Chidi29
08-15-2010, 07:19 PM
Football is back and all is right with the world. Getting the win, even in the preseason, was icing on the cake.
The most important thing to take away from this game: It was just one game. There's still a ways to go, and we shouldn't jump the gun too much positively or negatively. The best line of the day was at the end of Tomlin's press conference when asked about Antonio Brown, he responded, "Nice start." And that was it. Two words that should have been followed by an explosion in the background or something. It was that awesome. And it's that true. It's one game. Knee-jerk reactions get you nowhere in this business.
First Half
- Great to see LeBeau honored pre-game.
- Mendenhall has to secure the ball when he's about to make contact, even if he thinks he can shed the tackle. That's how he lost the first fumble. He kept going, but the ball didn't. Ball security always seems to be an issue for him in the preseason.
- Keenan Lewis was a starting gunner. I think Will Allen was the other, but it might have been Anthony Madison (Madison and Lewis were gunners on the second punt). I can't say for sure.
- Clark was playing as a one deep safety on the second play of the game with Troy in the box. Ryan was about 20 yards behind the line.
- Ike Taylor and Madison were first team jammers.
- Might be preseason, but the blitzes were heavy as they always are. Timmons, Woodley, and McFadden overloaded the right side on the Clark interception. Worth noting the play had Farrior, from his ILB spot, run over to cover the TE (though it could have been more zone with him playing underneath and safety help over the top, hard to tell). Either way, the team must not think Farrior's lost that much of a step.
- Lots of pre-snap movement from the tight ends and fullbacks. Didn't see that a whole lot last season.
- Woodley stayed in with the second team defense. Only starter to do so. Not really sure why. Worildv was out, but Gibson later played as the strong side linebacker. Maybe Gibson isn't progressing that well and didn't earn the spot with the second team.
- Keenan Lewis and Joe Burnett did well covering the fade routes to Calvin Johnson. Both got their hips turned, inside position, located the ball, and put a hand up.
- Justin Hartwig and Flozell Adams were the first lineman to come out. They were replaced by Maurkice Pouncey and Jonathan Scott, respectively. Rest of the first stringers stayed in a little while longer.
- Flozell played as advertised. He's a big body that can lock on and crash down to move lineman out of the way as well as anyone, but he's very slow off the snap. I know it's pass protection, but I think he could still pack a stronger first punch with guys coming off the edge. That's really his only way to compensate for slow feet and lack of ability to mirror (he actually got completely turned around early in the game). He ended up getting some help via chips to try to keep Byron upright.
- Pouncey showed really good hustle to get downfield and try to throw a block on the long run by Redman. I thought the rookie played really well. He was better at center than he was at guard. Great hustle, wasn't afraid to mix it up, created running lanes, and picked up delayed blitzes. He needs to keep his head on a swivel when downfield (see the screen pass to Redman, also pointed out by Ed Nelson), but it was a promising start. Let's see how he looks next week.
- Did some rough estimates on Reed's hangtime for a couple kickoffs.
- Touchback: 3.5
- First kick to the one: 3.8
- Second kick to the one: 3.95
- Keyaron Fox and Lawrence Timmons did really nice jobs of filling gaps. I have very little worry over Timmons' ability to handle the run. Especially with the ankle sprain a non-issue.
- Complete second team line from LT to RT: Hills, Foster, Pouncey, Legursky, Scott
- One thing that won't be talked about on the long catch and run by Arnaz Battle. Emmanuel Sanders attempted to sacrifice himself to take out a Lions' defender trailing. It didn't really work (Like I said, it was an attempt, not a success), but those are some of the little things you like to see out of the young guys. Especially small ones who aren't known for being physical. Hines Ward must be beaming.
- Mewelde Moore was again being unselfish on the Dixon almost-touchdown. Took out Zac Follett. Not as good as him taking out EJ Henderson last year (My favorite play last season), but still pretty good.
- David Johnson seems to be ahead of Sean McHugh on the depth chart. Did see McHugh throw a couple nice blocks though. Still think Johnson will make the team over him.
- Kraig Urbik came in at RG for Doug Legursky when Doug went in at FB on the Redman touchdown.
- Good push from the line, both first and second team, in short-yard situations.
- Ziggy looked good. Quick hands and blew up a run right before the end of the second quarter.
Second Half
- Have to laugh at Bob Pompeani at saying Tyler Grisham had "Welker like skills". Not even close. Unless being white is a skill.
- Justin Thornton laid out a big hit to force a fumble. Was a star at OTAs, carrying that over into camp.
- Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith made some big hits and was a reliable tackler. Glad he's back.
- Dixon had a little too much touch on the lone incompletion to Grisham. Throw really should be closer to the sidelines where you can hit Grisham in stride on that post corner.
- Regarding Dennis Dixon, he showed what he does best, but like I said in the beginning, it was just one game. Backups are slower and a lot easier to fool. You're not going to see him run around without incident as often if he were to start Week 1. He needs to keep his eyes downfield. He'll probably be inconsistent too.Guys with those skillsets usually are. For those who are doing the knee-jerk reaction of "Wow, start him" will be doing a 180 in a bad start.
- And yes, I'm aware that I'm the person who said to give him a chance. But there is a big difference between giving him a chance and giving him the starting job after one game.
- Byron Leftwich really wasn't that bad. Not great, but again, only a few series with tackles that didn't give him much help.
- Isaac Redman did really well in pass protection. Looks like there is some truth to Arians calling him the best pass blocking back on the team.
- One weird looking play I spotted. Dixon rolled out to the right with the RG pulling to the left and the line crashing down that way too. Ended up going for a minimal gain.
- Sanders with a good block on the little dump off to Grisham. Too bad Tyler couldn't take advantage of it.
- Great read by Dixon on a 3rd and 3. He saw a heavy blitz and hit his hot read, a slant to Sanders.
- Tony Hills could have had a false start on two occassions. No calls on either. Don't know if the coaches view that as a good or bad thing.
- Favorite play of the day - 4:57 left in the 3rd on a 1st and 10 run by Dixon. Pouncey absolutely jacks up an unaware Lion DT. Dude just dropped. Great stuff.
- That was followed up by a semi-scary moment. Pouncey got his leg rolled into by a LB sacking Dixon. Pouncey grabbed his leg and was down for a second. I guess he's ok, but don't be surprised to see his name pop up regarding a minor injury.
- Cromartie-Smith was at SS with Thornton at FS for those of you keeping score.
- Maybe it's just me overanalyzing, but Antonio Brown signaling first down when he was two yards short shows a lack of field awareness. Unless he thought he had stayed inbounds long enough to dive past the marker.
- Another offensive line setup: Tony Hills, Kraig Urbik, Doug Legursky, Maurkice Pouncey, Jonathan Scott
- Crezdon Butler and Sanders were working as gunners late in the game.
- Scott wasn't a bad run blocker, but he seemed to bend his waist in pass protection. Bleh.
- Getting back to Hills, he looked quick at getting to the second level, finished plays, and made a nice cut block, but he still doesn't show a lot of upper body strength. He got knocked to the ground on one of the first plays he was in. He does look better than last year, I'll say that much.
- Didn't realize Brown was as fast as he was. Unless that's a product of him going against a 3rd string defense, which is a pretty good bet. The safety got flat footed that sprung Brown down the sideline.
- Ramon Foster got a couple snaps at RT. Wonder if Scott came up dinged or if it was planned.
- I don't have the last five minutes taped, but I think this is how the line went for the final series or two. Adrian Jones, Doug Legursky, Kraig Urbik, Dorian Brooks, Kyle Jolly.
- Jolly's feet got a little stiff.
- Tomlin said that Brooks is also being looked at the Legursky/FB role.
- Stevenson Sylvester needs to be a more consistent tackler.
- Thaddeus Gibson didn't look that good. Swallowed up against the run, didn't show a great first step when rushing the passer. Aside from one near sack, he didn't do much.
The most important thing to take away from this game: It was just one game. There's still a ways to go, and we shouldn't jump the gun too much positively or negatively. The best line of the day was at the end of Tomlin's press conference when asked about Antonio Brown, he responded, "Nice start." And that was it. Two words that should have been followed by an explosion in the background or something. It was that awesome. And it's that true. It's one game. Knee-jerk reactions get you nowhere in this business.
First Half
- Great to see LeBeau honored pre-game.
- Mendenhall has to secure the ball when he's about to make contact, even if he thinks he can shed the tackle. That's how he lost the first fumble. He kept going, but the ball didn't. Ball security always seems to be an issue for him in the preseason.
- Keenan Lewis was a starting gunner. I think Will Allen was the other, but it might have been Anthony Madison (Madison and Lewis were gunners on the second punt). I can't say for sure.
- Clark was playing as a one deep safety on the second play of the game with Troy in the box. Ryan was about 20 yards behind the line.
- Ike Taylor and Madison were first team jammers.
- Might be preseason, but the blitzes were heavy as they always are. Timmons, Woodley, and McFadden overloaded the right side on the Clark interception. Worth noting the play had Farrior, from his ILB spot, run over to cover the TE (though it could have been more zone with him playing underneath and safety help over the top, hard to tell). Either way, the team must not think Farrior's lost that much of a step.
- Lots of pre-snap movement from the tight ends and fullbacks. Didn't see that a whole lot last season.
- Woodley stayed in with the second team defense. Only starter to do so. Not really sure why. Worildv was out, but Gibson later played as the strong side linebacker. Maybe Gibson isn't progressing that well and didn't earn the spot with the second team.
- Keenan Lewis and Joe Burnett did well covering the fade routes to Calvin Johnson. Both got their hips turned, inside position, located the ball, and put a hand up.
- Justin Hartwig and Flozell Adams were the first lineman to come out. They were replaced by Maurkice Pouncey and Jonathan Scott, respectively. Rest of the first stringers stayed in a little while longer.
- Flozell played as advertised. He's a big body that can lock on and crash down to move lineman out of the way as well as anyone, but he's very slow off the snap. I know it's pass protection, but I think he could still pack a stronger first punch with guys coming off the edge. That's really his only way to compensate for slow feet and lack of ability to mirror (he actually got completely turned around early in the game). He ended up getting some help via chips to try to keep Byron upright.
- Pouncey showed really good hustle to get downfield and try to throw a block on the long run by Redman. I thought the rookie played really well. He was better at center than he was at guard. Great hustle, wasn't afraid to mix it up, created running lanes, and picked up delayed blitzes. He needs to keep his head on a swivel when downfield (see the screen pass to Redman, also pointed out by Ed Nelson), but it was a promising start. Let's see how he looks next week.
- Did some rough estimates on Reed's hangtime for a couple kickoffs.
- Touchback: 3.5
- First kick to the one: 3.8
- Second kick to the one: 3.95
- Keyaron Fox and Lawrence Timmons did really nice jobs of filling gaps. I have very little worry over Timmons' ability to handle the run. Especially with the ankle sprain a non-issue.
- Complete second team line from LT to RT: Hills, Foster, Pouncey, Legursky, Scott
- One thing that won't be talked about on the long catch and run by Arnaz Battle. Emmanuel Sanders attempted to sacrifice himself to take out a Lions' defender trailing. It didn't really work (Like I said, it was an attempt, not a success), but those are some of the little things you like to see out of the young guys. Especially small ones who aren't known for being physical. Hines Ward must be beaming.
- Mewelde Moore was again being unselfish on the Dixon almost-touchdown. Took out Zac Follett. Not as good as him taking out EJ Henderson last year (My favorite play last season), but still pretty good.
- David Johnson seems to be ahead of Sean McHugh on the depth chart. Did see McHugh throw a couple nice blocks though. Still think Johnson will make the team over him.
- Kraig Urbik came in at RG for Doug Legursky when Doug went in at FB on the Redman touchdown.
- Good push from the line, both first and second team, in short-yard situations.
- Ziggy looked good. Quick hands and blew up a run right before the end of the second quarter.
Second Half
- Have to laugh at Bob Pompeani at saying Tyler Grisham had "Welker like skills". Not even close. Unless being white is a skill.
- Justin Thornton laid out a big hit to force a fumble. Was a star at OTAs, carrying that over into camp.
- Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith made some big hits and was a reliable tackler. Glad he's back.
- Dixon had a little too much touch on the lone incompletion to Grisham. Throw really should be closer to the sidelines where you can hit Grisham in stride on that post corner.
- Regarding Dennis Dixon, he showed what he does best, but like I said in the beginning, it was just one game. Backups are slower and a lot easier to fool. You're not going to see him run around without incident as often if he were to start Week 1. He needs to keep his eyes downfield. He'll probably be inconsistent too.Guys with those skillsets usually are. For those who are doing the knee-jerk reaction of "Wow, start him" will be doing a 180 in a bad start.
- And yes, I'm aware that I'm the person who said to give him a chance. But there is a big difference between giving him a chance and giving him the starting job after one game.
- Byron Leftwich really wasn't that bad. Not great, but again, only a few series with tackles that didn't give him much help.
- Isaac Redman did really well in pass protection. Looks like there is some truth to Arians calling him the best pass blocking back on the team.
- One weird looking play I spotted. Dixon rolled out to the right with the RG pulling to the left and the line crashing down that way too. Ended up going for a minimal gain.
- Sanders with a good block on the little dump off to Grisham. Too bad Tyler couldn't take advantage of it.
- Great read by Dixon on a 3rd and 3. He saw a heavy blitz and hit his hot read, a slant to Sanders.
- Tony Hills could have had a false start on two occassions. No calls on either. Don't know if the coaches view that as a good or bad thing.
- Favorite play of the day - 4:57 left in the 3rd on a 1st and 10 run by Dixon. Pouncey absolutely jacks up an unaware Lion DT. Dude just dropped. Great stuff.
- That was followed up by a semi-scary moment. Pouncey got his leg rolled into by a LB sacking Dixon. Pouncey grabbed his leg and was down for a second. I guess he's ok, but don't be surprised to see his name pop up regarding a minor injury.
- Cromartie-Smith was at SS with Thornton at FS for those of you keeping score.
- Maybe it's just me overanalyzing, but Antonio Brown signaling first down when he was two yards short shows a lack of field awareness. Unless he thought he had stayed inbounds long enough to dive past the marker.
- Another offensive line setup: Tony Hills, Kraig Urbik, Doug Legursky, Maurkice Pouncey, Jonathan Scott
- Crezdon Butler and Sanders were working as gunners late in the game.
- Scott wasn't a bad run blocker, but he seemed to bend his waist in pass protection. Bleh.
- Getting back to Hills, he looked quick at getting to the second level, finished plays, and made a nice cut block, but he still doesn't show a lot of upper body strength. He got knocked to the ground on one of the first plays he was in. He does look better than last year, I'll say that much.
- Didn't realize Brown was as fast as he was. Unless that's a product of him going against a 3rd string defense, which is a pretty good bet. The safety got flat footed that sprung Brown down the sideline.
- Ramon Foster got a couple snaps at RT. Wonder if Scott came up dinged or if it was planned.
- I don't have the last five minutes taped, but I think this is how the line went for the final series or two. Adrian Jones, Doug Legursky, Kraig Urbik, Dorian Brooks, Kyle Jolly.
- Jolly's feet got a little stiff.
- Tomlin said that Brooks is also being looked at the Legursky/FB role.
- Stevenson Sylvester needs to be a more consistent tackler.
- Thaddeus Gibson didn't look that good. Swallowed up against the run, didn't show a great first step when rushing the passer. Aside from one near sack, he didn't do much.