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Just a couple highlights that stood out to me:

Whole Article

Sunday, 3:25 p.m. (Steelers camp, Latrobe, Pa.) And now for something completely different -- Mike Shanahan on the sidelines of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. The sight was so strange on Saturday that defensive player of the year James Harrison went over to coach Mike Tomlin early in practice and said something like, Hey, you aren't going to let the Broncos coach in to watch our practice, are you? News travels slowly up here, I guess.

Shanahan, traveling with his presumptive defensive coordinator of the future, Bob Slowik, will visit five teams for three or four days apiece this summer, the one year he'll be away from coaching. From here he goes to New England, Houston, Arizona and the University of Florida, where he'll get his first close look at Urban Meyer's spread.

Oh, Shanahan will be back in coaching in 2010. You can be sure of that. Until then, he'll study programs and sites. Here, he loves the Pittsburgh 3-4, the underrated defensive ends and the absolute flatline qualities Pittsburgh has as a franchise. On the field with Slowik before this afternoon's practice, Shanahan was eating up the sights and traditions of the Steelers. "You look at things that are important for a franchise, and continuity is right up there. They've had three coaches [since 1969], and what teams have been more successful? No one. The whole staff's been intact on defense, I think for six years or more. They've won six Super Bowls. Then you look around this place. Beautiful. And it's all Steelers. Players can walk from their dorm to practice to film study to the dining hall. I think it has to be the best camp sites in the league, doesn't it? All of it adds up."

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Ray Rice made the best offensive play I saw all week. Circling out of the backfield into the right flat, he reached for a Joe Flacco pass thrown high and caught it one-handed, with the nose of the lasered ball nestling against the palm of his right glove. Rice never put his other hand on it. Happened so fast. For that reason and many others, I would not be surprised if Rice beats out Willis McGahee for the starting job.

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I think if you'd been with me Sunday in Latrobe, you'd have seen why the Steelers are so good, and why the R word -- repeat -- is on the mind of a few of their fans. With third-team units on the field at the end of team drills, Dennis Dixon led the offense downfield until the ball lay at the two-yard line. James Harrison, who was sitting in the end zone, stood up to encourage the defense, and James Farrior ran from the sidelines to the end zone to do the same. "Get us off the field, D!!!'' Harrison yelled. "We be foaming at the mouth today!!!'' And when the offense scored on an end sweep, the defenders were angry. I mean, angry. "I feel violated,'' said Ike Taylor. As Santonio Holmes said later, it's why they're good. One of the reasons, anyway.

Reading that article it is a far cry from cRAC's Camp Cupcake that we have seen for the last few years... It is scary that Pitt looks so fluid on day two of TC and we are still going through the adjustments... Guess that is what happens when you have such a high turnover rate with coaches and systems..

I like what I am reading so far from the posters that have been to our TC thusfar as well as the articles... We still have a ways to go to give Pitt a run for their money but I think but the gap is FINALLY shrinking... The FIRST step in the right direction was FINALLY getting rid of Mr. "players coach."

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And now for something completely different -- Mike Shanahan on the sidelines of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. The sight was so strange on Saturday that defensive player of the year James Harrison went over to coach Mike Tomlin early in practice and said something like, Hey, you aren't going to let the Broncos coach in to watch our practice, are you? News travels slowly up here, I guess.

Shanahan, traveling with his presumptive defensive coordinator of the future, Bob Slowik, will visit five teams for three or four days apiece this summer, the one year he'll be away from coaching. From here he goes to New England, Houston, Arizona and the University of Florida, where he'll get his first close look at Urban Meyer's spread.

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I was wondering what he was doing there on Saturday...when we first saw him, I thought for sure he must be his twin brother.

He was also at the Patriots camp. Maybe he's trying to learn how to execute th 3-4 defense better?

he's gonna come back to coaching next year and implement the Spread O with a 3-4 defense

Oh hooray.

... So that's what a super bowl ring looks like? Ugh.

okay steelhack... you are pretty cool and all...

but that post .. it doesn't belong on a dawgtalkers board... it belongs on a Steeler board..

I'd rather read smack than a heartfelt post like that...

Please have a heartfelt who cares.

hack,, don't even worry about it,, we all know you are a cool dude (for a steeler fan anyway).....

Besides, if the fans of the Browns want to see what a winner looks like, they needn't look any further than about 140 miles southeast.

That part about how starters were encouraging 3rd stringers says a bunch about the type of team environment the steelers have..

I think it's to be admired.. (as hard as that is to swallow)

A couple of tid-bits this week on the Browns…

First there is this...

