Chris Adamski stories, Page 146
For 3rd time in 7 days, Steelers make Sutton Smith/Darin Hall roster-move swap
The former Xavier Grimble locker in an almost-hidden corner of the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room has consistently been home to a No. 42 over the past week. The man occupying it, though, has been revolving. The Steelers re-signed linebacker Sutton Smith to their practice squad Tuesday, releasing running back Darrin...
Penguins notes: Power play gets practice time, Mike Sullivan OK with Matt Murray workload
Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was asked his assessment of how the power play looked during Monday’s practice. “Well… it’s, uhh… I don’t know how to respond to that,” Sullivan said after the session at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. “We scored some goals. So that’s progress, you know?”...
Penguins unconcerned with spate of recent early deficits
Three games over six days, three early deficits for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Is falling behind 3-0 in road games last week at the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders, and 2-0 at home Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks, indicative of mere circumstance and bad luck? Or indicative of a bad...
Jared McCann slots into injured Sidney Crosby’s role as Penguins’ 1st-line center
Jared McCann said “no” not once, not twice, but three times. The Pittsburgh Penguins 23-year-old center wanted no part of viewing his recent promotion to the top line to be translated that he was taking over the role of Sidney Crosby. “No, no … No,” McCann said after practice Monday...
Sidney Crosby will miss at least 1 game, not on trip with PenguinsVideo
The season is less than six weeks old, and already the Pittsburgh Penguins have played stretches without more than half their projected forward lineup and multiple games without multiple possible future Hall of Famers. But the unfortunate injury news Penguins players heard Monday was different. This time, it was regarding...
James Washington a standout for Steelers on day little else worked on offenseVideo
During his 228-word opening statement following his team’s defensively-inspired win Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin mentioned just one of his players by name for a non-injury reason. It wasn’t the two-takeaway Minkah Fitzpatrick, nor the two-sack T.J. Watt. It wasn’t the starting quarterback, either. “I really thought,” Tomlin said,...
Chuks Okorafor starting at right tackle for Steelers vs. Rams; JuJu Smith-Schuster active
It’s official. The Pittsburgh Steelers have shuffled their starting offensive line for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. The team announced that second-year Chuks Okorafor is making his second career start on the offensive line. After not playing a snap all season, Okorafor was named the starting right tackle....
Quietly and without credit, QB Mason Rudolph guiding Steelers to wins
He’s the interim starting quarterback for a team that hasn’t lost a game in more than a month. Individually, he has lost only one game he has started and finished in his career — and that was seven weeks ago. The Pittsburgh Steelers are on a four-game winning streak, with...
Four Downs: Mason Rudolph at his best when Steelers protect him
1.Feeling pressure The Pittsburgh Steelers have done a good job of protecting their young quarterback. It’s a good thing, too, because Mason Rudolph has struggled when he hasn’t been protected. According to data compiled by Pro Football Focus, Rudolph has the worst passer rating while under pressure (37.8) of any...
Steelers defense embraces pressure of ‘being reason why we win’
It was four years ago a Pittsburgh Steelers offense, featuring a litany of Pro Bowl talents and multiple future Hall of Famers, publicly pledged its goal to score 30 points per game. On Thursday, Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler made a similar declaration. “My thing is,” Butler said, “if we...
Matt Feiler appears set to start at left guard for Steelers, Chuks Okorafor at right tackle
During Chuks Okorafor’s first NFL start last season, his duties included blocking a player who finished tied for fourth in the league in sacks. About a year later, it appears his second NFL start will come against the player led the league in sacks. Okorafor confirmed he took first-team reps...
James Conner out for Steelers vs. Rams; Trey Edmunds, Tyson Alualu will play
As expected, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be without three members of their backfield for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. Starting running back James Conner (shoulder), backup Benny Snell (knee) and fullback Roosevelt Nix (knee) were all ruled out on the team’s official injury report released Friday. Snell has...
Foot injury leaves Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster as questionable vs. Rams
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was designated as questionable to play in Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams on the official injury report the team released Friday. Smith-Schuster was listed as limited in Friday’s practice because of a foot injury that had not previously been acknowledged by the...
