IX- Our Quarterback situation got a whole lot stickier when the leading candidate to fill in for Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich, went down last night with a knee injury. Various news sources are reporting that the injury is an MCL tear and Lefty will likely be lost for more than 4 games. I feel really bad for Byron, because this was probably his last chance to campaign for a starting job somewhere beyond Pittsburgh after this year. Personally, I do not feel comfortable with Dixon taking a large portion of the snaps and would prefer my favorite Unsung Hero Charlie Batch to do so. Although, it would be really interesting if the Steelers went out and grabbed a name with a 1 year contract in an uncapped year. A lot of people are clamoring about Jeff Garcia and some mention Matt Leinart. Unfortunately, I doubt either of these guys would be able to significantly help us out until week 3 because of their lack of knowledge of our playbook.
X- Speaking of Quarterbacks, the Post-Gazette is reporting that Roethlisberger and Rooney will not be 'politicking' to reduce the suspension past a two game reduction. Why would you not give it a try? At worst, you get a 'no' and it is reduced by two games and you at least let him consider it.
XIII- Leftwich got injured? Blame Canada Mewelde Moore! It appears that Moore is getting paid off to take our quarterbacks out. QUICK, someone photoshop some hair onto him and see if he looks like the girl from Midgeville. Don't stop me now, I am on to something.
XIV- Peter King picked the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the Super Bowl over the Green Bay Packers this year. I think picking SB teams in the preseason is so ridiculous it is laughable, but reporters need something to write about. Anyway, in a follow up article King steps in and explains why he made the pick. His leading point is that the Steelers will once again have a stifling defense that will lead them to victories. I cannot disagree with that.
XL- If you missed the game yesterday there are a couple of places reporting their notes from the game. The Tribune has a nice summary of what they saw. Also, Steelers Depot has a video on this page of Gerry Dulac and Ed Bouchette doing a post game recap at Heinz Field. Additionally, Post Game Heroes has their complete review of the Steelers 2010 preseason here. I will give you a brief overview of the players that stood out to me.
First of all, Stevenson Slyvester might end up being the Troy Polamalu of our ILB once he gets accustomed to the NFL and Steelers defense. He digests plays very well and has a nose for the ball. On the same note, Crezdon Butler, IMO, might end up being our smartest DB outside of Troy Polamalu. He is very good at watching the QB and keeping his man covered at the same time, and therefore gets a very good jump on the ball when it is thrown his way. Emmanuel Sanders is the real deal. Great hands, good route runner, speedy, good blocker, and has moves after the catch. If he continues to improve, I think he could be the heir to Hines Ward. Antonio Brown should get a roster spot instead of Stefan Logan. He is faster and has better moves. If we could make splash plays on ST returns, it could help out our offensive problems in the first four weeks. Jonathan Dwyer is going to be the hardest decision when the coaches make the final roster cuts. I think he offers speed and power that none of the other back up RBs can offer. However, he is still a big project and his blocking leaves a lot to be desired. My gut feeling is that he would not last on the waiver line. Isaac Redman is good for one 10+ yard run every game. Keenan Lewis bounced back a little bit last night and made a few plays. We are still not seeing each other though. A few pics of the stand outs (from Yahoo):
XLIII- This bullets for you. Oops, I thought I was PixburgArn there for a second. Speaking of cuts, the 53 man rosters are due this weekend. A big question mark for me is the list of OL that will make this team behind the Starters. Steelers Lounge, a great, new Steelers site, did a break down of the Offensive Line play last night. Basically, they go through and rate each player giving them a "good" or "bad" for each play they are blocking. A penalty gives you an automatic "bad". Flozell, Starks Pouncey, and Hills top the list with Hartwig and Kemo being at the bottom. Anyway, I think Flozell has come a long quite nicely and I am expecting him to have a very good season. I think our biggest weakness on the line is going to be the guard spots.