I just read a peice concerning the Eagles defensive performance against our 1st string offense last week.  There are the normal sort of cliches like "we beat ourselves", but some of the quotes are a little interesting.

Jim Johnson, Eagles D coordinator, makes the strange statement that he was suprised the the Steelers came out running and ran so much.  Implication being that this tactic confused the Eagles.  Now, I'm not a strategic genius, but considering that the Steelers are known for running, had questions about their number one back (who led NFL in rushing for so long last year) and have drafted another back as their number one pick - there might be ball-hauling going on.

Quintin Mikell, Eagles safety, made the comment that their defense stiffened up  after the first series (and Ben was off the field!).  He also thought that the Eagles were caught off guard because they didn't have any up to date film to study  - and it seemed like the Steelers had really game-planned for the game.   Why would he not expect the 1st team offense to try to run a planned series when they were only there for a series.  Even though Tomlin has said that they aren't scheming teams in preseason like the regular, they are going to have a plan of sorts...

Also of note - a possibly misrepresented comment from Reid about how the blocking scheme looked completely different from last year (I hope so!) - This I've also seen quoted as saying that the Eagles don't normally practice against that style of blocking.  

Now...some of the peice just sounds like good old sour grapes from the D, but I do wonder what sort of games (if any)  the Steelers might have been playing in terms of changing things up to not show their hand or possibly  lead the Eagles on for the next game.... At any rate it's interesting to see what the Eagles thought about loosing to the AFC North Champs!

Sporting News is reporting the the Steelers have actually signed both Byron Leftwich and Daunte Culpepper.   Which depending on how you look at it could mean a nice preseason duel to see which of these guys they'll keep onboard for the 2nd string QB, or in an admittedly remote  possibility....Dixon goes to practice squad and we keep both of these guys.  Could they be that cheap?

I can't imagine that they would think about keeping both of these guys, but I suppose that having the other preseason games left to play is a good chance to judge their performance pick the best one.  I worry that this competition could have negative impact on working out Dixon during the preseason, but then again - they may not even be counting him in the equation.

As if we didn't already have enough questions over the lineup during preseason...still I suppose it gives us something else to fret about. 

Still wondering what occurs when Charlie comes back early in the season.   Signing one of these guys is going to cost some position an extra roster spot.   Where do you guys think they will trim off a little to make room for this move?

I just finished reading  Brown's Trib article concerning guys on the team now (like Bloom ) who are really looking to make a splash on Friday versus the Eagles.  There's an interesting comment from Chris Hoke about how he didn't hesitate to throw punches to get the attention of the coaches (which could explain some of Anthony Smith's strange behavior?)  

My questions for everyone is who are the players that are right on the edge of making it, and who are you looking to check the progress of in the preseason?   Who do you think is walking already?  Who do you expect alot from on Friday, and who do you think will fizzle?

It seems so easy to know who will stay and go, but even relatively high draft picks (Fred Gibson) can go the way of the dodo... 

Just caught Dulac's video review of camp from Saturday.   Apparently Big Snack was 40 pounds overweight reporting to camp, and there's no sign of when he might start practice.  Dulac says, "I don't know when we will see him on the practice field.  We have still seen him though...in the cafeteria."    That's just the spot you want to see someone who needs to loose 40 pounds. 

Other news was Ben and Woodley both out day-to-day with groin injuries.  They're playing Timmons at ROLB and Silverback at LOLB in the meantime.

Steelers.com is showing they have resigned center Doug Legursky and released place kicker Julian Rauch.   With all of the speculation about the o-line and the wrongness of Mahan...and the hope for Hartwig, does this resigning represent prudence or desperation?     Is camp not looking that good for either center?  How does everyone feel about Legursky as a prospect - good development potential or constant backup?   Was he brought back just to make the other guys fight harder?

Lolley reports that Tomlin was frustrated at team peformance last night after all three offensive teams couldn't score in 15 tries in the red zone drill last night...noting that Ben missed Spaeth twice in the endzone.   This begs the question as to whether the defense is just outperforming the offense...or otherwise.  In a backs on backers drill apparently Timmons blew everyone away other than FWP, who was able to stand him up. 

Did any of our camp watchers notice the o-line play on this drill, or were there other issues here?