— Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Mason Rudolph exudes confidence heading into his first NFL preseason game Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rudolph admitted that jitters may be there as the Steelers prepare to face the defending Super Bowl champions in Philadelphia. But the Steelers’ third-round pick has settled into a comfort zone two weeks into training camp.
“It’s just football
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Rudolph is in a fight for the backup quarterback spot behind Ben Roethlisberger. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Rudolph will see time under center against the Eagles, along with veteran Landry Jones and Josh Dobbs, the Steelers’ fourth-round pick a year ago.
Tomlin is eager to see how Rudolph can direct the offense and maintain possession.
“Mason’s done a really good job, but he hasn’t been hit,” Tomlin said. “Ball security is much more difficult in-stadium because a training camp environment is controlled in a lot of ways. You don’t touch or get close to the quarterback, so a quarterback’s ability to secure the football doesn’t get tested until they play in-stadium preseason football.”
Rudolph will have an opportunity to show how far he’s come since the Steelers traded up to select the Oklahoma State star with the 76th overall pick, the highest the organization has taken a quarterback since Roethlisberger was the 11th overall selection in 2004.
During spring practices, Rudolph impressed, but he also missed a couple center-quarterback exchanges after working almost exclusively out of the shotgun both in high school and at Oklahoma State.
“We cleaned it up for the most part,” Rudolph said. “I’m just starting to feel a lot more comfortable under center after not doing it the last eight years of my life.”
Rudolph also had an inauspicious start at training camp when he ran a bootleg to the right and fumbled his first pass attempt backward. That gaffe is far from Rudolph’s mind.
“I could (not) care less about the first pass,” Rudolph said. “I have a lot of first passes. I had my first pass in OTAs and rookie minicamp. I’m thinking about the next pass. If one play goes bad
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Rudolph has found his groove after a rocky first week at camp. The rookie looked comfortable and crisp while running the two-minute offense at the end of a practice last week. Rudolph finished the drill an efficient 5 of 6 for 52 yards, which included a practice-ending 14-yard touchdown pass to rookie running back Jaylen Samuels.
“I just want to progress,” Rudolph said. “You obviously dream about playing in the NFL, but once you get here, you take it one day at a time. I think that’s the way I’ve approached practice and it has gone well.
“I’m just focused on completing passes and making sure I’m taking mental steps forward every day.”
The next step forward for Rudolph will be into a NFL stadium for his preseason debut — against an opposing defense.
“You’re playing your own team every single day and you get frustrated because they start to learn your calls, they’re cheating on your install sheet, printing your stuff out and trying to game plan against you,” Rudolph said. “And then you get out there in a game and it’s easy because those guys are scared, they’re all tight, they want to be in their spots, they don’t want to get yelled at by their coach, and you end up scoring points and driving down the field. That’s the way I feel this will go.”
NOTES: Tomlin said Roethlisberger won’t play Thursday against Philadelphia. . Wide receiver Antonio Brown missed practice again Tuesday
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With the NHL’s regular season in its final week, the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers have differing agendas heading into Tuesday night’s clash at the Prudential Center.
While the Devils (42-28-9) zero in on clinching their first postseason berth since the 2011-12 season, the Rangers (34-36-9) play out the string, set to miss the playoffs for only the second time in 13 years.
“I think we’re excited about it,” Devils coach John Hynes said of a likely return to the playoffs next week. “But the big thing — we’ve talked about it, too — it’s about our game. Whether we’re up seven or three points (in the standings), you can’t get too wrapped up in those situations.”
Certainly, the Devils put all distractions aside during an impressive finish to the regular season. New Jersey is 5-0-1 in its last six games and 8-2-1 since March 10.
With three games left on the schedule, the Devils can clinch a playoff spot as early as Tuesday night depending on what they and the ninth-place Florida Panthers do in their respective games.
“We always say that every game is the most important game of the season,” offered Devils rookie Nico Hischier, who scored his 19th goal in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. “It’s not just me that wants it. Every single guy in here wants these wins and knows every game is two huge points.”
During the weekend, the Devils admittedly were not at their best in beating two of the league’s weaker teams — the Islanders and the Canadiens — yet they still took all four points.
Taylor Hall continued his push for Hart Trophy consideration by extending his point-scoring streak to eight games
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“He’s been our MVP all year long, and the best player in the league in my opinion,” teammate Brian Boyle said of Hall, who has 37 goals and 89 points this season.
There’s no playoff or MVP talk for the first time in a long time with the Rangers this year. Sabotaged by poor play and then gutted by a series of trades of key veteran players, the Rangers barely resemble the team that reached three Eastern Conference finals since 2012, not to mention the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
Yet the Rangers played hard down the stretch with a young roster that is absent two more experienced players on Tuesday. Forwards Jesper Fast and Mats Zuccarello are both ruled out for the game — Fast with a groin injury, Zuccarello with an undisclosed injury after blocking a series of shots recently.
“We have a lot of young, talented players. It’s been fun to play with them,” Rangers alternate captain Marc Staal said. “With our situation and with what happened, there are a few older guys here, and it’s fun for us to feel the energy of the younger players, and their excitement coming to the rink.”
The Rangers, who are 2-4-2 in their last eight games
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“We’re just trying to finish out the season strong, playing hard, trying to play well,” Lundqvist explained. “Once we get to the offseason, then I will think about everything that happened this year.”
Tuesday marks the fourth and final meeting between the Hudson River rivals in 2017-18. The Devils are 2-1-0 against the Rangers, winning the only other game played in Newark, 4-3 in a shootout on Dec. 21.
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