As the preseason starts in earnest, here are some observations from trainings camps.
STEELERS CAMP
LATROBE, Pa. -- Nobody has much idea of what to expect from the new kickoff rule. Coaches across the league were like everyone else -- they watched the Hall of Fame Game to get a first look at how the NFL's "dynamic kickoff" model will work. They didn't see much more than a snapshot, and Danny Smith, the Steelers' special teams coordinator, doesn't think they will in the preseason, because special teams coaches -- like their colleagues who coordinate offenses and defenses -- won't want to reveal any wrinkles until the games count. Subtle tweaks to the rule could still happen before the regular season begins, but head coach Mike Tomlin expects the biggest decisions of the next few weeks will be which players to use on the return and kicking teams.
"How many and where do you play your big people, and what's their impact on the play?" Tomlin said Sunday. "What really does the returner look like -- is he a running back? It looks like a running back. In real time, when it hits, the nature of the play looks like something geared to a running back type as opposed to a WR type."
The new setup is designed to make kickoff returns safer, by reducing the speed of collisions between the kicking team and the return team. Because nobody but the kicker and returners can move before the ball hits the ground in the landing zone, Smith has been timing how long it will take the coverage team to get down the field if the Steelers skip the ball into the landing zone. Is it 1.3 seconds? 1.8? How much ground can they cover? With balls kicked along the ground, there will be much less separation, while balls kicked in the air will feature more.
"We're in such close proximity that what you're looking for is, who are the people who can shed a block and take up space?" Smith said. "You talk about athletic defensive linemen, tight ends, linebackers get off blocks for a living. I'm looking for those guys."
Smith watched how the XFL's similar kickoffs evolved throughout the course of the season -- he said they were not very good early and then got better, a dynamic he expects will repeat itself in the NFL, although he thinks improvement will come more quickly because of the quality of players.
Smith waited until officials were present at Steelers practices before he worked on the new kickoff. One immediate takeaway they conveyed to him: Their positioning on the field during a kickoff might have to change, because they didn't have good sightlines.
Wilson working his way back: Russell Wilson has slowly gotten more involved in Steelers training camp practices after suffering a calf strain to open his first camp with the team -- on Sunday, he threw his first pass in 11-on-11 work -- but Tomlin is not rushing to get Wilson on the field quickly, even though Wilson is clearly antsy to get going.
"For us, and for me particularly, it's important I proceed with caution," Tomlin said Sunday. "I'm new to that guy. I've got to get to know him in the midst of it. I don't want any steps backwards. It's a small annoyance right now; I can't allow a small problem to become a big problem. He's an athlete. He's a competitor. He can't wait to show us what he can do. So it's my job to protect him from him. I don't take that lightly."
Tomlin has repeatedly said Wilson is in the pole position for the starting job, but his injury has allowed Justin Fields to work much more than expected with the first team. That, of course, has been a boon for Fields' adjustment to the Steelers and getting to know weapons like receiver George Pickens and tight end Pat Freiermuth, who is an emerging leader for the franchise. But with a month until the regular season starts, Tomlin is not yet publicly allowing for the possibility that Fields has closed the gap with Wilson.
"We've got a long way to go in this process," Tomlin said. "We haven't even stepped into a stadium yet."
(On Wednesday, when explaining that Fields will play in Friday's preseason game against the Texans while Wilson will not, Tomlin reiterated that Wilson is the QB1 on his depth chart.)
If there is a silver lining to Wilson's absence, it is that Fields has given the Steelers defense a long look at a mobile quarterback as they prepare themselves for similarly-skilled quarterbacks they will face in the regular season -- like Baltimore's Lamar Jackson. Tomlin has liked having that element of preparation going all the way back to when the Steelers had Dennis Dixon on the roster, from 2008 to 2011.
COMMANDERS CAMP
ASHBURN, Va. -- How much have things changed for the Washington Commanders? There were hundreds of people lined up in brutal heat to get into practice on Tuesday, more than an hour before the gates even opened. That's a far cry from just two seasons ago, when, as one member of the franchise put it, "we had 20 people with lawn chairs" at training camp.
