Preseason Game #4: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Carolina Panthers - Open Thread
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 6:48 PM EDT
80 comments
Today is a joyous day. Tonight marks the end of the 2008 preseason schedule. Hallelujah! In addition to the games not -quite- satiating our appetite for football, preseason games also, of course, expose players to injury. We've been fairly lucky thus far with injurys (fingers crossed), at least anything severe. If we get through tonight unscathed, we should feel good about our chances to at least get out of the gates healthy and competitive when the regular season kicks off next Sunday.
This is your open thread for the final Steelers preseason game. Kick off is in less than an hour. If we get a link to watch the game online, I'll be sure to update this post with it for all to see.
Things to Watch For:
You may or may not know that the 4th and final preseason game is usually one in which coaches opt to play their starters very little, if at all. So, I hope you got your taste of Roethlisberger, Holmes, Timmons etc. We may see them for a few moments, but not much more than that.
However, with 18 cuts still to be made by Thursday, tonight marks a huge opportunity for guys on the bubble to make one final impression on the coaching staff and front office. Here's a few guys to keep an eye on specifically:
Willie Reid/Dallas Baker/Eddie Drummond - Last game's solid performance probably put Reid on the team, but Dllas Baker and/or Eddie Drummond still might have a chance to bump him with a special performance tonight. Drummond in particular better make something happen in the return game tonight or he's all but history.
Darnell Stapleton/Tony Hills - 9 or 10? How many OL will the Steelers keep? That's the million dollar question for these two guys. If it's 10, both should feel comfortable. If it's 9, one's headed to the PS. Stapleton may be the odd man out simply due to the saturation of Guards/Centers, and paucity of Tackles on the squad.
Those Punter Guys - I'm assuming both Mitch Berger and Paul Ernster will get a crack at punting the ball tonight. May the best man win. Actually, it's likely Ernster needs to absolutely amaze tonight, for no other reason than that if it is a close call, the coaches will likely go with Berger because of his longer and more stable track record.
Dennis Dixon - I imagine that Byron Leftwich will get to play close to 2 quarters of football tonight. I haven't read the PG or any other paper or column about the game, so I may be missing something. But I suspect that the coaches still would like Leftwich to get some more work in tonight, injury risk be damned. Still, Dixon should play plenty, after not playing at all against Minnesota. Tonight might be one more chance for him to instill some confidence in the coaches, just in case the unthinkable happened and Big Ben was sidelined.
Orpheus Roye - My hunch is that Roye makes this team if he shows anything tonight. Eason is making his case this offseason for a spot, but I think it's Roye's job to lose.
Special Teams - Anybody that's on the bubble and on special teams tonight better take advantage and make a play. It may be their last shot.
GO STEELERS!
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Lets Go Now
Getting revved up!!!
GO STEELERS!
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 6:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
no visual
damn
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 7:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
that justin tv aint workin'
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 7:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
well
It may just not quite be on yet. We’ll see.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 7:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
hmmm hope so
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 7:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
has the game been delayed or is it nfl website thats down?
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 7:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
not watching
What happened on the ben fumble….
by SteelerBuddha on Aug 28, 2008 7:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Hartwig snapped while ben was talking. Ben chased it down running for his life and we punted.
by steelguy99 on Aug 28, 2008 7:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Man, look at the push Kemo is getting on his side of the line. I don’t think I need to mention his contribution on the touchdown.
by steelguy99 on Aug 28, 2008 7:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I guess that's good news
I just didn’t want ben to be hit….. how is the pass pro looking? See the long drive with the pass intf. penalty. Did Washington break free?
by SteelerBuddha on Aug 28, 2008 7:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Not bad protection, I don’t think there has been a hurry yet. The throw to parker (sweet!) was looking like the line was breaking.
Washington was stuck.
by steelguy99 on Aug 28, 2008 7:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Who scored the TD?
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 7:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Davis had some nice redzone running, including the TD.
by steelguy99 on Aug 28, 2008 7:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Is our First Team D protesting
being out there this late in the pre-season. Or maybe Tomlin is punishing them until they stop the 2nd team offense….
by SteelerBuddha on Aug 28, 2008 7:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Nice pick mcfadden. 2nd team offense though, our pass D is not looking so hot, other than the int.
by steelguy99 on Aug 28, 2008 7:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
He is doing his thing, nothing spectacular but is doing his job.
by steelguy99 on Aug 28, 2008 7:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Heh, davis catches out of the backfield…
by steelguy99 on Aug 28, 2008 7:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I suppose that's refreshing
considering the play of anthony smith last year
by SteelerBuddha on Aug 28, 2008 7:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
If Ben does get injured maybe we just direct snap all the time…
by steelguy99 on Aug 28, 2008 7:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Patrick Bailey gets a great facemask tackle on special teams. No flag and even so, damn nice play. Madison had the first special team tackle on our punt from the endzone, did a nice job.
