Football is Back - Steelers Tame the Lions 23-7 in Their First Preseason Game

he can FLY, I think we have a third WR in the mold of Anchorman on our hands. I was also impressed by Redman just stoning a free rusher on a blitz last night allowing Dixon to complete a pass.

I’ve been reading on several sites now how Madison has looked good as a corner in camp and now this game. I would love to keep him on the roster and to actually know that he can step in in an emergency at his position. He is great as a ST gunner, but I enjoy guys not only kept for their ST play. If this was not just a one-game-fluke, we might just have a luxury problem at CB… who would have thought.

Also, I feel bad for that puppy.

…played better than Max Starks at left OT. Of course he played against second and third stringers. Kyle Vanden Bosch made a pass rushing spin move on Starks that made him look silly. Vanden Bosch also beat Chris Kemoeatu. As Johnny_S points out, Flozell Adams’ play was somewhat disappointing as well. I am not as confident with the Steelers O-Line as most.

Thanks for the great article Johnny_S

1. Sylvester was all over the field and seemed to be reading plays well
2. Sanders didn’t get the opportunities Brown did, but I do recall him running a nice quick slant and going up for a good third down catch in traffic
3. Like others have mentioned, I liked Antonio Brown’s quickness after the catch (and the hands he displayed on that throw from Batch near the end of the game)
4. Liked the CB play near the red zone from Lewis and Burnett
5. I saw Doug Worthington showing some major hustle chasing down a screen from behind
6. Summers looked good on special teams and made a nice catch out of the backfield
7. Mike Wallace made a nice clutch catch on (I think) the first series

Lefty, tuck your damned jersey in!!!!!!
Dixon looked good, but he still has more learning to do.
Overall I was happy with how we played.
Mendenhall needs to keep the ball closer to his body
Redman looked good
Yay, football!
:)

For sitting Ben the entire game… Good job coach!

I thought K fox and Pouncey looked good to…

I hope that Flozell was just playing at half-speed due to the fact that it is the preseason, but we cannot afford to have him beaten on the majority of passing plays. So far all of the rookies, with the exception of Dwyer, look quite good.

What a great job our FO did in the draft this year! Sanders and Brown should fill in as a fantastic WR corps once Ward and ARE are gone. Pouncey will be a solid center in the league. Worthington is a high motor guy who wants to be on the team. I’m rooting for him now.
Redman looked great.
BA had better playcalling
Dixon has to start. I do not want Lefty in there. There is a reason why the Bucs got rid of him. we will go 1-3 with Lefty. With Dixon 3-1 at least!

For this above all else.

I know he was playing against scrubs but he’s 31 yards down field knocking peoples’ heads off after he springs Redman with a key block. When is the last time you saw Hartwig, Essex, or any other Steelers offensive lineman get that far down the grid iron and still be effective?

The rest of the evening he did more than hold his own. Looks like we got a good one here.

Pouncey looked good on a lot of plays. on one I remember Redman got dumped in the backfield, Pouncey drove the NT off to the side, only to have Tony Hills get knocked backwards and the play get blown up. You could tell Pouncey had gotten his position and drove his man, he looked great in the plays I saw.

I’ll try and stay away from my undying love of Dennis Dixon (Oregon Ducks fan here) but to me Lefty just looks really stiff. He doesn’t drop away from the line quickly, his throwing motion is slow and long which leads to times where he’s getting hit right when he throws it, and his footwork leaves a lot to be desired.

We can talk all we want about how Dixon wasn’t facing starters, but Lefty was, and they were Detroit Lion starters, and he looked down right pedestrian at best. Someone please tell me what I am missing in watching Lefty slowly drop back, stand there and look like a tree, wind up from his ankles and slowly deliver pass as he gets flat backed… ok that’s a little harsh, but I’m not impressed at all with Lefty right now.

Guess I can be glad we have 3 more games for me to get used to it.

I expect Tomlin to get a few things straightened out for next week against the Giants

I’m not basing this purely on the performance from Saturday … but is anyone else worried about the lack of weapons on offense? Obviously, this is all on paper at this point … but if you look at our probably starters, there isn’t much firepower there.

I love Hines Ward, but at his age, he’s not a threatening number 1 receiver. Mike Wallace is coming along, but he’s no replacement for Holmes. Mendenhall is a beast, but he still plays like a rookie. Redman is a question mark. Our TEs are awesome, but they aren’t going to support the whole offense. The offensive line is a joke, and our only real weapon on offense is out for the first 4 games.

I’m not freaking out … I’m just laying out my thoughts. Our defense will keep us in every game (I think) … but our offense just looks completely harmless.

He is like a poorman’s Leron McClain.

I really hope he keeps this up and gets a spot, and a chance at some point this year. I think he could be really special and if he can play like that against 1st teams I would love to see him over Moore.

