Steel Balls

My iPhone alarm went off and I awoke like Christmas morning. My roommate was still asleep, so I quietly gathered my things for a shower and to change. I donned the jersey I was given (each person was given a home jersey with a number and name of their choice), #26 Walsh, and had picked up gold sweat shorts. I slid on a new brace on my bad knee. The one I use for hockey was way too bulky. I hoped my knee would hold up with this one. I put my cleats on, packed up my hockey knee brace and other medical necessities into my bag and I was off to breakfast. We had been given wrist bands for the group I’d be in. I was blue so I sought out some teammates at breakfast to sit with. I listened more than spoke and was soon ready to head to the field.

Upon arriving at the field, we first set up for a photo op with the group. Shortly thereafter we did our warmups. We lined up 6-7 deep across the field. It varied from walking and squatting, walking and kicking…just really trying to get the muscles stretched. The pace was picked up. Leading off my row was a guy I recognized from last year’s photos from camp. He wore wristbands and gloves. He certainly looked the part and played it too. I, not knowing how my body would hold up, was tail end Charlie. At the end of each drill, this guy would low five each of us. He’d also encourage us during the drill…and God knows I needed that. I got to talking to him since he and I were the only ones going close to full speed in these drills. He was from Tennessee and for the life of me I forget his name now. If you watch this year’s video, he is the one spiking the ball at the end of it. I felt pretty good after the warm ups. I was ready to go.

There were 6 groups, and each went to a designated area and to their ex-Steeler coach for that session. You would have 3 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon. Each group would rotate through. My group went to Dermontti Dawson and the O-Line drills first. We lined up into 2-two man lines, with two guys across. Dawson was explaining the drill, but he was on the far side of the other line, so it was hard to hear him. Two teammates would hold blocking pads. The other two would go up against them. The two without the pads would hit the first guy with pads. The second guy with pads would swing around. Without hearing Dawson, I figured the guy swinging around was the RB, we would hit the blocking guy, slide off and get the RB. Well, that is what I did. Dawson’s assistant, a cute intern for the Steelers, came over to me…I figured because of my prowess in attacking the ball carrier. She said, good job, you just got your QB killed. It was then I realized I WAS the O-Line. The guy swinging around was a LB trying to blitz or stuff the run. One of us needed to stay engaged with the original guy with the pad. Whatever side the LB went to that guy would slide off (not both of us) and pick up the LB. OOPS! Well, the drill went much better after that. The intern came over and said much better. I told her I thought I was the D, once I knew what I was doing, it helped. She just shook her head and laughed. I think Dawson realized this and now switched from line to line to make sure everyone knew the drill he’d be running. After the drills, the fun part was now we went up against Chris Hoke’s DL group. I was part of the first O-Line team to line up. A little short for tackle, I went inside and played center. The other team lined up against us. A hybrid D-Line consisting of 2 DE, 2 DT and a NT. They decided to have us go one on one down the like instead of all 5 at once. Probably a good idea. They went from left to right. Soon it was my turn and a squat NT was across me. I would need to get low. He tried to bull rush me back. My two hands coming up and into his inner body slowed him down quite a bit. The push stood him up and he lost his center of gravity…and quickly lost the battle. I believe I heard Dawson say, that’s the way you do it. After everyone got their turn, we’d move on to the next area.

Next up was Shaun Suisham. Our group was split in three for FG kicking, punting and long snapping. Since my knee was already bad, and it was my kicking leg, I took up long snapping first. I’ve always been able to snap. A friend of mine from college was a long napper in High School. He showed me a thing or two on how to get that spiral. He was 6’5” with hands to match, he could rifle it through his legs one handed. I, on the other hand, had to learn how to do it with two. My first snaps were right on the money to the holder. I worked on getting a better spiral, but then lost some accuracy. Soon we rotated and our group was kicking FG’s. I gave it two tries. Not even close, maybe I’d be good at onside kicks. Next up was punting. I could do that better than kicking since I did not have to be afraid of driving my leg into the ground. Suisham said to us, on any errant punts, yell Peter, instead of “heads up”. No one thought much about it at the time. Suisham definitely had the best personality. He did have good pointers in how to kick FG’s and also talked about being a kicker in the league. After we all rotated, he said we were going to emulate a last second FG. He asked who wanted to do what. I thought about being the long snapper, but Suisham’s words of it all hinges on a good snap made me pass. I did become one of the blockers. We stood on the sidelines and he counted down from 25. The 11 of us ran onto the field. The ball was hiked…on the money…the hold was solid, and the kick was GOOD! Not bad for a bunch of never was’es…

