Artie Burns and Joe Haden don’t believe the Pittsburgh Steelers have a clear-cut No. 1 cornerback.
The two feel they share that role.
Haden has been a top cornerback in the league throughout his career and Burns
Michael Brockers Jersey , a 2016 first-round pick, feels like he’s starting to come into his own as he enters his third season. The two hope a full
offseason and training camp together can help a young group of Steelers
defensive backs regain some swagger.
”Right now, I’m just trying to show him the way I go about my business,” Haden said. ”Training camp is one of the biggest spots where we can see growth
and we can see what the offseason did.”
Haden spent his first seven pro seasons in Cleveland. He feels an entire spring of organized team activities and minicamp with Burns and the Steelers
will only prove beneficial as the team works through training camp and the
preseason.
”I’m trying to understand the whole defense, not just the corners and safety, but also the linebackers and defensive linemen,” Haden said. ”I’m just trying to
get the whole system from the ground up and get an overall grasp of the
defense.”
Cleveland released Haden on the eve of the 2017 regular season and the Steelers immediately acted. They quickly signed the two-time Pro Bowl cornerback
with the hope he could give a young secondary an instant jolt.
”Having a veteran guy in your room that got to the level everybody wants to get to,” Burns said
John Ross Jersey , ”you kind of sit back and think that you can learn from him to get to that point.”
The Steelers did just that last season.
Pittsburgh ranked 16th against the pass in 2016, but Haden provided a necessary boost as the Steelers ended fifth in passing yards allowed. A 45-point
outburst by Jacksonville in the AFC divisional playoff marred an otherwise
strong season.
”I think the communication was the biggest thing for us, just no blown coverages,” Haden said. ”In the Jacksonville game, there were a couple times
where people were just running free. We have the ability, we have the players,
we just have to be on the same page and make sure everybody’s covering their
man.”
That has been the focus for Burns. He has carried a noticeably different, more confident swagger during training camp practices. He’s still locked into
regular one-on-one practice battles with four-time All-Pro wide receiver Antonio
Brown
James Bradberry Jersey , a daily matchup Burns welcomes.
”Ever since I got here it’s been a battle with (Brown),” Burns said. ”It’s just something I expect from myself. I don’t even request it. I just step up, we
go at it and go to work.”
It has already paid off for the third-year cornerback.
Burns jumped Brown’s slant route during the team’s first padded practice and picked off Landry Jones’s pass in the end zone. He also jumped a Ben
Roethlisberger pass and came up with an interception that would’ve been returned
for a touchdown.
Burns said that sort of intuition comes with experience.
”You can feel the speed of the receiver,” Burns said. ”A play can only go for so long, so once you figure out the timing of it, that’s when you have a chance
to make a play on the ball.”
Burns seeks similar game-changing plays alongside Haden in the secondary this season.
”(Haden) is helping us in certain situations that he has already been put in before,” Burns said. ”That’s what Joe is doing for us.”
NOTES: Coach Mike Tomlin said Brown was sent to Pittsburgh to be evaluated for a ”minor, day-to-day” injury. Brown missed the previous two practices with
his undisclosed injury. Tomlin wouldn’t say what sort of injury. … S Morgan
Burnett (hamstring)
John Elway Jersey , Sean Davis (groin), T.J. Watt (hamstring), Vance McDonald (foot) and Alejandro Villanueva (undisclosed) also missed practice on
Thursday.
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Cowboys tight end Rico Gathers is believed to be on the roster bubble today. He didn’t help his cause last night.
Gathers was arrested last night in Frisco, Texas, for marijuana possession, according to Mike Fisher of 247 Sports.
A former college basketball player, Gathers has the natural athleticism to be a very good NFL tight end, but so far he hasn’t put it all together on the
field. The Cowboys took him in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL draft Tavon Austin Jersey , and he still hasn’t played in a regular-season game.
Although marijuana possession isn’t a particularly big deal, it remains a violation of Texas law and could get him in hot water with the league’s
substance-abuse policy. And it might just be the last straw for the Cowboys, who
are weighing whether he’s worth continuing to invest in.
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