A look back at the Steelers week that was: OTA Anticipation Edition

BTSC continues their recap of the past week’s events for our readers. But where they went wrong was asking the one narcissistic writer that would put a bizarre spin on it to do it. So let’s all take a look at a BAD week in the Burgh together.

Monday 5/24

• On the eve of the OTAs, jockstraps were hung by lockers with care with the knowledge that key veterans were already there.
• One guy not expected to be at OTAs was Cam Heyward. This was due to being the player rep for the Pittsburgh franchise. In my starter marriage, my ex tried to get out of marriage counseling for that very same reason.
• In an interview on Ross Tucker’s podcast, Cassius Marsh talked about being on eight teams in seven NFL seasons. (Insert a joke about your ex here). I have to say I’m excited about Cassius on special teams and as depth on the edge. His claim that the Steelers are different from most teams because they try to get their best players on the field was interesting. The Pokemon King followed up that statement by saying, “That’s actually very rare”.

Tuesday 5/25

• I found it very amusing that reporters at Steelers OTAs loop-holed the mandate that they could not report on who attended and who did not by using pictures and videos. 75% of the players reported and Cam Heyward, who was not expected to show due to reasons stated above, noted that they all should be here throughout the week. I get, sometimes I show up places fashionably late just to make an entrance. Maybe that’s what JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson did. Oops! Forget that I mentioned their names.
• The excitement surrounding Najee Harris was justified when the first-rounder looked like the real deal, especially with a one-handed grab. It’s kind of like the anticipation every week for this article. Then you read it and that ends quicker than Chris Rainey’s career. Unlike Harris, I did not sign a deal for a guaranteed $13.1 million on Tuesday.
• Pat Freiermuth signed his rookie deal as well on Tuesday. Only Kendrick Green remains to put his Herbie Hancock on the dotted line.
• After rumors surfaced on ESPN that the Steelers were favorites to sign free agent Russell Okung, the veteran OT cited that Pittsburgh couldn’t afford him and that he only accepts bitcoin. That sounds like my situation here at BTSC. SB Nation only pays me with skee ball tickets from Chuck E. Cheese.

Wednesday 5/26

• Kevin Dotson is being tabbed as a future leader of the Steelers. We know about his stellar play, but his mic work is receiving praise as well. Dotson made Steeler Nation feel encouraged about the promotion of Adrian Klemm as OL coach by saying “I feel like there is a little more intensity. There is more aggression even the way we come off the blocks. Even the verbiage he uses in meetings is way more aggressive. Not just saying ‘get the blocks,’ but ‘run through his face.’ He is using more aggressive terms and I feel like that pushes our mindset in that way”.
• Former G Ramon Foster blasted Pro Football Focus when they posted a picture of Ben Roethlisberger tossing a short pass to Najee Harris by captioning it with “Big Ben practicing his deep ball”. It was clearly a shot at Ben’s age and arm strength. Foster was having none of that. “I mean…this is why players always come at y’all neck. I get the joke but y’all ain’t in the joking business. Y’all are in stats and facts. You made a public joke about a guy you grade weekly and your subscribers take your grades serious most times. Carry on though.”, Foster tweeted. Mark Kaboly followed with a defense of No. 7 as well with ”I saw him throw a couple of 55-plus yard bombs the past couple of days right on the money. I would tweet that but I’m not allowed to.”

Thursday 5/27

• A lot of us here at BTSC have been anxious waiting to see injury status reports regarding the recovery of both Devin Bush Jr. and Zach Banner. In OTA videos and photos from Steelers.com, both No. 55 and No. 72 look to be in tremendous shape, Bush’s mobility, for instance, looked phenomenal. In related news, my turf toe injury suffered from a fall down the steps before the Wild Card Game is improving daily and my dachshunds report me looking in great game shape too.

Friday 5/28

• Chase Claypool, the Steelers second-year wide receiver told TMZ how cool it would be for the Steelers to trade for disgruntled Atlanta Falcon All-Pro Julio Jones. “We’re stacked,” Claypool said. “But you can never get too many superstars.” As awesome as that would be, it’s very unlikely to happen. But not to worry Chase, you’ll get to see Julio twice a season when he ends up landing in Baltimore after Eric DeCosta snags him for a fifth rounder, a bushel of crabs and a can of Old Bay.
• Tyson Alualu had high praise for a guy that Steeler Nation has, for some unjustifiable reason, been very skeptical of. Alualu, while adressing the media last week, said of fifth-rounder Isaiahh Loudermilk that he’s a combination of Cam Heyward and Chris Wormley and complimented the DL from Wisconsin’s aggressiveness. I, myself, was once described as a combination of Cam from Modern Family and Chris Farley with great aggressiveness around a buffet.

Saturday 5/29

• I’m saddened to learn of the deaths of two entertainment legends, B.J. Thomas and Gavin McCleod. Thomas, gone at 78, was best known for the legendary song from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” spent four weeks at No. 1 as was the first chart-topper of the 1970s. B.J. also sang “As Long As We Got Each Other”, the theme from the ABC 1980s sitcom Growing Pains. Speaking of TV theme songs, it’s impossible to hear the theme from The Love Boat without thinking of Captain Stubing. The actor that made that role famous was the incomparable Gavin McCleod. But I loved him most as Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Many don’t think of McCleod as one of the all-time great actors, but to me he was an incredible presence on great shows. Gavin McCleod was 90.

This was the significant week that was for the Steelers, mixed-in with my black-and-gold loving life. I’m sure next week will be full of Steelers happenings as well, so we’ll have to do this again. Have a great week, but better yet have a BAD one.