Steelers Question of the Week: 2008 Training Camp Battles

by SteveMeredith on Jul 13, 2008 12:01 PM EDT

The Steelers are lucky that they have some key positions on their roster already filled in as they head into training camp in late July. Still, there are some positions on the roster that could prove to have some very interesting battles attached to them. With that said, which position battle do you think is going to be the most interesting in this year's camp, and who do you think is going to win that battle?

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Hard time making up my mind

The most competitive:

Cornerback. Deshea vs. McFadden. Youth and skill vs age and treachery. I think McFadden wins which I also think would be best for the team. Deshea settles into role of nickel back where he can be particularly effective.

The most interesting:

Running back. Mendenhall vs. Moore vs. Russell. In particular how do things sort out with short yardage/goal line (Mendenhall or Russell); third down (Moore or Mendenhall). The continuing development of FWP might have a lot to do with how this pans out.

Right Tackle (O): Colon vs. Starks. Max gets his job back. He’s the better tackle. I don’t necessarily see Colon moving to guard. Particularly if Stapleton and Kemo develop well.

Free Safety. Clark vs. Smith. All depends upon Clark’’s health. He’s still the best complement to Troy. Troy’s health and the development of Mundy could be factors as well.

Center. Mahan vs. Hartwig vs. Stapleton. Probably Hartwig. Possibly Stapleton. Hopefully not Mahan. Stapleton could be in the mix at guard as well.

Fifth receiver/return specialist. Reid vs. Baker vs. Bloom vs. Holmes vs. Moore, etc., etc.

The most interesting position battle of all of course is the one that is on no one’s radar. The one we don’t expect because a rookie or veteran performs far above expectation in camp. Just imagine if we’re enthralled with Davis, Hills, Nate Washington, Mundy, Spaeth? That’s the one I’m looking for.

by Ivan Cole (RickVa) on Jul 13, 2008 3:54 PM EDT reply actions

battles

The 2 most interesting battles I can think of will be Foote vs. Timmons and Sweed vs. Washington.

Starks vs. Colon isn’t going to be any kind of true competition, neither will Mahan vs. Hartwig.

the rest will be backup battles, like who will back up troy when he goes down, etc…

by 36chambers on Jul 13, 2008 4:05 PM EDT reply actions

Foote vs Timmons

will be the most interesting to me. Foote knows the defense, but Timmons is freakishly athletic. I think Timmons wins it.

McFadden vs Townsend is another battle worth watching. McFadden prime for a breakout year, now having a couple years under his belt. Townsend on the downslide but still effective. I dont think starter and backup really matters when it comes to these two anyways. It seems like they both got on the field the same amount.

I hope like hell that Clark is healthy enough to return to form, because well….Smith sucks. Same goes for Hartwig over Mahan. If i see Mahan on the field im going to lose it.

by SteelerDomination on Jul 13, 2008 5:07 PM EDT reply actions

I like the CB battle

Deshea is coming off probaby his best season (see the FO fanpost) and McFadden has shown he is talented and is very focused on getting the starting spot. Are we 100% sure Ike’s job is safe? I’m just saying…

by BadMaafala on Jul 13, 2008 7:07 PM EDT reply actions

LB Battle

I’m excited about the possibility of Lawrence Timmons beating out Larry Foote at the inside LB spot.
Foote has been a solid contributor even if undersized. He has heart. He always reminded me of a Jerry Olsavsky type player. Jerry O was a solid LB during the early 90’s but undersized and over shadowed by Kevin Greene, Greg Lloyd, Chad Brown and Levon Kirkland.
If as advertised, Timmons has the potential to be so much more. He reminds me of another 90’s LB, Kendrell Bell. With the solid Farrior surrounded by play makers the Steelers LB corps could be a strength in 08.

When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen

by 5020 on Jul 13, 2008 11:02 PM EDT reply actions

I think the above comments said it all

Foote vs. Timmons will be the worth the price of admission and worth keeping an eye on all preseason.

McFadden vs. Townsend should be the final year that Townsend is a starter if McFadden can manage to stay healthy.

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on Jul 14, 2008 10:27 AM EDT reply actions

Is Foote vs. Timmons even necessarily going to be a battle?

I’ll start by saying that I agree with 5020 above on Foote. As far as this season goes, howevever, will there even necessarily be a battle for starter? Given that Timmons is still developing (and, from what I’ve seen, has some decent potential), could we be looking at a situation where over the course of season, Timmons starts to gradually take over as opposed to dropping him in there outright in the first few weeks? Maybe one or the other will technically be the “starter,” but could the “experience versus athleticism” debate result in each of them possibly playing about half the time, depending on the situation, with the hopes of making the full transition next season?

by HinesField on Jul 14, 2008 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions

agree with you here

This seems to be the way it may play out, with all the newer guys, they may beat the incumbents out during the season, but look for whomever has a better understanding of the system to start at the beginning of the season.

by tkired on Jul 16, 2008 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Special Teams and Interior OL

Rick touched on it, but, what I think will be most interesting for me is to see if anyone steps up on STs. Particularly, will Marion or Bloom step up as a KR? And, will Keyaron Fox become the STs ace we’ve been needing on coverage units?

After that, who will step up and play respectable at Center and the two Guard positions? I think if we shore up those areas, we’ll have a formidable team this year and for the foreseeable future.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Jul 14, 2008 3:58 PM EDT reply actions

these being our weaknesses

at least, the biggest ones from last year, these battles are most interesting to me. not to mention my desire to see kemo and stapleton, and the rest of the youngins develop and play on sundays.

by tkired on Jul 16, 2008 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions