The Pittsburgh Steelers won their preseason opener tonight in Tampa defeating the Buccaneers 27-17. Here are my rapid-fire thoughts as the game progressed.
Guys not playing tonight. T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Patrick Peterson, Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joey Porter, Jr who was held out with injuries.
Offense
-Let’s preface everything I’m about to say regarding the opening drive by saying this. The Bucs had almost their entire starting defense in shorts and tees on the sideline.
-Kenny Pickett looked terrific. 6/7 and a TD to George Pickens. He looked extremely comfortable and confident and made accurate throws. Everything we wanted to see, we saw. He was pressured and found room to make throws. He made accurate throws on the run and always knew where he was going with the ball. Real good night for number eight.
-George Pickens. Ho-hum. One catch. One sweet move. One touchdown.
-The offensive line is a work in progress. Chuks Okorafor just cannot run block consistently. Getting to the second level will be huge for him and the Steelers’ running game
-Diontae Johnson looked like he was in mid season form grabbing three passes for 32 yards. Makes you wonder if he isn’t in for a big year.
-Brutal sequence for Kendrick Green at center. After getting bulldozed in pass protection, he was called for a 50/50 holding penalty then mis-fired a snap leaving the Steelers in a third and 36.
-You could see immediately why Broderick Jones is still behind Dan Moore. He’s giving up way too much ground in pass protection and struggled at times with pass rushers of all varieties. Obviously a lot to work on but there were some positives too especially in run blocking.
-Many have compared Calvin Austin III to Dri Archer but I think you saw some key differences tonight. Archer had tremendous straight-line speed but lacked the ability to change direction. CAIII showed that he could be fast AND slippery. Even a few touches per game from him can make the defense play honestly.
-Awful debut for Tanner Morgan. Fumbles his first snap and barely recovers it. The next play he threw a pick over the middle. The NFL ain’t easy man.
-Anthony McFarland looked really good but we saw similar things at this stage last year too. Need to see him perform at this level when he goes against the opposing starters.
-Mason Rudolph started slow but I was impressed with him. He finished 7/12 for 132 yards and a touchdown pass to CAIII. He made a terrific 15-yard run for a first down and also hung tough in the pocket on several throws that were completed.
-Conversely, Mitch Trubisky was 1 for 4 for ten yards and a pick. He didn’t look good at all which runs counter to the nice Camp he had been having.
-Darnell Washington is a large human being and it’s obvious Matt Canada has lot of plans for him in terms of where he lines up and what routes he will be running.
Defense
-Kwon Alexander played like his hair was on fire. He tackled well and covered well. The personal foul penalty he received for his vicious hit was for one reason; he hit with the crown of his helmet. Gotta get the head up.
-Luc Barcoo better get his head up too when tackling.
-Usually when you see a rookie beat a guy for a sack in the third quarter of a preseason game you don’t think much of it. Nick Herbig however beat the Bucs’ starting right tackle Luke Goedeke for a sack of Kyle Trask. Herbig is doing all of the right things so far. He ended up with 1.5 sacks.
-James Pierre played most of the game and played well for the most part. He was beaten for a TD on an excellent throw and catch but otherwise was pretty solid. Pierre led the team with 10 tackles.
-Rookie DL Keannu Benton played well but unfortunately left with an ankle injury.
-Like Pierre, Mark Robinson played most of the game and looked very good against the run. His overall coverage was difficult to gauge due to the Steelers playing so much zone on the night. Robinson picked up six tackles.
-Really ugly knee injury for DB Duke Dawson towards the end of the game. Hoping it isn’t as bad as it appeared.
Special Teams
-B.T. Potter handled all of the place kicking duties with Chris Boswell getting the night off. He was perfect on all five of his kicks including two field goals and three extra points.
-Braden Mann, like Potter, was given all of the work at his position too. There’s no doubt he can hang the ball high but can do that consistently? Mann punted six times for an average of just over 45 yards per punt.
-Jordan Byrd was given the task of returning both punts and kickoffs. He had three KO returns for 54 yards.
Notes
-The heat index at kickoff was 108 degrees.
-Mike Tomlin will have plenty to discuss with his team. Whether he starts with ball security, poor tackling or dumb penalties first is up to him.
-I don’t think you can take anything that happened tonight and declare jobs as ‘safe’ or ‘lost’ just yet. As we’ve noted, injuries will help in those decisions but more play is needed in the next two weeks.
Photo courtesy espn.com
