Aug 16, 2016 6 min read

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The Steelers put their 2016 training camp at Saint Vincent College to bed Tuesday and we learned quite a bit from this camp, some good and some bad.

We’ll take a look at the good first before getting to the bad:

• Heading into camp, I was concerned about the defensive line depth on this team. Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt played way too many snaps last season, especially down the stretch. But, as head coach Mike Tomlin said when asked about that heavy load the two were carrying, if any of the other defensive linemen deserved to play, he would play them. Ouch!

Well, Ricardo Mathews has shown that he deserves to play, So does third-round pick Javon Hargrave. And I’ve seen flashes here and there from youngsters L.T. Walton and Caushaud Lyons.

Mathews, in particular, was a revelation. Like Cam Thomas, the guy he is essentially replacing, Mathews comes over from the San Diego Chargers. Unlike Thomas, Mathews can actually play defensive end. Thomas was a nose tackle – where he was at least serviceable – masquerading as an end and it really showed his lack of athleticism. Mathews has no such issues. And he won’t be asked to play the nose.

• Landry Jones was better than Bruce Gradkowski even before Gradkowski went down with hamstring tear.

And Dustin Vaughan was pushing the veteran as well.

Some people are never going to change their opinion on Jones. But I’ve seen a lot of growth in him and if the Steelers have to play a game or two again this year with him at QB, with the weapons around him, he’ll be fine.

• Likewise, the Steelers have better depth at inside linebacker than I thought going into this camp. The team lost a lot in the offseason with Terrence Garvin and Sean Spence leaving in free agency.

If anything, however, the Steelers might now have too many good inside linebackers behind starters Lawrence Timmons and Ryan Shazier. Vince Williams is down about 15 pounds and still looks explosive. And I like what I’ve seen of veterans Steven Johnson and L.J. Fort. Throw in rookie Tyler Matakevich and you’ve got six good ones.

Maybe the Steelers can sneak Matakevich onto their practice squad. He is undersized, after all. But the other guys are all NFL linebackers.

• This team won’t miss Martavis Bryant as much as the pundits might think. Despite a bad few days last week, including the preseason opener, Sammie Coates is a playmaker. He’s better than what he showed last week by a long shot and should bounce back.

And Eli Rogers has emerged as a slot receiver nobody can seemingly cover. Add in the veteran trio of Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton and Darrius Heyward-Bey and you’ve got a nice, talented group.

• The same cannot be said of the tight ends. Ladarius Green is getting closer to being activated from the PUP list and he’ll help. I’m not a sky is falling guy on his availability. The guy played 10 games AFTER having the two concussions in September, so maybe, just maybe, his headache issues are sinus-related as he said in the spring.

He has been running around and catching passes, so he should get on the field at some point.

As for the rest of the tight ends, I’m not seeing a lot there. Jesse James and David Johnson are NFL players, but they are not starting-caliber NFL players.

As things stand now, however, the Steelers are going to have to lean on those guys.

Then again, how does this sound? A backfield of Le’Veon Bell and fullback Roosevelt Nix paired with Brown, Wheaton and Coates. If the defense comes out in a base look, one of those receivers is going to be covered by a safety or linebacker. Same goes for Bell. And if the defense goes to a nickel look, Bell can run all day against that behind one of the league’s best offensive lines.

• The secondary remains a concern. The Steelers came to camp with William Gay and Ross Cockrell at corner and Mike Mitchell and Robert Golden at safety. They’ll leave with those same guys entrenched, but who’s up next and who’s the nickel?

Rookie safety Sean Davis is getting the first opportunity in the slot because, well, he’s healthy.

The Steelers could insert first-round pick Artie Burns on the outside and slide Gay into the slot, but Burns missed a little over a week of practice, keeping him out of the first preseason game. We’ll see how he looks against the Eagles this week, but he was a guy who was going to need some polish. That hasn’t changed.

Doran Grant took a step forward in the preseason opener and I’m not even considering an interception he returned for a touchdown that I could have caught.

Grant was solid in his tackling, which is why the team looked at him at safety this week – the more you can do.

This secondary is going to be a work in progress. And who knows what happens if one of the starters goes down.

• Outside linebacker also became a concern as camp went on. Bud Dupree and Jarvis Jones both missed more than a week of practice and Anthony Chickillo suffered an ankle injury in the preseason opener.

That’s 3/5ths of the guys who will likely make the team at that position not on the field. That also leaves veterans James Harrison and Arthur Moats on the field a lot.

The Steelers came into this camp hoping Dupree, Jones or both would grab the reigns at that position and force the team to scrap its rotation at outside linebacker.

That can’t happen when they’re standing on the sideline.

• Finally, we have learned nothing regarding the possible suspension of Bell and now Harrison also is facing a suspension if he doesn’t sit down with Roger Goodell’s investigators in regards to a debunked report from a network that no longer even still exists.

Bell said Tuesday he still doesn’t have a date set with the league for his appeal of a possible suspension, while Harrison was informed Monday night if he doesn’t meet with league officials before Aug. 25, he’ll be suspended.

I have a feeling the league and Harrison will reach some kind of middle ground.

But the Steelers also have to be wondering what in the world is going on with Bell’s appeal. The season starts in a few weeks and this whole thing happened in March. How long should this take?