Next up was Louis Lipps. Again, Lipps was very reserved…. possible hungover from the night before. He asked who could QB, again I thought about it. But I wanted to run routes. We lined up into two lines, one on each hashmark. Lipps needed 2 volunteers to QB. I had seen the one throw earlier and he was good. The guy we got, was not. Lipps had us run 5 yard slant ins. The QB was about 5-7 yds behind the line of scrimmage. I watched both lines. The other QB threw nice tight accurate spirals. Our QB did not. I was 5^th in line and he had not completed a pass. I ran my route determined to catch whatever ball he threw. It wasn’t horrible but it was behind me. I reached back and caught it off my hip. I could only think how the D would have clobbered me having to reach back like that. A few more bad passes and our QB passed to another QB, thank God. He was MUCH better. My turn came to run the slant again, he hit me right in stride. Lipps held us up and then had us run 5 yd outs. The QB threw a nice hard pass to me towards the sidelines, I took it and turned upfield. When I got to run it again, this time he lofted it over my shoulders. It dropped perfectly in my arms. As I was heading back to the line, the next guy running got turned around, he caught the ball and fell backwards slamming his head on the hard ground. His glassed flew off in my direction. I picked them up and went over to him, but I could immediately tell he was woozy. The trainers came over (yes, we had trainers!) and they called for the ambulance to come over (yes, we had an ambulance onsite). They walked him to the sideline where they started asking him questions…some of them he had trouble with. Lipps once again stopped us and we would now run another new route. 5 yd slant in, then cut and slant out to the sidelines. My turn came, I slanted in and after 5 yds I planted and cut to slant out. My hamstring said, sorry bud, not happening. I grabbed the back of my leg and one leg hopped like the RB in North Dallas Forty. The QB, unaware of my situation threw the ball anyway. He yelled for me to turn around. Luckily, he was not as accurate this time, and the ball sailed way over my head. The trainers on the sideline were apparently watching. They just said Hamstring huh? I nodded yes. He said to follow him to the trainer’s table for some ice. My morning drills had come to an end. I would not get a chance to run routes against Woodruff’s DB group.

As I got to the trainer’s area there was another guy getting ice. I recognized him from the O-Line session. He told me he got hurt on one of those drills. I felt bad for him, at least I made it to the last of the three morning drill sessions. We would get to talking. We would catch up more later. Soon the whistle blew, and the morning drills were over. I returned the ice pack and hobbled off to lunch.

+1

When the official autograph session was underway, I already had Ilkin and Wolfley done. Unfortunately, I had to get back in line for Dawson, so I took that time to go get some food…and beer. Bud light was the sponsor, so there was all the Bud Light you could drink. Now, not being a fan of that brand, I did find the Bud Light Lime acceptable. Also, they had a buffet of sliders, both hamburger and pulled pork. I grabbed a couple, along with my BLL and waited for the Dawson line to dwindle. Lipps, Moats, Woodruff, Suisham and Hoke had not arrived yet. They would be set up to the right of the stage. Dawson, Ilkin and Wolfley to the left.

I waited in line for Dawson, and he obviously recognized me from before. I had mentioned to him earlier about the poster and he was eager to see it. He signed with his # and HOF 12 in a prominent spot above his likeness. I told him I’m looking forward to learning how to hold and get away with it tomorrow. At this point Lipps and Woodruff arrived. I headed over to that line. Lipps was quiet, more because of his laid back southern-ness. He signed the poster and didn’t say much. Woodruff was next. It was his last year as a starter in 1989, he joked he was glad he was still pictured. I also had the 8×10 and he was more than happy to sign a second item. I showed him the photo and he had not seen it before. As he signed, he said, Damn I look good in that picture! He did, he undercuts the pass in the endzone intended for Andre Reed. You see the results will eventually be the ball is knocked away. Of course, me being me, I checked the photo well before. The photo was in Buffalo. The Steelers only played in Buffalo twice, 86 and 88, while both Reed and Woodruff were active. However, Woodruff did not play the game in 86 due to injury. I checked the boxscore for the 88 game and Woodruff did not have an INT, and Reed didn’t score either.

Chris Hoke finally showed up and I needed my last item for that evening to be signed. 2 years back I bought a #76 gold (defense) practice jersey at training camp. It was unused so it was cheap. It was a size 48 which is close, but really, I need a 50. I tried stretching it, but it always was too tight to wear. So, it becomes memorabilia. Hoke’s eyes lit up when he saw it and asked if it were a gamer.  I said it wasn’t. He still liked it. And signed it for me.

