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Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Recap: Friday Night Lights Edition

The Steelers continued their tradition of having a Friday Night Lights practice, getting on yellow school buses and arriving at Latrobe Stadium for an evening workout in front of fans.

By Dani Bostick
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Steelers Play 'Seven Snaps,' Defense Comes out on Top

Before we get too excited that the struggling defense beat our blazing hot offense, keep in mind that Ben Roethlisberger only played one period of the drill. Who was at the helm for the rest of Seven Snaps? Why, it was Landry Jones.

Here is an accounting of the seven snaps:

1) Landry Jones botches a pass to Antonio Brown.

2) Landry Jones connects with Jesse James for a touchdown even though Antwon Blake was on his A-game.

3) And he does it again! This time the offense scored off of a Jones pass to Antonio Brown.

4) Tyler Murphy hands the ball off to DeAngelo Williams who scores.

5) Sean Spence bats down a Tyler Murphy pass intended for TE Cameron Clear.

6) Safety Alden Darby and others teamed up to prevent touch down after Murphy connected with TE Rob Blanchflower.

7) Josh Harris almost scores, but is stopped by the defense.

Also related to the defense, the Steelers used Cover 2 again today, a technique Mike Tomlin personally coached earlier in the week. They also mixed in some Cover 3, which was common in 2014.

Good News

Mike Tomlin was pleased with the workout today saying, "Good practice. Loved teh energy and the enthusiasm and the competition... Intensity is a big element in some of these scripted situations that we put the guys in.

Lots of buzz on rookie FB Roosevelt Nix who went undrafted out of Kent State. Today he managed to beat Jarvis Jones and level Sean Smith. Great for Nix. Cause for concern when it comes to Jones? Probably too early to make any assessments, although Triblive.com reported that Alejandro Villanueva "threw Jones to the ground and jumped on top of him." Yikes.

Sixth-round draft pick Anthony Chickillo, who lost weight during the offseason, has also made an impression so far. Of Chickillo's performance, Tomlin said, "Good work." Former Steelers player and current broadcaster Tunch Ilkin said on Steelers Nation Radio, "You would think that first round pick was Anthony Chickillo." High praise.

Vince Williams "stole the show" during today's backs on backers drills according to Chris Adamski and Mark Kaboly of Triblive.com. Same source noted that Cameron Stingily "struggled."

Selected Injuries and Players Taking the Night Off

Older players James Harrison, Will Allen, and Heath Miller did not practice tonight. Gerod Holliman was out with a lower leg injury. Let's hope its not serious. Also of note, Maurkice Pouncey is still on the PUP list. Let's hope he will bounce back soon.

Tomlin is attempting to ensure the long-term health of his defensive players by adding extra conditioning to their schedule. Tomlin explained, via Steelers.com, "Soft tissue injuries are usually related to fatigue or dehydration. You have to stay ahead of it from a conditioning standpoint."

Miscellany

Steelers arriving to Friday Night Lights on school buses. Awesome.

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