As everyone said, Leftwich looked stiff and not really that great. Then again, it’s hard to look good with a line like that >.> I sure as hell am not calling anything based on one pre-season game, but what I saw did not look promising. Again, pre-season and first game. I’m more then confident it will improve.

I think if Leftwich drops the Atlanta game Dixon will get his start in Tennessee. Here’s hoping, though I feel dirty saying that considering how good Leftwich was as a back up for us and how screwed he got in Tampa (it was Tampa right?) but Dixon looks like SO MUCH FUN to watch. And he is explosive as hell when he see’s a hole he likes. Decision making will come with EXPERIENCE, and the best experience is on the field. Here’s hoping he get’s a good shot this year, because unless he is still in contract, I have a feeling some team is going to get him next year or the year his contract is up. We are sitting on what could be a very big weapon and it’s kind of infuriating.

Did WIllie Gay even see the field? I don’t recall seeing him.

I was a little concerned with our O-line at first, but then realized it is just the first game. In time, I think the line will come together. I want to see how the coaches react to the tape and what adjustments they make.

WR’s showed promise
CB’s showed promise as well

Looks like this year’s draft may be a remarkable one

QB- Dixon shows athleticism but is very skittish in the pocket and his reads were iffy. More flash means popular support, but I suspect the coaches will stick with Lefty.
RB- Mendy is a lock of course, but after that it’s anybody’s guess. Memo should make it on account of his experience and versatility. Redman looks real good and should be no.3, Summers and Dwyer are competing for the same job. Is there room for Logan here?
WR- We HAVE to keep six here IMO. There’s no way we can cut Brown or Sanders and ARE and Battle have to be kept as well.
DL- Sunny Harris or Worthington for spot no. 7. Good problem to have, hope we can stash the loser on the PS.
LB- Gibson and Worilds have it made and Sly is making a strong case to be no. 9 here. Bye-bye Bailey, you did nothing to convince me yesterday that you’re anything more than a special teamer.
Toughest decisions will come at DB, however.
CB- Ike, B-Mac, Gay, Burnett, Lewis, Butler and Madison all deserve a spot but we can’t keep em all. The fourth safety spot will probably go to Mundy as he is having a good camp and knows the system by now. The promising young guys can go on the PS for a year…
Seriously, though, on good corner is going to get cut. I think it’s going to have to be Butler. I really like him, but we could probably hide him on the PS while he learns the ropes and the other young guys look real good and should be ready to help us now.

Tough choices!

1- I know he won’t mean much to the Steelers this year, but we have to give Nick Eason credit for his play last year. Coming in for Smith, those are big shoes to fill. He worked hard every game, and had a not stop motor and I certainly respect him for that.

2- This is the first year since ‘04 the Steelers don’t have a contributing speed back. (Even if Logan makes the teams, the backfield is just too crowded for him get carries) I know Mendenhall has some speed, but is obviously more a power guy. Everyone one else is a bruiser. Where is the change of pace???

I think concerns for next year’s draft.

-Someone on the O-Line
-Good Safety
-Someone on the O-Line
-Someone to develop under and replace Casey

In no order, but a safety in the 1st or 2nd round is vital.

And I like it. I just wish Bettis would come to camp and show Mendy how it is done (both with lowering your pads, and decreasing fumbles)
If that happened Mendy can become better than Bettis because he also has speed

but I think him paying a visit to camp would have a huge effect on every RB on the team. I just wish it would happen. I think it would especially light a fire under Dwyer’s ass and give Mendenahll a real vision of what he good be is he learns to stop spinning, and get dirty.

I didn’t get to watch the game but, from highlights and what people say, the O-Line still sucked. Does anybody know the impact the new O-Line coach has made?

I agree with a lot of the above comments, no need to rehash them all. I did hear and see both Madison and C-Smith all over the place as well; overall I was pleasantly surprised with the pass defense. Not much of a rush to help them out, but maybe that’s not a bad thing, making them hold the plays longer right now could help their confidence (as long as they’re ultimately stopping the plays that is).

I thought the second team o-line clearly outplayed the first team, but it’s relative to whom they lined up against.

I will say that one of the reasons I had hoped Dixon would get the nod over Lefty showed up – the lack of Lefty’s foot-speed/getting out of the pocket. I won’t argue that Dennis seemed to give up his progressions at times and take off too early. However, our o-line didn’t exactly stand out as being great protectors for Lefty, and to me anyway, Left is not the guy to be back there if the line is questionable. This isn’t intended as a knock on Byron, more a testament to Dennis being able to get out into the open field.

3 of the first 4 games are against teams with better than average D-lines (the Bucs I’m not sure about right now) that can get into the back-field, and unless our line starts to jell and show big-time improvement, I think Dennis is the choice. If not, he may end up back there anyway if Byron gets hit enough….