4:05 p.m. Sunday (Browns Family Day, Cleveland, Ohio): If autograph-signing won quarterback jobs,
Brady Quinn would be a Hall of Famer. Now. For 65 minutes, he signed for the crowd of 14,000 attending the Brown-White Scrimmage at Cleveland Browns Stadium, and when he got back to the locker room after the scrimmage, most of his teammates were gone.

Nothing decided today in the scrimmage. Quinn threw a gorgeous, early touchdown, but still looks to have accuracy issues, and Derek Anderson threw a bad interception to D'Qwell Jackson at the goal line, ruining one drive.
I told Quinn he didn't look as frenetic in and around the pocket as he'd looked the last two years.
Being frenetic doesn't help a quarterback be great; just ask Kyle Boller. Quinn told me he spent part of the offseason looking at all of Brady's 599 pass-drops in the 2007 season, trying to get a feel for his footwork and pocket presence.
Good idea, and it's showing. Quinn looks calmer, which is good, and he's sucking in the knowledge from new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, formerly with the Patriots, on all things Brady.

The Browns, however, were the first team I've been around this summer that I just didn't get a good vibe from. The players are still feeling out Eric Mangini, and more than a few think he's working them too hard.
Well, the Browns were 4-12 last year, fired the coach and GM, and need a new sheriff. That's what Mangini is trying to be.

Then we have this cherry…

Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me II
I learned exclusively Sunday that Eric Mangini had the stomach flu on the day he interviewed with Cleveland owner Randy Lerner for the Browns' coaching job last November.
He felt queasy on the drive to Lerner's Long Island home, and had to have his driver and brother-in-law pull over a couple of blocks from the house so he could throw up, twice.
During a break in the meeting, Mangini used the bathroom and threw up a third time. And during the second half of the meeting, he asked Lerner to hold that thought ... while he threw up a fourth time.

That's what I call playing hurt.

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The players are still feeling out Eric Mangini, and more than a few think he's working them too hard.

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As far as I’m concerned, the ONLY player that has ANY business feeling like they are being worked to hard is Mack. And while I sympathize, (It can’t be any picnic going against Rodgers every day) it’s likely for his own good…

That will help Mack a lot because he has to go against Casey Hampton twice and Nagta twice.

Welcome to the bigs rookie!!!

Rather them be worked too hard than not hard enough.

If we are going to have injuries, then I'd rather the backups be ready by having put in the work rather than just doing whatever the hell it was that Romeo did in his camps.

It will help him or kill him that’s for sure…

I remember back in 99 when Tim Couch asked the front office if he could buy one of the film machines to help him study… I think Mack should seriously consider pricing out the hot and cold tubs…

Can someone please go back and look at the roster's and injury reports from the RAC era? You might find that when we did have the tough practices, we lost several starters. Then look at the rosters and look at what replaced those starters! We did not and really do not now have alot of quality backups! And think about it, what was the first thing Mangini did when he arrived, signed a BUNCH of players to add depth!!

J/K

Something I found intresting, I realize thiers a fine line between over doing contact and causing injuries. But we all complained about our D being soft, players being soft, players cant tackle, ect. We can go into a season with all fresh players no injuries, but our guys are gonna be soft, or we can go into the seasaon with some injuries, it is a contact sport, thier gonna happen but our guys will be tuff, & use to tackling, Yes thiers a line thier, but I dont know how to gage it, hopefully Mangini does, Teams dont get tuff when all they do is walk thrus, teams get tuff from hard work and hitting, teams get good at tackling form tackling, I dont buy into they know how to tackle they've been doing it all thier lifes, well QB have been throwing passes all thier lives, too but they still need to throw passes to get timing, defenders are no diffrent, the more you tackle the better you get. Yes lets not over do it an lets be smart on when we do it, but I'm tired of soft defences and defenders that can tackle.

Just my .02

I will say that I really like King's stuff. And, he could be dead on about us.

That being said, I have often wondered if he has a crush on Rooney or something. The guy just loves the steelers.

Now, maybe they deserve it. But when I see him question us, I just have a tough time taking it to heart.

injuries happen.

Hell, people get injured taking a missed step off a curb every day. People twist an ankle running across a parking lot to their car. Legs get broken slipping on a step. Fingers get shut in car doors .... hands get knicked and cut .....

That's just every day life.

LeCharles Bentley was injured during the 1st 11 on 11 drills of the season a few years ago. They weren't even in full pads.

Injuries just happen sometimes, no matter how careful, and how easy or hard a camp is.