The signing subsided and it was time for Friday Night’s main speaker, Rocky Bleier. He showed off his Superbowl rings and was asked why he wore the SB XIII one. Most people thought it was because of his TD catch in the game, but he said it was because it was the gaudiest.

He went on to say his favorite non teammate was Turkey Jones of the Browns. If not for him breaking Bradshaw’s neck, he would never have had the chance to get a 1,000 rushing season. He also told a story about a game that the Steelers needed to win against Houston. There was less than a minute and Bradshaw got play #5 from Noll on the sideline. Bleier was stuffed. Quickly Bradshaw received play #7 from Noll, a WR sweep to Swann. That was stopped too. With time running out Noll was trying to call in a play and Bradshaw ignored him. The QB dropped back and hit Stallworth in the back of the endzone for the winning TD. After Bradshaw was done celebrating Noll waited for him on the sideline. Noll said that was not the play he was calling, why did you run that play. Bradshaw said, well, they stuffed play 5 and then stopped play 7. So, I added them together and ran play 15. Noll, calmly said, 7 and 5 is 12. Bradshaw responded, well coach, if I was as smart as you, we would have lost the game! Bleier would go on to talk about how the team went out of their way to get him a TD in his last home game at Three Rivers. He kidded around that the version he tells does not quite match up with the easy walk in TD he scored thanks to the O-Line. After going through a couple more stories and a standing ovation, he settled in to sign autographs. People were told one autograph OR a photo. I guess Bleier didn’t care. He signed whatever was put in front of him and took pictures with whoever wanted. He did like the photo I had from SB IX against the Vikings.

A lot of guys were headed to Sharky’s afterwards. A shuttle was provided so people did not have to drive. Some of the ex-players went too. However, I was exhausted at this point and headed back to the dorms.  I arrived and saw my roommate had did too. His stuff was there, he was not. I must have crashed hard because I never heard him come in the room later that night. Good thing, I needed a good night’s sleep for the day ahead.

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I have always wanted to go to the Steelers Men’s Fantasy Camp, but two things always seemed to stop me. One was it always fell on the same weekend as the Mid Atlantic Air Museum’s World War II weekend in Reading PA. It usually boasts one of the largest collections of vintage WWII aircraft still flying. The second reason? I couldn’t find anyone to go with me.

This year though, the WWII Weekend was scheduled for the weekend after. Also Rod Woodson, one of my all-time favorite Steelers, would be there. And, as you know, I tried to recruit some Ballers to go (and I hope this Blog will convince a few next year) but with no luck. Then, to top it off, one friend from my hockey team had a surprise 60^th B-Day party (yes, we are old) on Saturday and another had his daughter’s (who was a flower girl at my wedding) high school graduation party on Sunday. Looked like it would be another lost year for Fantasy Camp.

Well, as luck…or unluck would have it, I had a little bit of an issue/falling out with some of my friends on the hockey team in mid-April (I won’t go into details here, but like everything else, just assume I was right). Why was I going to miss Fantasy camp just to attend their events when I was pissed at them? The same day it kind of all went down, I signed up for Fantasy camp. It was the push I needed. Yes, I went to camp due to spite…much like how I make most of my decisions in life. At least I am consistent.

I scanned the list of the players who would be attending. It seemed 6 of them, Woodson, Dawson, Lipps, Ilkin, Wolfley and Woodruff all played for the 1989 team. I just happened to have a poster from the 1989 team. It would be a great item to get signed by them. Also, Bleier would be the Friday night guest. I picked up an 8×10 photo of him carrying the ball in Superbowl IX vs the Vikings, a unique photo. I also found a great photo of Woodruff knocking the ball away from Andre Reed, a photo I had never seen before. I also had a gold practice jersey, #76, which would be great to get autographed by Chris Hoke. I packed up all my Steelers garb and I was ready to go. It did mention preferred attire was Black and Gold.

The George Washington bridge was not kind to me, but when is it ever. After a long 8 hour drive I arrived at St. Vincents. I asked the guy at the security booth where I should park for Fantasy camp. He directed me towards the dorms. As I pulled into the parking lot I could see others arriving. I was exhausted from the drive so I stayed in the car a bit to observer their routine. I eventually exited, stretched my legs, and went to get my stuff out of the back of the car. At that point another “camper” got out of his car a few spots over and he said hello. I couldn’t help but notice that this guy was in pretty good shape. I thought, damn, this is what the other guys are gonna be like I am in trouble. He came over to chat and I told him I had just been in SF the last week for work, then got home, packed the car and drove 8 hours here. We talked a bit and he told me he just came in from CA too and he had family in Oakland. I couldn’t help but think he looked familiar. When we were done, he turned to get the rest of his stuff out of the car. That’s when I saw the tag on his bad. D. Dawson. I’m glad I didn’t ask him his name when he first came over….