ST is looking pretty solid so far.
by steelguy99 on Aug 28, 2008 7:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
bummer
Just bad luck for us this time. Stream’s not working.
Anybody see that 26 yard run by FWP? What was it like? Huge hole? Nice cut(s)? Looks like the offense is doing just fine.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 7:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
There wasn’t much there actually. Blockers pushed right to the sidelines and willie followed hugging the sidelines the whole way.
by steelguy99 on Aug 29, 2008 12:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
spikey
Man, I love having a money kicker. Took me a while to be fully convinced that Jeff Reed’s an upper echelon, super reliable kicker. But after last year and the start of this year, I’m totally on board. It’d suck bigtime to have to wring our hands on most every attempt like some teams have to do with their headcase kickers. Thought I guess in the NFL, most all of them are good.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
berger
Looks like he got first crack at punting duties. 48 yard kick too with no return. Job’s his.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Agreed, ernster = too unreliable.
by steelguy99 on Aug 29, 2008 12:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
baker
Noticed he had a couple big catches. Might make things interesting out there. I notice that he and Willie Reid are both in the middle of lots of the action. Battle royale between them for perhaps just one spot.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
They both have shown good stuff. Baker’s dropped 3rd down was a bummer…
by steelguy99 on Aug 29, 2008 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
mewelde
What happened on his long reception? Bad defense? Make someone miss? I’ve seen some be skeptical of him, but I feel the exact opposite. This guy’s money and going to be VERY reliable and important to us if we decided to utilize him, which I think we will.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
He did exactly what we thought he’d do. 3rd down reception, wide open, with good yards after and some strength.
by steelguy99 on Aug 29, 2008 12:14 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
nice
Nice hold their on 3rd and 2. Looks like Keyaron Fox is in the middle of lots of plays. I like that.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
fuck
Fumble by Mendenhall. Guess they need to up the ante on that fumbling rule at practice and in the locker room. Not a good sign there, as things are certainly going to start creeping into his head now, if they hadn’t already before.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
4th and 1 from the 35
Surely they go for it.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
allright rook
lets hold on this time – put him back on the bike…..
by SteelerBuddha on Aug 28, 2008 8:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
STUFF!
Hoke! You da man!
Assisted by Bruce Davis. Nice. Couple plays by him already tonight, first we’ve heard from him really
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
two straight carries
Testing him now. I like that. Make him bounce back immediately, not think about it on sideline.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
strange the difference
between a first round pick and udfa. If FWP fumbled three times in 2 games he might have never got a shot. RM will be fine, but high draft status sure helps…..
by SteelerBuddha on Aug 28, 2008 8:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
good pt
Already big bucks invested in him. Steelers have to make it work, or at least give him tons of shots before finally giving up. Hell, J Harrington and D Carr got to be disastrous for multiple years.
Totally right though, even a 3rd-7th RB might get cut for fumbling. Theres tons of guys 5’11" 215 pounds who can carry the ball and take the physical punishment. Can’t afford to hold on to anybody who coughs it up.
I think RM will be fine too, but lets hope its sooner rather than later. Costing us just one game could be difference b/w playoffs or not.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
So true -
You know that he has a big x on his back (arms) right now. Anybody who has watched the game film, will be trying to strip him on every play. The good news – if he gets his head right, he will be able to capitalize on it. If not…..
by SteelerBuddha on Aug 28, 2008 8:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
We are not Detroit or Texas
We can’t afford that shit. We have a reputation to uphold and more Superbowls to win. They can sink as many season on crappy limp-wristed QBs as they want, but we don’t have that leisure. Our players need to be ready to play.
Just saying that the comparison is not quite accurate because the standard of play is immeasurably higher in Pittsburgh than it has been in Detroit since Sanders left, and higher than the Texans have ever even aspired to. The only UDFAs that get a shot here are the ones who show up ready to contribute on day numero uno.
Guns don't kill people. Lamar Woodley kills people.
by BostonWahoo on Aug 29, 2008 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Are you watching the game blitz?
And if so where/how?
by SteelerBuddha on Aug 28, 2008 8:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i am not
Following as best I can online. Hence all the questions above about what’s happening for those in the viewing area or listening to radio. About to take off for dinner with out of town guests here anyway.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
if you have NFL network
You can watch tomorrow at 2 EST. Or, grab lunch tomorrow somewhere where you can have it on. Looks like this has been a very entertaining first half of football, actually.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I am listening on the web
But can’t get the video. I will miss the show tomorrow, unless I can slip off to a casino somewhere in Atlantic City to watch. Rough life. ( :
by SteelerBuddha on Aug 28, 2008 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
lol
Yea, sucks. The stream’s just not working at that link. The other games are, so just bad luck. Oh well. You live in AC?
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
T Williams
Pretty small compared to D Jarret (6’4") who just made that 3rd down grab.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
good first half
GUys who helped themselves:
Chris Hoke – though no danger of not making team
Bruce Davis – made his presence felt finally on D
Dallas Baker and Willie Reid – man, both have been solid. I wonder if there will be enough opporutinities in the passing game for either to differentiate themselves in second half. Not envious of coaches tough choice here.
