Backups to see plenty of action in Hall of Fame game

Thankfully for the die-hard NFL fan the waiting ends tomorrow evening when the Minnesota Vikings meet the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2015 edition of the Hall of Fame Game.

Despite playing in the SEC, which is college football’s top conference, Bud Dupree wasn’t a household name among many Steelers fans when he became Pittsburgh’s No. 1 draft pick last spring.

The team still ran about the same number of plays it usually does.

The annual NFL exhibition game, held in conjunction with the induction weekend for the NFL Hall of Fame class of 2015, will feature the Steelers against the Minnesota Vikings.

A 6-4, 260-pound linebacker, Dupree wants to put on a good show.

The team’s first-round pick hasn’t yet been able to fully unleash through two weeks of training camp practices.

According to his teammates, there’s a good reason for that.

But will Peterson get much – or any – time on the field? “One day, he’s working on his hands and the next is about getting off the ball faster”.

“The next move I do after my first move, I have to make sure it’s explosive as well”. And his teammates are OK with that. With an eye toward advancing that process, as well as protecting some of his seasoned veterans, Tomlin said that Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, Heath Miller, Antonio Brown, Maurkice Pouncey, and James Harrison will not play at all vs. the Vikings.

“I’ve been here for a long time now. We’re going to need him throughout the course of the season”.

When football season officially returns with the first of 65 unofficial games, a guy who may not have a job come September 10 will get plenty of work.

And it won’t be just what they do with their snaps on offense or defense that will determine if those backups remain on the roster.

Another thing Tomlin will be watching is how some of the rookies can adapt to playing special teams.

“I’ve kind of outgrown wanting to play in the preseason”, Peterson said. We’ve got some guys who have distinguished themselves offensively and defensively but have very little background in special teams. He said he feels like a natural fit with the Steelers because the defense plays to his strengths, but he has had to learn a lot in a short time.

The process, especially at this stage of the NFL calendar, primarily is for the young players, those guys who are still trying to establish themselves as professionals. “He will probably be out for this football game, but we expect him to work his way back to us”.