Week 2 of OTAs news and notes

[mesaSteeler]

NFL from the sidelines
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After hobnobbing around the NFL in the press boxes and sidelines, sports reporter Dale Lolley will let you know the insider scoop. Dale can also be heard as a sometime host on ESPN 970-AM. Follow him on Twitter at dlolleyor.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Week 2 of OTAs news and notes

Not a whole lot happening at OTAs this week.

I guess the biggest news was that Marcus Gilbert got some time at left tackle this week with rookie Mike Adams still unable to attend because of the class schedule at Ohio State.

Though the Steelers would prefer to keep Gilbert at RT, it's not a bad thing for him to get some work on the other side - even in shorts. As we have seen the past couple of years, what the planned line is and what it turns out to be a few weeks into a season, are often two different things.

Besides, as I've previously said, it's not the Steelers' way to simply hand a rookie a starting job.

So with Gilbert, Trai Essex and Jonathan Scott working at LT, there are still some bodies to climb over there.

I know, I know, you all hate Essex and Scott. But it says here that if push came to shove and Adams can't beat those guys out - which is always a possibility - the Steelers want to cover their bases.

Plus, there's still the possibility of bringing Max Starks back again. Starks, by the way, has been seen at the Steelers practice facility.

© Perhaps the most bizarre happenstance of the week was the "retirement" of former quarterback Kordell Stewart.

Considering the only time I'd seen Kordell the past few years was on pre-game shows and such, I thought he'd already hung up the helmet.

I know a lot of fans have a great deal of dislike for Stewart, but I always found him a decent guy.

He was a little full of himself in the beginning, but got knocked down a peg by the whole benching in favor of Kent Graham (!) thing.

He stayed strong and came back a better player and person from that ordeal - and the ridiculous and cowardly rumors about his sexual orientation.

I always admired him a little for that.

Was he a great quarterback? No. But he sure was fun to watch. If the coaching staff had used him a little better, he could have been much more impactful than what he was - and he was still impactful.

© Hines Ward will be working on NBC this fall. I hope they give him some training before they set him free on the mic.

I did a story on Ward for the Steelers Game Day program a couple of years ago. I asked him two questions and finished the interview with 20 minutes of tape to go through.

Ward is famous among reporters for his talking. He would talk about anything and everything, often without cue.

I wish him luck.

[Lady Steel]

Plus, there's still the possibility of bringing Max Starks back again. Starks, by the way, has been seen at the Steelers practice facility.

Thought that might happen. Wouldn't be surprised one bit if it did.

I know a lot of fans have a great deal of dislike for Stewart, but I always found him a decent guy.

He was a little full of himself in the beginning, but got knocked down a peg by the whole benching in favor of Kent Graham (!) thing.

I remember when that happened. Funny stuff.