Safety dance: Starters return

LATROBE – Entering training camp, it was widely accepted that the Steelers defense would be a work in progress with a new defensive coordinator and a number of new faces in prominent roles.
At the start of the team’s fourth and final week here at Saint Vincent College, new defensive coordinator Keith Butler is still waiting to get a good look at what his defense might look like when the Steelers open the regular season Sept. 10 at New England.
No fewer than eight of the 11 players listed at the top of the defensive depth chart have missed a significant amount of time already because of injury or rest. Head coach Mike Tomlin vowed to take care of older players in the team’s lengthiest training camp in years.
In some areas, it hasn’t been a problem because the team wanted to look at some younger players. But in others, particularly at safety, it’s becoming an issue.
Strong safety Shamarko Thomas and free safety Mike Mitchell have both missed extensive practice time, Thomas with a shoulder injury and Mitchell with a hamstring issue.
Both were finally on the field together Sunday for the first time since the opening practice, much to the relief of Butler and Tomlin.
“Pretty big,” said Tomlin when asked how important it was for that to happen.
Butler agreed.
“It’s extremely important for those guys to get out there,” Butler said. “It’s easy to sit back there and draw it up on the board and stuff like that. When you get out there and things are happening fast, they need the experience of doing that. This is (Mitchell’s) second year in the system. First year, you’re kind of looking around, figuring out what’s going on. This year, he should grow in the aspect of knowing what we’re doing and what offenses are trying to do to us.”
Thomas, who faces the task of replacing retired All-Pro Troy Polamalu, missed two weeks of practice but returned last week and played the entire first half of the second preseason game, a 23-21 loss at Jacksonville.
He was late getting over to the sideline that on a deep pass play that resulted in a 31-yard touchdown in the second quarter, something Butler chalks up to a learning experience.
“Sometimes young guys get caught up. You ask them to disguise, disguise and they can’t disguise and get into coverage,” Butler said. “It puts them in a bad position. It’s a good learning lesson for him and everybody in the secondary.”
Mitchell, who joined the Steelers as a free agent from Carolina last year, played all of last season with tears in both of his groin muscles. He did not miss a start despite the injuries and finished with 71 tackles and two forced fumbles.
But he rarely practiced with Polamalu in the spring since Polamalu rarely worked out with the team in the offseason, instead choosing to do so on his own. And once training camp began, Mitchell immediatley missed time after suffering his first groin injury.
The Steelers came into camp intent on having their starting safeties work together more this year. It just hasn’t happened a lot.
“I think with anything, the more you do things, the more you rep them, the better they get,” Mitchell said. “It’s important for us to get some reps together. But we worked a whole lot together this spring. We took pretty much every rep together. It was kind of like me and Will Allen last year. I worked with him all spring. I think me and Will had a little better rapport last year. I think me and Shamarko will be similar.”
Making things even more critical have been changes Butler has made to the coverage schemes. The Steelers are intent on playing more zone this season, including more cover-2 with both safeties playing deep. The team has played cover-2 in the past, but Butler wants Mitchell and Thomas to become more familiar playing next to eachother.
“Those guys need to play. They need the experience,” said Butler. “We were hoping to do that with Shamarko, but Shamarko was hurt. We were hoping to get him in there quite a bit and get him some snaps. We need to get Mike Mitchell some snaps, too. Guys that are new to this defense – there are some new things in this defense – but the guys who are new to this defense and the way that we do things, they need to play. The only way for them to get better is to play.”
Odds and end zones
Wide receiver David Nelson, signed late last week, suffered a shoulder injury at practice and did not return. … Quarterback Bruce Gradkowski was activated off the PUP List and practiced for the first time Sunday on a limited basis. Gradkowski had been dealing with a shoulder injury. … With inside linebackers Lawrence Timmons, Vince Williams and Jordan Zumwalt not practicing Sunday, the team took a look at safety Ian Wild, a Baldwin High School graduate, at inside linebacker. Wild played linebacker at both Mercyhurst and in the CFL last season. … The Steelers will practice today at 2:55 p.m. It is open to the public.