STEELERS

STEELERS

Linebacker Jones looks for more sacks

PITTSBURGH

Despite leaving his graduate assistant coaching position at Colorado State this year, Joey Porter is still teaching football.

Porter, in his first season as a Steelers defensive assistant, has been charged with tutoring second-year linebacker Jarvis Jones among his primary duties. Getting to the quarterback has been the main subject for the former first-round pick.

Porter had 98 sacks during a stellar 14-year NFL career that included 60 in eight seasons with the Steelers.

Jones, a first-round pick in 2013, managed just one during an uneven rookie season. Jones and Porter both know that number needs to go up this fall.

“Pass rushing is all in believing that you can beat the guy (across from you) and executing your craft,” Porter said. “You have to work at it. You can’t just go out and not do any pass-rushing staff during the week and expect to go out there and get a sack on Sunday.”

Jones has been a sponge where Porter is concerned. He’s extremely attentive when his new coach talks and watches Porter’s every move.

“I think he was just taking the stuff that he saw me do and cleaned it up a little bit,” Jones said.

Due to the limitations this spring from playing “football in shorts,” as Steelers coach Mike Tomlin likes to call it, Jones hasn’t been able to take advantage of what he’s picked up from Porter.

So, there has been more individual teaching and mental work than the physical aspect of the game.

“I’ve been learning different techniques, hand placement, feet placement and just different things that you can do within the defense that allow you to make plays,” Jones said.

“At the same time, (I have to) be on the same page to what your coaches and teammates have asked you to do.”

Jones spent much of the offseason focusing on getting stronger. Though his 6-foot-2, 245-pound frame doesn’t look much different than he did a year ago, Jones believes his on-field play has changed drastically.

“I’m way more comfortable than I was last year,” Jones said. “We got J.P. in here to help us out this year. He’s a great motivator, and he taught us a lot in the past couple of weeks. To have a guy who actually played the game like he did, a great player, I learned a lot.”

At this time last year, Jones appeared to be confused during minicamp, and he said he really didn’t know what to expect.

But now that he’s gone through a full year of workouts, including his second set of spring drills Jones thinks the game is finally starting to slow down for him.

“There’s been some highs and lows, things that you know you do well, but things that you also have to work on,” Jones said. “And what I’ve worked on this spring are the things that will help me get better and help my team get better, understanding the system and the playbook much better and getting in the best shape possible to perform at a high level.”

Bills

Kelly makes surprise visit to practice

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y.

Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly felt strong enough to huddle up and visit his former team Thursday, making a surprise appearance at the Buffalo Bills’ practice.

Kelly made his way to the sideline as players warmed up for their final practice until training camp.

Coach Doug Marrone gathered his team at midfield before introducing Kelly, who spoke to the team in a brief, two-minute address.

Kelly thanked the team for its encouragement throughout his battle with jaw and sinus cancer and said he was touched by the outpouring of support from both the Bills and the Buffalo community.

“One thing I noticed about Buffalo, New York, was how everybody comes together,” Kelly said. “If somebody’s struggling, there’s always somebody there to pull them together whether it’s on the football field, whether it’s after a tough year or whether it’s when I was in the hospital, they always seem to rally.”

The former quarterback also said he was impressed with the amount of skill on Buffalo’s offense and urged the team to come together and end Buffalo’s 14-year postseason drought, the longest in the NFL.

“From everybody I’ve talked to, this is a very special team,” Kelly said. “Let’s get this thing back on the road, let’s start playing games in January.”

Wearing jeans, a black jacket and a white baseball hat, Kelly then watched the start of practice in a chair by the 35-yard line.

He chatted with Bills president Russ Brandon, long-time trainer Bud Carpenter and Hall of Fame teammate Thurman Thomas.

Kelly’s appearance was unexpected, but certainly welcome in the eyes of Bills coaches and players.

“It means a lot for him to come out and support us in the state that he’s in,” Bills center Eric Wood said. “That was a special moment. You talk to Jim all the time. He’s been around over the years and I’ve become pretty close to him. But for him to come out and address the team in the state he’s in was pretty powerful.”

Kelly left one hour into the practice session after receiving hugs from Brandon and Thomas.

Associated Press