No NFL team has undergone such a radical, and badly needed, makeover as the Commanders. The new owners, a group led by Josh Harris, took over just as the 2023 season was beginning, replacing Dan Snyder, who was so reviled by his own fan base that they simply stayed away. There will soon be a new team president, and there is already a new general manager (Adam Peters), head coach (Dan Quinn) and quarterback (Jayden Daniels, who is listed as QB1 on the unofficial depth chart and will start the preseason opener). And in a more-than-symbolic moment, new rolls of grass were being put down where an old, long-dormant artificial turf field had stood for years.
"Honestly, it's been amazing to see the city revitalized, the players, the energy, everything is so different, and it's all for the better," said defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, who is entering his eighth season with the franchise, under his fourth head coach. "Night and day difference between this year and previous years."
Allen is giddy about the energy Quinn and his staff have brought.
"These are the types of coaches I want to play for the rest of my career, I truly believe that," he said. "And I haven't even played a game for them yet."
It has not gone unnoticed that veteran players want to be in Washington again, instead of avoiding it, as they did during its lowest moments.
"When you've got Bobby Wagner and guys from Dallas who want to come over to their rivals to play for this coaching staff, that says a lot," Allen said.
Daniels' early play should only encourage more of that. Quinn has declined to anoint him the regular-season starter so far, but on Tuesday, Quinn said Daniels had exceeded the high expectations he had for him as camp began, in terms of his command of the offense, and Quinn has noticed players gravitating to Daniels.
Zach Ertz is apparently not done. Signed this spring for his 12th NFL season, the 33-year-old Ertz is listed as the Commanders' No. 1 tight end. He showed off why on Tuesday -- Daniels lofted a pass over Ertz's shoulder, which he reeled in with his left hand at the sideline, with Jeremy Reaves in tight coverage. Like Wagner, the veteran linebacker, when Ertz was signed, it was expected that Quinn wanted him to help establish a new culture in the locker room. Ertz, though, is emerging as a still-reliable pass catcher for a rookie quarterback.
RAVENS CAMP
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Ravens have the NFL’s reigning MVP, continuity for one of the league’s best defenses and their blockbuster offseason move was to finally acquire the player they always seemed destined to land -- running back Derrick Henry. There are few questions about the Ravens’ readiness to again contend for a Super Bowl spot, beyond how they will navigate one of the NFL’s weirder regular-season schedules, which has them playing on every day of the week except Tuesday and Friday.
In fact, the only real cause for ... let’s call it curiosity instead of concern ... is that the Ravens are in the unusual position of having three new starters on the offensive line. It’s unusual for a contender, at least. Coach John Harbaugh said early on he hoped the flux would be settled quickly. Alas, not quite. While the left side of the line seems mostly set -- Ronnie Stanley is at left tackle and Andrew Vorhees, who spent his rookie season recovering from a brutal knee injury suffered during the NFL Scouting Combine, seems settled at the left guard spot. Tyler Linderbaum, who is currently sidelined with what the team has initially described as soft tissue damage, is the center whenever he returns.
The right side of the line is still unsettled, although the first unofficial depth chart provided some clues. The mammoth Daniel Faalele (6-foot-8, 380 pounds) is the first right guard listed, ahead of Ben Cleveland, who is currently taking the first-team reps at center in Linderbaum’s absence. At right tackle, Patrick Mekari is listed first, ahead of rookie Roger Rosengarten, although Rosengarten could lock down the starting job during the preseason, which would save Mekari for where he is so valuable to the Ravens as a potential fill-in anywhere on the line.
“I think we feel really good,” Cleveland said. “We kind of mix guys in and out. No matter who goes in everything still flows just as good. That’s a very big part, the offense being comfortable no matter who is in there.”
Unseen by outsiders, Cleveland said, is that the offensive line has been jelling for four months, in meeting rooms and during offseason work. He dismisses the notion that the offensive line should be a source of concern. Cleveland even seems OK with the idea that filling in for Linderbaum is taking away reps for him at right guard, which could further hamper his attempts to win that starting job.
“I feel great [at center],” he said. “They put me in at center last year and I really got comfortable with it. At the end of the day, if that’s the job they need me to do, that’s the job I’m going to do.”
The job, no matter how the offensive line is finally settled, comes with one of the NFL’s great perks -- blocking for Henry, who has looked healthy and strong in his Ravens practices.
“It’s so cool,” Cleveland said. “When you have that much human mass on the offensive line, that much mass running in the backfield, it’s going to be hard to stop. We’re going to be really good from the run game standpoint.”