Daily Links: Watson Throws 3 INTs, ‘Disrespectful’ Lack of Steelers Hype

Alan Saunders |

Updated: Aug 17, 2023

Steelers Tomlin Johnson — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and wide receiver Diontae Johnson at training camp, Aug. 8, 2023. -- Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

Kay Adams is tired of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin being disrespected.

“Come on, putting them behind Cleveland (in AFC North odds) is a lack of respect for Mike Tomlin. You heard me, a lack of respect for Mike Tomlin,” Adams said. “A lack of respect for what this team accomplished last year. … It’s disrespectful to an organization and what they do year in and year out. The AFC is going to be brutal, but I am getting playoff vibes from these Steelers because I always am attracted to the team that it makes sense that they’re going to make a leap but no one is willing to do that. I never thought in all of my years that it would be the Steelers that it would happen to.

This is disrespectful to Mike Tomlin.

🦗🦗🦗 it's crickets around Pickett!

I've had enough. @kennypickett10 @steelers pic.twitter.com/JUjiflCgiW

— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) August 15, 2023

? Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1691522582179168256″>reportedly

threw three interceptions to Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship during joint practices. Browns left guard Joel Bitonio also complained that the Eagles took “cheap shots” at Watson. Bitonio said defensive end Josh Sweat knocked the ball out of the hands of Watson, a no-no in the joint sessions, when quarterbacks are not to be touched.

“You’re not supposed to do that,” Bitonio said, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “I mean it’s just in our practice, you protect the quarterback,. You don’t want to come close to the quarterback, you don’t want to take cheap shots, things like that where there might’ve been a couple of questionable plays both ways today.

“We’re going into this week trying to get better in practice and work and sometimes there are some cheap shots and things like that where you want to defend yourself,” Bitonio said. “I don’t know the exact situation, but there were a couple shots today where we’re trying to make sure we’re getting the best out of practice and not fighting. But it was just a little heated second day. It always gets a little bit more fired up.”

? ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky is all-in on the Kenny Pickett-George Pickens connection. Orlovsky pointed out that Pickett had the best total QBR when targeting Pickens last year, minimum of 50 targets. Pickens was targeted only 58 times by Pickett.

“I understand it’s fewer targets but it speaks to how impressive that they were when he throw him the football,” Orlovsky said. “To me, can those two Pickett and Pickens become as good as Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson together? Can they become Stefon Diggs, Josh Allen?”

The Kenny Pickett-George Pickens connection has @danorlovsky7 impressed 👀 pic.twitter.com/WJcN3juzjj

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 15, 2023

? Steelers Community Relations: The Steelers https://twitter.com/SteelersCR/status/1691560948744458744″>hosted

kids from UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh at Monday’s training camp practice. T.J. Watt signed a bunch of autographs for the kids.

This is what it's all about. pic.twitter.com/ic6pIvTGWn

— Billy Hartford (@CamHeywardFan) August 15, 2023

? Football analyst/scout Brandon Thorn was blown away by Steelers’ second-round pick Keeanu Benton’s performance on Friday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Just watched the TB/PIT tape..biggest takeaway is that teams really let the Steelers get (Keeanu) Benton..,” https://twitter.com/BrandonThornNFL/status/1691176161387204608″>Thorn

tweeted.