Patrick Morris is an undrafted rookie free agent center out of Texas Christian University and was playing in his first professional game.
When he put his right hand on what he instantly knew was a severely deflated football that he was about to snap to Mason Rudolph, the last thing that crossed his mind was to stand up and look around for a referee to tell him that something didn’t feel right.
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So, Morris did what he did 27 times prior to a football which WIP sideline reporter Howard Eskin later described in a tweet as looking like a marshmallow — he snapped it.
“I didn’t want to be that guy,” Morris said following the Steelers’ first practice on Saturday since the 24-hour news cycle built the story up as potentially another DeflateGate before quickly disposing of it.
“I kind of felt it, I noticed it, but I really didn’t know what to say. It was my first time really playing here, so I was just going to keep my mouth shut. I figured the ref would’ve noticed it because he’s handling the ball, too.”
The referees immediately informed the Steelers of the compromised ball, confiscated the ball, investigated the matter and dismissed the issue on Friday.
“All footballs were in compliance with NFL rules following the pregame inspection process, and all proper procedures were followed,” NFL vice president of football communications Michael Signora said in a statement. “In the third quarter, a football that was found to be defective was removed from play and will be sent back to Wilson for review.”
The Athletic learned that Wilson confirmed to the Steelers that the ball was defective and that all the footballs were in compliance when they were handed over to the referees. The Steelers take extra measures to prevent potential tampering unbeknownst to them.
Once they check them, they zip tie them shut to ensure that they can’t be altered without them noticing. Once the 24 footballs that the Steelers are required to provide for the game are handed over to the referees, the team doesn’t see them again.
Somewhere in between when the ball was handed to the officials pregame and five minutes into the third quarter is when the ball was compromised. The issue is suspected to be a defective valve that occurred after the referees checked them. The footballs in question weren’t used until the second half.
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“I just remembered it the one time,” Morris said. “It kind of startled me.”
The football was, in fact, in play for only one snap, Rudolph confirmed.
“I got the ball and the thing was completely flat, like, to where it would not have been an advantage,” Rudolph said. “So, that was the weirdest thing, and then they took it out, or whatever, but a kind of a freak deal.”
Rudolph’s pass to Damoun Patterson down the right sidelines fell incomplete. When the ball hit the ground, it was noticeable that it didn’t bounce very high.
“It was one of those balls that’s in your grandfather’s garage for two years, and you’ve never thrown it,” Rudolph said. “It was a bad deal.”
The Steelers were accused of deflating footballs during a December game in 2016. The league didn’t pursue the accusation because they determined that the officials followed proper protocol. Both sides later said it was much ado about nothing.
The league is sensitive to anything concerning deflated footballs after the Patriots’ yearlong battle over DeflateGate resulted in a Tom Brady suspension.
Notes:
• The Steelers returned on Saturday to a soggy Saint Vincent College for the final few days of training camp. The team was relegated to Field 3 for the entire practice even though it was also wet. Many players slipped and fell, especially during the red-zone 1-on-1 passing drills.
• Josh Dobbs put together a solid two-minute drill at the end of the first half of Thursday’s preseason game that resulted in a touchdown. On Saturday, the Steelers ended practice with a pair of two-minute drills that weren’t as productive. Both Rudolph and Dobbs failed to score.
FIRST TEAM: (48-yard line, one timeout, 1:18 on the clock)
- Rudolph connected with JuJu Smith-Schuster on a deep in-cut for 33 yards.
- Darrius Heyward-Bey had to reach behind him on a pass toward the sideline. It was tipped in the air and intercepted by Artie Burns to end the drive. (Note: Mike Tomlin wasn’t happy that Burns didn’t go straight to the ground after the pick. “You pick the ball off, the game is over. Don’t be stupid, guys.”
SECOND TEAM: (48-yard line, one timeout, 1:18 on the clock)
- Dobbs dumped it off to Marcus Tucker for three yards.
- Dobbs’ throw to the sidelines to Patterson went for 10 yards and a first down.
- Dobbs dumped it to Jaylen Samuels out of the backfield for no gain.
- Dobbs threw it away.
- Dobbs completed it to Samuels for a minimal gain.
- Tucker was unable to come down with a fourth-down throw as the second team turned it over on downs.
• Tomlin hosted New York Knicks coach David Fizdale at training camp. Tomlin and Kevin Colbert spent time with Fizdale during lunch and posed with a picture with him on the field after practice.
