick Green, both getting a chance to start at left guard.
And don't think the principals aren't aware. I've spoken with all of these individuals one-on-one at these OTAs, and that sense is universal.
"What we need is continuity, and that starts right here," Moore was telling me after the session Tuesday. "We've already built some continuity in these few weeks in OTAs . I’m happy that everybody showed up. That's it. Let's start there. Let's build off it."
"The biggest thing for this group is playing as a unit, playing together, just getting close with each other," Cole told me. "Obviously, James and I are the new faces in the room, so we've got to build this bond with these guys, and that starts with getting as many reps as possible on the field. That's gonna be huge for us."
Right, but it won't be enough. Look, I'm no Mike Munchak to pick all this apart. If forced to try, going left to right: I saw a lot to like out of Moore, notably his shutdown of the Browns' Myles Garrett, but I also cringed more than a few times at mistakes. Dotson vs. Green is a duel of disappointments. Cole and Daniels are too new, obviously. And Chuks, as the man himself fessed up to me, "I can get a lot better. At everything."
That said, I'm quite comfortable putting forth that none of the above matters, for better or worse, without that aforementioned bonding. On and off the field.
Roll the eyes or whatever, but there's no position like this in football. Where one reaction creates another reaction. Where one mistake begets another mistake. And that can get at least somewhat mitigated by the simple act of getting to know and trust each other.
"We all own 20% of this, but it only takes one to get it going," Daniels told me. "That's like, hey, like me texting a group: 'Hey, do you guys wanna go see a movie?' Or Mason saying, 'Hey, come over to my house for dinner! And things like that."
What Maurkice Pouncey did for a decade.
"It's not easy. It takes time, like it did with Pounce, Al, Gil, Dave and Ramon," Okorafor told me, referring to Alejandro Villanueva, Marcus Gilbert, David DeCastro and Ramon Foster. "All of them were together for 7-8-9-10 years here. And this group, we’ve been together for, like, four months. We can’t be as tight yet. But everyday I feel like it gets a little bit closer and closer."
No one explained why better than Moore, who'd say, "It’s about hanging out and about really being ... being ... how can I say this? ... It's really molding outside of this room, learning each other and being around one another, so that makes game day a lot easier, so that makes practice a lot easier, so that makes criticism to each other easier. You know what I mean?"
No, I didn't on that last count.
"OK, it's like this: You don't really know what you can say to a guy if you don't know how that guy responds to things. But ... now I’ve hung out with you, and I know you a little bit more. Maybe I don't have to get on you that much. Maybe I can tell that you're out of it today. I can tell just by the way you walked in the building that you were you in need of a little bit extra motivation. So the first mistake you make on the field, I'm already knowing it’s because your mind's somewhere else."
And? What happens?
"You say something. You say what needs to be said but also what needs to be heard."
So yeah, individual improvement -- particularly for a group where Cole's the elder at age 26 -- would appear to be paramount within that.
And that'd point more toward Dotson than anyone, I dare say. He's been criticized as much as anyone, including by me, and he's still searching for that rookie form from 2020. He and I spoke for the longest time on this day, and he sure sounded open to the concept.
"My goal is just to kind of put myself in a solidified spot in the coaches' eyes, you know?" Dotson told me. "I've just got to put in the work enough to where they say, 'That's our guy.' And that's what my plan is this year."
Again, it's a start.• Here's a full, fun two-minute clip of my conversation with Daniels:
He's impressive, huh?
• No more impressive than how Kenny Pickett handled his first media session since rookie camp, meaning the first since Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph arrived and immediately were Nos. 1 and 2 on the unofficial quarterback depth chart.
“Yeah, man, I didn’t think I was going to walk in and be the 1, right?" Pickett would say with a smile. “It’s kind of what I was expecting in coming in here. Earn everything I get. Kind of how it goes in life and in the game. I'm excited to be here.”
That's how it's done.
I'll bet he never walked onto Pitt's practice fields checking out his phone.
• No, I'm not naming names. But only because I wouldn't know who any of those people were, anyway.
• Diontae Johnson showed up for OTAs. Means nothing. Never meant a thing in the first place. When the membership of the NFL Players Association negotiates into a binding and legal labor agreement that an activity is voluntary, it's ... you know, voluntary. This isn't complicated.
• Searing heat for this session. Probably at 95-plus on the feels-like temp. Can't imagine how this sport gets practiced in full pads in this weather. But it will be.
• So, which quarterback looks good out there?
That's what everyone wants to know from these events, even those who already know that there's precious little to cull. And I get that. It's what I'd be wondering, too. Here's the thing, though: There's some seven-on-seven, even some 11-on-11, but the play executions don't involve a pass rush, pressure of any kind, reading defenses, adjusting or, of course, contact. Really, it's basic play execution. A big, long walkthrough.
Now, if that context still doesn't dissuade anyone from wondering, I'll offer that all three quarterbacks have thrown a good ball. To the point they're barely discernible. If one throws a tight spiral on a deep ball, the next will do the same, and the next will match it. That's how all of this has gone.
• This is a repeat from my column a week ago, but very much worth it: Najee Harris' thighs are tree trunks. And I'm talking redwoods.
• No one's happier to be here than Tyson Alualu. These athletes, in general, go through so much when enduring season-ending injuries, and that's doubly true of those old enough to have their careers threatened.
"Every day," as the man told me Tuesday, "is a blessing."
• Pretty neat to see Kevin Colbert on this day offering a guided tour of the Steelers' facility to Ben Cherington, the Pirates' GM. One of my favorite traits of Colbert's tenure was his heartfelt passion for the other two teams in town and, within that, his willingness to give advice and exchange ideas with whoever's been in charge at either place. And here he was doing it in semi-retirement.
Imagine having to replace that.
• This isn't Terrell Edmunds blowing smoke. He's the starter. He should be the starter. It's silly that the subject ever comes up.
• More excellence from our new NFL analyst Matt Williamson, this on DeMarvin Leal, the third-round defensive end out of Texas A&M. Lots of hope but also lots of holes.
• Thanks so much for reading my football stuff. I'll be back at PNC Park this weekend, with much advice of my own for Cherington.
• Stop Downtown and see me today!
