Steelers Inside the Ropes: Chris Boswell perfect in first camp test, albeit an easy one

Chris Boswell kicked his first live field goals of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp Saturday. But it wasn’t yet an example of the “pressure” coach Mike Tomlin intended to put on his troubled kicker.

Like the rookie signed to compete with him, Boswell made all eight of his field goal attempts during Day 2 of camp at Saint Vincent. All of the kicks but one was from between 27-34 yards — Boswell’s final one was good from 37 yards at the left hash — and only half had blockers and stand-in rushers.

There were no known stakes, either.

“We just got started today,” Tomlin said of his kicking competition. “We didn’t kick from great distances. They’ll be plenty of opportunity for those guys to distinguish themselves.”

Incumbent holder/punter Jordan Berry served as holder for Boswell. Rookie punter Ian Berryman held for Matthew Wright, the rookie kicker from UCF.

Special teams coach Danny Smith yelled, “Nice shot” after every kick. His only angst during the drill was once when Berryman lined up at the wrong spot.

“We might not have a timeout to use!” Smith yelled at him.

After the 16th consecutive successful kick into the hillside where fans gathered beyond the west goalposts at Chuck Noll Field, a satisfied Tomlin exclaimed, “Good work, men. Hit the horn!”

• Day 2 provided little additional clarity on the division of labor between the Steelers’ three starting inside linebackers. Again, the only constant was rookie Devin Bush being the lone ILB to stay on the field when the Steelers went to a six-defensive backs package. But just like the first practice of camp Friday, all three combinations of Bush, Vince Williams and Mark Barron played as duos in the middle of the defense during team drills. In a telling display, three of the first four snaps of seven shots that featured the first-team defense used two inside linebackers. And all three combinations were used: Barron-Williams, followed by Barron-Bush and then Bush-Williams. All three pairings were used again later during team drills.

• The defense once again won seven shots, 4-3. This time, the first-teamers split their four reps, with Ben Roethlisberger hitting a wide-open JuJu Smith-Schuster (who had run past Sean Davis) on the first snap and a Roethlisberger audible into a sneak up the middle against a dime look on Snap 2. Xavier Grimble couldn’t connect with Roethlisberger in the back of the end zone on the third snap, and although Smith-Schuster made a nice catch over Joe Haden in the corner on Snap 4, he was ruled out of bounds.

• Like Josh Dobbs did Friday, Mason Rudolph struggled in leading the second-teamers. He was “sacked” by Ola Adeniyi after holding onto the ball too long on the sixth seven shot, and Rudolph misfired toward Diontae Johnson because of an apparent miscommunication on the final snap. His only score was hitting Kevin Rader at the goal line on his first snap, with Rader muscling into the end zone as Tyler Matakevich and Marcus Allen tried to push him out.

• Johnson continued to be largely invisible at practice, the third-round pick noticeable more for his drops or missed connections than for receptions. The best receiver named “Dionate” through two days has been CFL star Spencer and not Johnson. Spencer had two nice plays in one 11-on-11 session, once beating Artie Burns for a long touchdown, another time putting a nice move on Herb Waters for a catch.

• Donte Moncrief continues to stand out and seems to have established a quick rapport and trust with Roethlisberger. Two of the first three snaps of the first 11-on-11 drill were completed passes to Moncrief, who had two more catches within a 15-minute or so span of practice.

• Tegray Scales had a tipped interception of Dobbs. Scales is repping as an inside linebacker alongside Matakevich with the second-team defense.

• The first team-practice punting drills featuring boots from Berry and Berryman included returners Eli Rogers, Ryan Switzer, Spencer and Johnson.

• Fashion statement update of camp: Rookie Sutton Smith looks like a throwback from the 1980s wearing short black shorts, white shoes and high white socks. A sixth-round pick, Smith has been playing third-team outside linebacker. He hasn’t been seen at inside linebacker or fullback, other positions he played in OTAs.

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