Aug 3, 2019 4 min read

LATROBE — The Steelers are more than halfway through training camp at Saint Vincent College and there’s been little to no drama to report.

In Napa, Calif., meanwhile, the Raiders are still waiting on Antonio Brown to take part in his first practice of their training camp. This, after Brown arrived in a hot air balloon.

Talk about your symbolism.

Brown is a great football player. One of the best to play the receiver position in NFL history.

But there’s a sense at Steelers training camp this team could be better off without the mercurial star. Everybody seems happy. Everyone seems to be on the same page. Everyone is rowing the boat in the same direction.

Now, that might only last as long as the team doesn’t go into a losing spiral as it did in the second half of last season. But right now? This is as quiet a Steelers camp in memory.

• About the most controversial thing to come out of Saint Vincent College in the past week and a half has been something defensive coordinator Keith Butler told me.

When I asked Butler if he hears the criticism that comes from fans, he replied, “I’m 63-years old. If they fire me, so what? I’ll go play golf.

“Do I want to keep my dadgum job? Sure I do. But it’s not like it’s going to kill me. It’s not a life-or-death situation. I enjoy what I do. I want to keep doing it. But if I don’t, it’s not a big deal. The noise is always going to be there. Shoot, my wife criticizes me. ‘Why are we close to them?’ What the heck? Everybody is a coach.”

Everybody indeed. But there’s little doubt the Steelers’ defense needs to better than the league average defense it was in 2018. Especially with Brown now out of the picture.

That’s why there will be changes coming.

The plan for the Steelers is to play rookie Devin Bush and veteran Mark Barron at the inside linebacker positions, making the team faster up the middle.

That means, however, Mike Tomlin favorite Vince Williams would be the odd man out.

• Some people took offense at Butler’s statement. But the fact is, a coach can’t worry about what fans are saying about the job he is doing.

It’s all about results.

Butler knows that as well as anyone.

“I’ve been here for a long time. I know what No. 1 looks like,” Butler said. “That’s my expectation. I want to be the best in the league. More than that, I want to win the Super Bowl. If we’re not the best in the league but we win the Super Bowl, I’m perfectly fine with that.”

• Tom Brady turned 42 on Saturday. No position player in NFL history has every started all 16 games at age 42.

Certainly, if anyone could change that, Brady would be the guy with the best chance.

But Father Time remains unbeaten.

• After the Steelers traded away former starting right tackle Marcus Gilbert in the offseason, Mike Tomlin made it sound as if there would be an open competition at the position between veteran Matt Feiler, second-year pro Chuks Okorafor and fourth-year pro Jerald Hawkins.

But that competition has never really taken place in camp. The job, apparently, belongs to Feiler and has all along.

“Oh yeah. Matt proved himself last year,” offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner told me.

Feiler made 10 starts in place of Gilbert last season and performed well.

But him holding the job over Okorafor should not be seen as an indictment of the 2018 third-round draft pick.

Okorafor can play. Feiler, however, is just the more experienced player at this point.

Okorafor has the look of a long-time starter in this league – eventually.

• The Steelers are concerned about their tight end position. They have starter Vance McDonald there. And then, not a lot else.

Xavier Grimble was expected to step into the No. 2 role vacated when Jesse James left in free agency for Detroit.

But Grimble has twice left practice at training camp – including again on Saturday — with nagging-type injuries. And now the team feels it might have to go looking to fill that role from the outside.

Keep an eye on the Houston Texans, who have four veterans on their camp roster and also drafted another, as a possible trade partner for the Steelers at the tight end position.

Dale Lolley covers the Steelers for DKPittsburghSports.com and writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.