First and 10: Calm Before the Storm

Alan Saunders |

Updated: Aug 30, 2021

The Steelers will return to the practice field at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Monday afternoon in something of a lull.

The team has completed its four-week preseason journey, capped off with an unsatisfying 34-9 loss to Carolina on Friday night.

There are three practice sessions scheduled for this week, as the team will work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in an approximation of a normal in-season work week.

Except, it’s not. And it’s not a preseason work week, either. Instead, the Steelers and the rest of the NFL teams have a week in purgatory, thanks to the format of the league’s new 17-game schedule.

The Steelers probably won’t be complaining. The team will get two more days to evaluate the players on the end of the roster before cuts are due Tuesday at 4 p.m. They’ll also get a chance to get players like T.J. Watt and Stephon Tuitt up to speed as the regular season approaches, but that might be difficult to accomplish, something defensive coordinator Keith Butler stressed last week.

“There’s only a certain amount of times we can have pads on according to the collective bargaining agreement in the preseason,” Butler said. “We’ll see. We might have one practice. That’ll be it.”

Alan Saunders and Nick Farabaugh will have coverage from the South Side, as the Steelers practice from 1:30 to 3:30, with head coach Mike Tomlin and players expected to speak afterward.

News and notes from around the Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football League.

STEELERS HEADLINES

? Tre Norwood thinks his slot corner debut “went well,” despite missed interception. Alan Saunders

? Dan Moore Jr. admits he’s not yet comfortable playing RT, something he needs to do to be the swing backup. Nick Farabaugh

? Final prediction for the Steelers’ 53-man roster. Saunders

? T.J Watt is ranked No. 9 on the NFL Top 100. Cale Berger

VIDEO CONTENT FROM PITTSBURGH SPORTS LIVE

AROUND THE NFL

? Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins is expected to miss the entire 2021 season with a torn ACL. Mike Asti

STEELERS HISTORY

? 2020 The Steelers reached an injury settlement with tight end Dax Raymond Berger

? 2019 The Steelers made seven cuts, including DE Henry Mondeaux, who was later re-signed to the practice squad. Saunders

? 1977 Former Steelers cornerback Hank Poteat was born in Philadelphia. A third-round pick out of Pitt in 2000, Poteat spent three seasons with the Steelers as a backup cornerback.

He moved on to play with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, New York Jets and Cleveland Browns, winning Super Bowl XXXIX with the Patriots after the 2004 season.

After retiring in 2009, Poteat took up coaching and is currently the cornerbacks coach at Wisconsin.

? 1947 Four-time Super Bowl champion and All-Pro offensive lineman Jon Kolb was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Kolb was drafted by the Steelers in the third round of the 1969 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma State and became a starter at left tackle in 1971, maintaining that position through the entire Steelers’ Super Bowl run until his retirement after the 1981 season.

Kolb played in 177 games and made 138 starts for the Steelers in his 13-year career. He was selected as a first-team All-Pro after the 1979 season. In the 1978 and 1979 offseason, Kolb competed in the World’s Strongest Man competition, coming in fourth both times.

After his retirement as a player, he worked as the Steelers’ strength and conditioning coach, defensive line coach, special teams coach and tight ends coach from 1982-1991.