Steelers’ Ulysees Gilbert takes injury-aided end to rookie year in strideVideo
Ulysees Gilbert showed enough promise during his rookie training camp and preseason that the Pittsburgh Steelers kept him on their 53-man active roster all season. That’s no small feat for a sixth-round pick. But for all the promise Gilbert showed, and for the value he brought as the Steelers’ most-utilized...
Steelers linebacker Robert Spillane hopes to stand out after being added to rosterVideo
Injury forced the Pittsburgh Steelers to swap out players who fill one of their most prominent special-teams roles. Rookie Ulysees Gilbert was placed on injured reserve this week because of a back ailment, so Robert Spillane was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Each is an inside...
Draft pick Sutton Smith back with Steelers, eager to show what he can doVideo
Sutton Smith never again will get a second chance to make his first NFL impression. But performing with a torn oblique made that impression increasingly difficult for Smith during his rookie training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “It gets tougher and tougher to make a squad every day when it’s...
Tony Brooks-James eager to make a run at improving Steelers kick-return gameVideo
The Steelers have one of the worst kickoff return units in the NFL. Could a change be coming? Rookie running back Tony Brooks-James said practiced as a returner and would welcome the opportunity in a game. The speedy Brooks-James returned kicks for Oregon. As a senior, he averaged 26.1 yards...
Emphasis on takeaways paying off for Steelers defense
Talk to a handful of Pittsburgh Steelers defensive players. There will be at least two primary takeaways about their abundance of takeaways: • Creating turnovers was heavily stressed throughout the summer and preseason • Fumbles and interceptions can be contagious As for the latter, the proof is in the results....
Mason Rudolph again recovers from slow start to lead Steelers to winVideo
For the third consecutive game he started and finished, Mason Rudolph guided the Pittsburgh Steelers to a victory. For a second-year quarterback with no NFL regular-season experience before seven weeks ago, that’s been good enough. “I think, as me being at the helm, we’ve gotten better and have shown growth,”...
Jaylen Samuels sets Steelers record for catches by a running back in win
In his first game in almost a month, Jaylen Samuels caught a pass during the Pittsburgh Steelers first possession Sunday. He added another catch on their second drive, too. And during their third possession, he had three more. Samuels was well on his way to a historic receiving day for...
Trey Edmunds steps out of shadow of brother for Steelers in victoryVideo
Anyone in a friendly sibling rivalry with a brother or sister who is too athletic, too pretty or too smart can relate. Even during his best game as an NFL player, Trey Edmunds was Marcia Brady-d by the league. The NFL’s official social media accounts sent out notifications that the...
Colts’ Jacoby Brissett provides blueprint for Steelers’ QB planVideo
When a franchise quarterback retires, NFL franchises can spend years worth of draft, intellectual, financial and developmental capital searching for his replacement. The Indianapolis Colts appear to have done it without using significant resources, as Jacoby Brissett has emerged as a quality starter. Heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Colts,...
Steelers release Donte Moncrief, promote practice-squad running backVideo
The tenure is over for what will go down as one of the worst free-agent signings in Pittsburgh Steelers history. Veteran receiver Donte Moncrief was released Saturday, less than eight months after signing a two-year, $9 million contract to, in part, replace Antonio Brown. A 6-foot-2 and with good speed,...
Four Downs: Lack of big plays against suggest Steelers secondary becoming a ‘no fly zone’Video
1. No fly zone? After being the target for fan scorn — and salivating opposing quarterbacks — for the better part of a decade, the Pittsburgh Steelers secondary quietly is building a resume worthy of one of the better pass defenses in the NFL. The full-season statistics are, at worst,...
Confident Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster: ‘I’m always open’
A mediocre four-game stretch that was his least productive in the NFL since breaking out midway through his rookie season? It did little to diminish the confidence of JuJu Smith-Schuster. “When it’s one-on-one, man-to-man, it may seem like I’m not open, but I’m always open,” the Pittsburgh Steelers top wide...
