Home Steelers 2018 Season Impressions from the Steelers-Titans Game

Impressions from the Steelers-Titans Game

by Ben Anderson
Tuitt

A bunch of things that I think I think after watching the Steelers-Titans preseason game a few times.

  • James Conner runs strong, but doesn’t use his vision to find a hole. He follows his blockers to where that hole is supposed to be. The opposite of Le’veon Bell who waits for openings and then runs to daylight. That quality is what makes Bell so hard to read when defending the run.
  • Conner looking more and more comfortable catching the ball.
  • Ben sailing the ball a bit on some of his throws: placing it too high in the target zone or just completely over-throwing.  Rust?
  • On the other hand, Ben’s TD throw to Justin Hunter was so good that it was practically impossible to defend.
  • Ben’s throw to JuJu on 4th and 1 was a little behind his receiver. Ben needs some more playing time.
  • Jesse James’ inability to block still mystifies me. He’s not a great, but good athlete, and set records in the Penn State weight room.
  • B.J. Finney is not in David DeCastro’s class as a pulling guard, but did enough to spring Conner on a backside pull. I’m surprised that Harold Landry wasn’t flagged for an obvious whip kick to the knee, trip-tackle on Conner.
  • While definitely the beneficiary of extra attention being paid to Cam Heyward on the other side, Stephon Tuitt playing like a man possessed in the first series. He absolutely abused Josh Kline, the Titans’ right guard.
  • Tuitt was pretty impressive vs the Titans. That was a concern to me after two decent but, unremarkable seasons.
  • Matthew Thomas getting reps as the Dime Linebacker with the first team. He looks “ok,” not impressive, but it does represent a role that may keep him on the 53-man roster. Fingers crossed.
  • Was hoping that Thomas would get more reps with the special teams units, but he did have one tackle on a kickoff.
  • Anthony Chickillo is really bad at setting the edge. Nothing new, but a concern because he’s the top backup at both OLB spots.
  • Burns more aggressive in run defense than we’ve seen him be in the past. Will this become a trend or is it a flash?
  • Steelers running 3-4 Over to mixed success as a run defense.
  • Refs missed a face mask on the Cam Sutton punt return fumble. It’s pretty obvious too. Titans’ #48 turns his facemask so hard it looked like he was trying to rip Sutton’s head off. Titan’s game announcer: “…great play by Beau Brinkley there.”  Yes, outstanding attempt at decapitating a punt returner he got away with there. Still, Sutton’s gotta hang onto that ball.
  • First team O line (minus Foster) looks good again this week.
  • Not having access to All-22 to do evaluations is annoying. Almost as annoying as the way that Dan Hellie and Charles Davis (Titans TV) called the game. Almost.
  • Bucky Hodges gets into the game as an injury replacement for Jesse James,…. and ran the wrong route on the next snap.
  • Terrell Edmunds acceleration on an interception return was impressive.
  • Justin Hunter allowing a rookie linebacker to take the ball from him was less than impressive. Alas, I’ve grown accustomed to being unimpressed with Hunter. He has been a solid practice/preseason player his whole NFL career, only to fade when the regular season starts.
  • Chuks Okorafor is coming along pretty well. He played some at extra tackle, or blocking tight end, and did alright. Full disclosure: I didn’t think this kid would contribute anything this year. After watching his college tape, it’s obvious he has great feet, but from a technical standpoint he was awful at Western Michigan. It looks more likely each week that this “project tackle” will get a hat on Sundays as the swing tackle this season. I’m not saying that he’s a finished product yet, but him being a lot more competent than expected is a very pleasant surprise.
  • Matt Feiler, who before late last season I really didn’t have much belief in, looks like he’s going to be a respectable guard. He can also play right tackle and is learning the center position. He’s the new Chris Hubbard. I’m sure that Mike Munchak being an outstanding position coach has a lot to do with Feiler’s ascension.
  • Jaylen Samuels looks good running the ball and is a natural pass catcher. Someone please teach the kid how to block so that he can have a role on 3rd downs.
  • Zach Banner looks pretty good as a run blocker. Don’t know if I would want him replacing Al Villanueva at left tackle though. His pass protection is not great.
  • Mason Rudolph with two delay of game penalties this preseason.
  • Steelers kick coverage units were better today. Danny Smith sucks slightly less than usual.
  • Keion Adams and Ola Adeniyi both still making it hard to decide who the 4th OLB will be.
  • On the LJ Fort strip and run back that was called back, the explanation was poor, but the call was correct. They had blown the play dead before Fort had the ball. It can also be argued that Dawkins had hit the ground before he lost it.
  • Marcus Allen continues to underwhelm. Even the interception at the end of the game was on a desperation heave,…on 4th and 23,…by a guy who’ll be stocking groceries in the same store that Kurt Warner worked at in two weeks.

Photo Credit: Fred Vuich, Associated Press

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1 comment

bob graff August 27, 2018 - 12:56 am

Why ain’t there a like button ??? good piece

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