I dragged my stuff to the dorm like I was back in college…since that was my reference not ever being a Steeler going to training camp. They ushered us to a welcoming committee where information overload, along with paraphernalia overload, ensued. I let them know it was my first year attending so they slowed it down a bit for me. I received my room key and off I went to the 4^th floor. I had arrived before my roommate so I had my choice of beds…not like it really mattered. It was what a dorm room is…cold white cinderblock walls with 2 beds, 2 desks, 2 dresser draws. I changed and gathered my memorabilia for the welcome dinner at 5pm. I went back to the area where I checked in. They told me where to go. At least I knew the college. I had been given a tour a few years back by Ben’s friend Eileen who works at St. Vincent. That and having been at training camp 3 years in a row also helped me navigate around.

I arrived at the area where they were having the reception. Steeler highlights were showing on the wall. I felt a little out of place since everyone seemed to know each other. It was a reunion for people who may not have seen each other since last year’s camp. I did see a familiar face. D. Dawson. I went over to chat with him to follow up on our conversation. I told him how I thought he was a regular “camper” since he was parking with everyone else. Also, how I was like, damn…I got to compete against guys like that. He kidded his legs aren’t what they used to be. Ha, isn’t that the same for all of us here! I went on to say as he walked away, I saw his tag and said, damn, that was Dermontti Dawson. He had a good laugh. He is an awesome guy. At that point others joined us and started asking for autographs. It was way early for him to start, he did so anyway.

The autograph session was about to start. I had my poster at the ready. One thing about that 1989 team poster I did not mention. It did not officially say 1989 Steelers and it had a copyright of 1990. I did buy it in December of 1990, but obviously they didn’t just print it for me then. Also, it had 1990 draft choice Eric Green on the poster. It would seem it had to be made after the 1990 draft. This is the tricky part. It shows #73. Now Craig Wolfley was on the 1989 team but not the 1990 team. I have always wondered since I got the poster if it was supposed to be Wolfley or not. The 1990 team did have Strzelczyk with #73 but I doubt he would have made the poster in 1990 as a late draft pick. Also, if you look closely you can see what looks like a W on the back of the player wearing #73. Because of that I always went with Wolfley. Needing to find out, I was able to corral Wolfley before the autograph session started. I asked if he had ever seen this poster and he hadn’t. I said I think that was him but wasn’t sure. He did mention Strzelczyk but I pointed out the W on the back of the jersey. Just then Tunch Ilkin came over. Wolfley asked him if he had ever seen this poster. He did. He said it was the 1989 team. With that, whether it actually was or wasn’t, it was. Wolfley signed by the #73 player. I said well, if it wasn’t him, it is now!

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Maybe not pretty but at least they’re clean.

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After bit of a delay due to traveling, I’m pleased to present the trophy to the winner of our 2019 Draft Predictions contest: Earl. Earl kicked major butt by correctly guessing 2 names and 4 position / round combinations, giving him 6 points – twice the points of our second place finisher MWalsh26 who nailed 2 named selection and 2 position / round combos. EstimatedProphet was the only other participant to hit on a named selection. Here are the final results:

In honor of Earl’s achievement I’m presenting a special version of the Steely McBeam trophy. Congratulations Earl!

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Benny Snell, picked 4-122

Zack Gentry, picked 5-141

Sutton Smith, picked 6-175

Isaiah Buggs, picked 6-192

Ulysees Gilbert, picked 6-207

Derwin Gray, picked 7-219

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Projected pick: #40. Actual pick #83.

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Projected pick: 4th round. Actual pick: #66.

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From Dane Brugler’s “2019 NFL Draft Guild” available via subscription to The Athletic, here is his view of the Steeler’s new #1 pick.

Dane rated Devin as top linebacker in the class and projected him as the #10 pick overall, exactly where the Steelers snagged him. Given the eerie accuracy of that prediction I need to give Dane’s impressive draft guide a lot of respect from here on out.

Click the items below to enlarge to a more readable size.

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What time does the monkey shit fight start?
Do I still have time to get a good seat?

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