Practice Notes

[DIESELMAN]

* Willie Parker practiced Monday and said he hasn’t felt any effects from his broken fibula. He said he feels strong and has his speed back. Parker said the Steelers timed him in the 40 last month at 4.4 seconds. He once ran a 4.28.

* Offensive tackle Jason Capizzi is off to a bad start. He’s walking around in a boot because of a stress fracture in his foot. The injury isn’t as serious as McBean’s. Capizzi could participate in the first minicamp.

* Free-agent acquisition Keyaron Fox wore No. 57 and backed up James Farrior. The 235-pounder’s speed was obvious.

* New running back Mewelde Moore is wearing No. 21.

* Quarterback Jared Zabransky, picked up off the street this off-season, is wearing No. 5 and performed with much more spunk than former No. 3 quarterback Brian St. Pierre. Zabransky’s passes aren’t pretty, but they usually found their mark. On the field he looks like Billy Kilmer without the paunch.

* With Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu sidelined, Anthony Smith and Tyrone Carter are the starting safeties. Polamalu is recovering from minor knee surgery in the off-season. Clark is still recovering from the removal of his spleen and gall bladder.

* Dallas Baker, last year’s 6-foot-3 seventh-round wide receiver, was active at practice. After catching several passes from Ben Roethlisberger, he huddled with the quarterback after practice and the two talked “shop” in the hallway.

* Second-year center Darnell Stapleton said his weight is up to 315 and is now looking to lose a few pounds to get in shape.

[ItAintEasyBeingPeazy]

Good read

[BlitzburghRockCity]

The addition of Fox is really going to help our ST in a big way. He's got good size and great speed and a sure tackler which is what we need out there.

I'd really love to see Dallas Baker make an impact this year, I was hoping he'd be that 7th round gem that everybody loves to get. He's got the size and hopefully he's able to make the team and get some good playing time.

[BlackGold4vr]

Going back to another post, if Darnell Stapleton also secures a roster spot that would mean that it won't matter what O-lineman we draft because there won't be a roster spot for that player.

Roster spots secured for:
Smith, Starks, Hartwig, Colon, Simmons, Essex, Kemoeatu, Mahan, Stapleton?

I thought we only carried 9 O-lineman on our 45 man roster last year. That would mean we don't have a spot for a stud lineman and if you put a guy on the practice squad he is fair game for other teams to steal away from you. How can we all agree the O-line was a problem for us yet we want to go into next year with 1 change (Hartwig) and 1 downgrade (Faneca's replacement) and hope for a 180 degree turnaround? In order to make real change and improvement, somebody has got to have their feelings hurt.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

Going back to another post, if Darnell Stapleton also secures a roster spot that would mean that it won't matter what O-lineman we draft because there won't be a roster spot for that player.

Roster spots secured for:
Smith, Starks, Hartwig, Colon, Simmons, Essex, Kemoeatu, Mahan, Stapleton?

I thought we only carried 9 O-lineman on our 45 man roster last year. That would mean we don't have a spot for a stud lineman and if you put a guy on the practice squad he is fair game for other teams to steal away from you. How can we all agree the O-line was a problem for us yet we want to go into next year with 1 change (Hartwig) and 1 downgrade (Faneca's replacement) and hope for a 180 degree turnaround? In order to make real change and improvement, somebody has got to have their feelings hurt.

IMO the only "secure" roster spots right now on the OL are Smith, Starks, Hartwig, Colon, Simmons, Mahan, Kemoeatu. Essex and Stapleton are no guarantees right now depending on how the draft plays out. With Mahan able to play both Guard & Center ( well sort of ) that makes Stapleton expendable at this point unless he really plays awesome. Essex did "ok" in his playing time last year but he's by no means safe if we draft a T early on.

The addition of Hartwig should really bring some stability to this unit because the inside pressure that Mahan allowed to get through last year and hence collapsed the work that Simmons and Faneca were trying to do, hopefully won't happen this year so even that one addition should help greatly.

[NOVA STEELERS]

* Willie Parker practiced Monday and said he hasn’t felt any effects from his broken fibula. He said he feels strong and has his speed back. Parker said the Steelers timed him in the 40 last month at 4.4 seconds. He once ran a 4.28. <<< How SWEET is that like the sound of WILLIE being back

* Offensive tackle Jason Capizzi is off to a bad start. He’s walking around in a boot because of a stress fracture in his foot. The injury isn’t as serious as McBean’s. Capizzi could participate in the first minicamp. tough news for Jason

* Free-agent acquisition Keyaron Fox wore No. 57 and backed up James Farrior. The 235-pounder’s speed was obvious. I think Kenyon wil be a great acquisition to the Defense

* New running back Mewelde Moore is wearing No. 21. Looking forward to what he will bring to the team, if he stays healthy he will fit in great for us

* Quarterback Jared Zabransky, picked up off the street this off-season, is wearing No. 5 and performed with much more spunk than former No. 3 quarterback Brian St. Pierre. Zabransky’s passes aren’t pretty, but they usually found their mark. On the field he looks like Billy Kilmer without the paunch. Well if we must keep 3 QBs I hope he brings more to the table than BSP did.

* With Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu sidelined, Anthony Smith and Tyrone Carter are the starting safeties. Polamalu is recovering from minor knee surgery in the off-season. Clark is still recovering from the removal of his spleen and gall bladder. Wish you guys a speedy recovery, gonna need you this year

* Dallas Baker, last year’s 6-foot-3 seventh-round wide receiver, was active at practice. After catching several passes from Ben Roethlisberger, he huddled with the quarterback after practice and the two talked “shop” in the hallway. Get him on the team Ben

* Second-year center Darnell Stapleton said his weight is up to 315 and is now looking to lose a few pounds to get in shape. Not sold on this guy yet

[steelcityrockers]

Fun fact about Jared Zabransky, he ran a 4.43 40


If he can catch...

[K Train]

zabransky was a sick situational reciever at boise lol, even just as a decoy

[MOTORKRAFT]

Slash ?

[Steel58]

Great Read! Hopefully Baker can do something at the wide out this year.