The Pittsburgh Steelers are days away from facing the New York Jets in Week 2 of the NFL preseason.
Typically, Steelers fans have an attitude similar to how Aaron Rodgers feels about preseason games. But that’s probably not the case this year.
With every exhibition contest, Steelers Nation gets another chance to watch how their young quarterbacks are progressing.
On Monday, Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy offered an update on what he’s seen with Will Howard and Drew Allar. McCarthy spoke very highly of how far along Allar has come since being a third-round pick about four month ago.
“My first encounter with him was at the combine. His face was beet red, and we were rocking and rolling and had a good football conversation,” McCarthy told Steelers reporters Monday. “But I was impressed with him in Indianapolis, and I looked at his first impression that he made in the rookie orientation. Everybody here was there. I thought he did a really nice job and handled the volume that we threw at him and that amount of throwing we asked him to do on that weekend, and then the next hurdle jumping into the OTAs. [Allar and Howard have] improved a lot.”
“We’re got two fine young quarterbacks here, and I’m excited about their future.”
Allar and Howard added to that excitement in the preseason opener. Allar completed 10 of 13 passes for 153 yards with two touchdowns. One of his completion went for a 74-yard gain.
Howard was 7-for-9 with 86 yards. He missed throwing a touchdown to tight end Robert Tonyan by one yard.
Steelers Seeing Key Improvements With QB Drew Allar
Whether in McCarthy press conferences or through the media, the rookie quarterback’s footwork has been a major focal point of his development this summer. The subject surfaced again in the head coach’s latest address to reporters Monday.
McCarthy stressed that Allar’s footwork still isn’t perfect. But, the quarterback understands the mechanics he needs with his lower half to be a much more successful NFL signal-caller.
“I think the most important part there is the point you made in your question — he corrected himself,” McCarthy said. “He knew it right away and that’s more than half the battle because everybody reaches footwork a little differently.”
The Steelers head coach added that Allar is a very smart signal-caller, who, despite being a rookie, does possess a lot of valuable experience.
“He’s a very astute quarterback. He has played a lot of quarterback. I mean, this young man has been playing quarterback for a long, long time, and you can see it,” McCarthy added. “He has thrown the football a lot in his life, going back to his high school days, and that’s important.
“That’s all the things you look at when you look to draft a young man.”
Allar will face his next preseason test Friday against the New York Jets. The Steelers will host the Jets at Acrisure Stadium at 7 pm ET on Friday, August 21.
Steelers’ Mike McCarthy Gives Drew Allar Update Before Preseason Week 2