Not Good:
Hartwig – maybe that was Ben’s fault though on that early fumble.
Mendy – another fumble
E. Drummond – no fault of his own, but he needed chance to do more than make a fair catch I think to push himself over the top
Pass D – still a little porous but our heavy hitting pass rusheres werent really in there to help them out.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
uh boy idk
lets get moving Mendy, no more fumbles…Arians might eat him if he doesn’t stop…he got real mad last week after RM’s first fumble
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 8:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
He dropped one?
Damn the rooks are off to a slow start. It looks as if Sweed is a little blown away by the speed of everything-typical rookie learning curve. Still I’d like to see Sweed utilized more…
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 8:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Do you think Mendenhall will make any $ for his first contract?
Or will FWP and Hines be a couple million richer?
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 8:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
hehe
Worst case is he’s out 2-3k. I think he’ll survive.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
How did he fumble anyway
Did it just squirt out or did it get punched or stripped???
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 8:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
dunno
Waiting for report from someone with visual. Important question though.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
off to dinner
If anyone’s around, try to keep things going with the info. It’d be much appreciated. HS? You down? Buddha?
Check y’all in a bit.
by Blitzburgh on Aug 28, 2008 8:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Well I'll tell you what
Willie is looking 150%, I mean he’s raring to go. All preseason he has had no trouble at all running…
Yea I’ll do my best
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 8:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Attaboy Mendenhall
Bounce Back Now
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 8:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Mendy Turning it Up
Nice work knock on wood
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 9:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
DAMN
Is there any gamecast that is fully working
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 9:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
FOX
With the pick
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 9:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Reed misses a 43 yarder,
Touch and go with him; sometimes he’s great, sometimes he looks bad…
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 9:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Well, lets say 95% he’s great, shall we?
by steelguy99 on Aug 29, 2008 12:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
WOW
23 yarder run by Gary Russel
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 9:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
and then he loses 5 yards on 3rd and short...alrighty then
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 9:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
damn all tied up
29 yard td pass
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 9:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Dennis Dixon
Dunkin’ Donuts doin’ his thing
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 10:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Down to Reed Again
annnnnnnndddddddddddd…………
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 10:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
REED FOR THE WIN
Redemption-nailed that 43 yarder… ALRIGHT
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 28, 2008 10:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
hey guys
sorry i couldn’t be online but a few of my observations…
The shotgun snap/fumble was all Hartwig snapping it while Ben was still making calls
The long pass interference on Nate was going to be a long and real pretty TD if the CB didn’t grab Nate’s arm. That was a perfect throw to Nate who just barely had a step on his man
I know there are people here that don’t care for him, but Anthony Smith can flat out play. He should probably be the strong safety instead of the free safety, but he is the guy in the secondary that opposing receivers ought to be terrified of.
We’ve been talking about the competition between Reid and Baker for the 5th WR spot…well I think at this point they’re competing for the #4 spot. The coaching staff cannot have faith in Sweed to be the #4 with all of his drops on what should be easy catches
That said the catch he made in the endzone that was called back was a catch that no other WR on our team could make. That was an incredible play and once he gets it figured out he will be special.
Mendenhall ran well, the fumble was a solid run but at the end he spun right into the tackler. He still needs to secure the ball better and run lower.
Gary Russell is still a beast and at some point he’s gonna get his chance and make a big splash.
Mewelde Moore also looked good. I think Blitz mentioned he could be our Kevin Faulk and he looked like it tonight. The running back depth this year is very impressive. He’s also my choice for punt returner
As some readers on BTSC pointed out way back when, Fox was another great under the radar pickup. He’s looked solid at linebacker as well as on special teams.
Ricardo Coclough is trying to make the panthers. yuck.
by schnifin on Aug 28, 2008 11:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh man I wished I had seen that
That Sweed robbed catch I mean, I agree with you though. Sweed is still in the learning curve as he should be, and that was one of things that was said about him coming out of college. He’ll make the incredible acrobatic catch but then he’ll drop the easy one. They’ve also said he’ll drive WR coaches crazy by consistently asking what he can do better. Well he they can give him their answer this time “Catch the ******* ball” lol.
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by HighSchoolSteeler on Aug 29, 2008 2:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
What did you guys think of Donovan Woods? Solid play, an easy sack, and one of the more athletic launches over a line I have ever seen.
by steelguy99 on Aug 29, 2008 12:18 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Bailey and Madison made a case for themselves tonight on special teams play. Pretty awesome stuff.
Sad to see Arnold Harrison go down, though honestly when I saw Harrison down I momentarily shit a brick. Sorry Arnold, you are not James, but still pretty heartbreaking to see the kid…
Speaking of injuries, A. Smith messed up their QB on a good play. Really sucks for a 4th game preseason injury like that.
by steelguy99 on Aug 29, 2008 12:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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