Great to have @nyknicks coach David Fizdale at practice today. Always enjoy sharing ideas and philosophies with others in the business. pic.twitter.com/ibwBsYayBG
— Mike Tomlin (@CoachTomlin) August 11, 2018
• A man dressed in a fake Troy Polamalu No. 43 practice jersey, football pants, cleats, a helmet and a mouthpiece sneaked his way onto the practice field during warmups and stood with the defensive backs. It was only a couple of moments before the imposter was detected, but it took some time to remove him from the fields. Tomlin wasn’t happy with the delay in removing the man, who said he was looking to try out for the team.
• The offense ran its Seven Shots winning streak to three in a row (after losing eight straight) with a 4-3 win. Through 12 practices, the defense leads 8-4 with the aggregate score now 45-36. Ben Roethlisberger went 2 of 4 and now has converted 21 of 33 during his nine sessions this summer:
- Roethlisberger connected with James Conner out of the backfield. 1-0 offense.
- Smith-Schuster delayed a beat from his slot position, and Roethlisberger found him all alone over the middle for the score. 2-0 offense
- Roethlisberger and Smith-Schuster couldn’t connect this time. 2-1 offense.
- Roethlisberger’s quick out to Antonio Brown fell incomplete. 2-2.
- Rudolph’s fade on the far side to James Washington was hauled in by the rookie receiver. 3-2 offense.
- Rudolph’s floater to Washington this time fell incomplete. 3-3.
- A rub route between Patterson and Tucker left Tucker open for the score. 4-3 offense.
• Brown (quad) returned to practice for the first time in a full capacity mode since the first week of camp. Brown picked up where he left off both in his play and his smack talk. After beating Burns on the first 1-on-1 red-zone period, Brown ran past the defensive backs on the sidelines and had some choice words for them: “I am going to do that all day to you, young bucks.”
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• Joe Haden didn’t have one of his best days getting beat on at least three separate occasions during 1-on-1 drills. Brown turned Haden around three times on a 1-on-1 period and snagged the ball for a pretty touchdown. Later, Smith-Schuster turned Haden around a couple of times but couldn’t get his second foot down in the back of the end zone.
• Missing practice were Sean Davis (groin), T.J. Watt (hamstring), Bud Dupree (concussion), Xavier Grimble (thumb), B.J. Finney (quad contusion), Marcus Gilbert (birth of child), Maurkice Pouncey (unknown), Kyle Meadows (unknown) with Marcus Allen and Parker Collins leaving practice early.
• With Davis out, Terrell Edmunds played strong safety, and Morgan Burnett flipped to free safety. However, that didn’t prevent Edmunds from getting some corner work around the goal line for the one-on-ones. He allowed Heyward-Bey to make a touchdown catch on a quick out but provided tough coverage on Justin Hunter a couple plays later.
• Tomlin went over to Dashaun Phillips during one of the team periods to tell him what he wanted to see from him during practice. Phillips allowed a 63-yard touchdown reception to Shelton Gibson on Thursday. “I am really watching your mental health today, DP. I want to see how you control your business today. Nobody gives a damn about that play. Today is the day. You have to punch that clock today.”
• With the offensive line banged up and/or not practicing, Matt Feiler was at guard with the first team with Morris at center and Chuks Okorafor at right tackle.
• Washington got some first-team reps at receiver and Jon Bostic continued to give way to Tyler Matakevich on a rotating basis at the inside linebacker position.
• Rudolph has gotten better as training camp has progressed but he’s still struggling getting passed batted at the line of scrimmage. That’s understandable considering Rudolph went from the shotgun his entire collegiate career to being under center a lot with the Steelers.
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• Special teams coach Danny Smith wasn’t happy with the team’s kickoff coverage against the Eagles, so he spent extra time on technique on Saturday. “They got too much damn yardage on us. We want to the 20. Anything outside the 20 is a loss for us.”
• Lavon Hooks tipped a pass from Dobbs and had it intercepted by Keion Adams.
• The Steelers used a significant portion of the final 7-on-7 period on their dollar seven defensive back set. They didn’t unveil it in the preseason game because they want to work on it more in practice. It’s pretty set, however, of who will be where when they do roll it out. Haden and Burns will be at the corners; Edmunds and Davis at the safeties, Mike Hilton at the nickel, Cam Sutton at the dime and Burnett as the hybrid dollar backer.
• The Steelers resume practice on Sunday at 2:55. They will practice Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before breaking camp.
(Photo credit: Andy Lewis/Getty Images)
