Aug 14, 2020 4 min read

The hitting starts Monday for the Steelers.

Everything that has taken place at Heinz Field to this point has essentially been what the Steelers would normally do in the eight or so weeks of offseason workouts that happen in a normal offseason.

Once training camp begins, the Steelers open with two solid weeks of hitting. They tackle. They go live with team running drills.

Coach Mike Tomlin has done it that way for the better part of the past decade.

Now, the question for Tomlin is how much hitting is enough? Or, perhaps more importantly, how much is too much?

Tomlin plans on having hitting next week. He has to. With only 14 padded practices and no preseason games with which to both get his team ready to play a regular season and judge which young players might be able to help this roster, Tomlin has to have the Steelers at least simulate live action.

“That is our intent, but we are also willing to adjust based on what it is that we see,” Tomlin said. “From a staffing standpoint, we are very thoughtful about our long-term planning or not doing so. Getting familiar with the level of conditioning that these guys are coming to us in and getting a feel for their ability to take in and retain information that was delivered to them remotely are two of the key variables that determine the pace at which we move.”

Translation? The plan is to hit, but the hitting might not last all that long. And they’ll be very cognizant, even more so than usual, of who will be doing what.

The Steelers have less than a month before they open the regular season Sept. 15 at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants. Tomlin typically starts to scale things back after the second week of training camp.

This year, the hitting will just be starting when the Steelers are usually starting to relax their practices.

Veteran players, even those who thrive on contact, realize the live periods are necessary.

“We have to find a way to evaluate these guys without preseason because a lot of the young guys – just from a strictly evaluation standpoint – we don’t know what they can do,” linebacker Vince Williams said. “Physicality may be a trait that a lot of guys lean on that they may not have a lot of opportunities to display. I am pretty sure – I am pretty confident – Coach Tomlin will find a way to get it done.”

But that doesn’t mean they necessarily want to take part in it.

“It is a catch-22,” Williams conceded. “But if he asks me, I am going to say we need less padded days.”

It’s never been done before in NFL history, but this is the environment in which the NFL has in a COVID-19 world.

“I think it will be positive for us because we are a veteran team,” said guard David DeCastro. “Honestly, I think the training camp and all those preseason games are for younger guys. I don’t think it takes much for us to get in shape as a veteran group. The older you get, less is more because you don’t need that pounding on your body. I think it bodes well for us offense and defensive-wise. We have some good depth, too. I am actually excited about that.”

n A split season for college football makes about as much sense as having only four out of 130 teams compete for the national championship at the end of a regular season each year.

Such is college football.

n The one thing that could have derailed the Pirates’ season – OK, there were plenty of things, but the main thing – was injuries.

They have no depth. Heck, they didn’t have much in terms of starters, either.

But they now have 11 players on the disabled list, eight of whom are pitchers. And this wasn’t a talented pitching staff to begin with.

It’s a good thing the season is only 60 games.

n We’ve already seen a number of college football players opt out of playing this season, whether their school is playing in the fall or the spring. That list includes Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons and Pitt defensive lineman Jaylen Twyman.

You’d better believe that guys who are with schools who have decided to play in the spring are going to be opting out left and right – at least if they have NFL potential.

Why would they risk injuring themselves in the spring when the draft will be held immediately after their season and an injury could cost them hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars?