Steelers' Michael Pittman Jr Brings Up Another New Key To Mike McCarthy's Training Camp

The Pittsburgh Steelers are no strangers to close games. It is very rare that they ever have a win where they can get even the slightest bit comfortable in the fourth quarter; although, the team tends to have a couple losses each year where the other team doesn't have to stress too much. Either way, Pittsburgh is almost always in a nail-biter of a game where one mistake by either team will decide the outcome. It's not a game in the Steel City unless Steeler Nation has a ton of anxiety throughout the matchup.

If Steeler football is going to be defined by the final drive of each game, then so be it. After the first day of training camp, wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. revealed a new tradition to training camp with Mike McCarthy now running the show that should help Pittsburgh in this regard.

"There's so many games that come down to that last drive," Pittman said. "Just the fact that we're practicing it every single day, I think we'll be the most conditioned team by the end of camp."

Even though Pittman is new to the Steelers and never got to experience a Mike Tomlin training camp, he will be going through a daily two-minute drill for the first time like nearly every other player on the team. Maybe some of McCarthy's former players from other teams got to experience this, but it's still something that Pittsburgh typically has not done in every practice during camp. 

Previously, the Steelers' daily drill was called "Seven Shots," where the offense and defense would battle each other for seven plays right by the end zone. That was a highly motivated drill, as the winning side would get a great dinner while the losing side just ate whatever was being served in the cafeteria in Latrobe. The idea of that drill was simple: step up in these near-certain scoring situations to change the tide of the game.

Seven Shots is just one situation near the goal line. The two-minute drill, on the other hand, can involve the entire field. The Steelers can't score from the two-yard line if they have trouble making it there on a consistent basis. That's a big reason why McCarthy's new tradition is more practical, both from an offensive and defensive perspective: it will get utilized in a real game more often.

By Week 1, the Steelers should hopefully become masters of the two-minute drill. They can't just play prevent defense throughout the drive and hope the opposition falters just before they get the chance to score. They also can't just hope that Aaron Rodgers pulls a rabbit out of a hat and turn the clock back 10 years. They have to be better prepared in these situations and not leave it all up to chance.

Steelers Have Kept Benefitting From Luck In Two-Minute Drills

With the division on the line in Week 18 against the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers' defense played poorly. They allowed the Ravens to march all the way into field goal position and set up to steal a playoff spot away from them. That does not sound like a serious contender in January, yet they made it there thanks to Tyler Loop shanking the biggest kick of his career to that point. 

Two weeks earlier, Pittsburgh just kept getting lucky. It started with a miracle play that hasn't been seen since "He did WHAT?", when Kenneth Gainwell managed to make a catch while on the ground, get up, and score as time expired in the first half. On the final drive of the game, the Detroit Lions marched all the way down the field easily, but two penalties kept them out of the end zone and led to a Pittsburgh win.

What do you think about McCarthy making the Steelers do the two-minute drill every day? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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