stillers4me
08-17-2014, 10:02 AM
Halfway through this preseason, you might presume the Steelers are halfway toward presenting themselves as a finished product, and you might even be halfway right.
Ryan Shazier certainly looked to be on schedule against Buffalo Saturday night, assuming you mean on schedule for Canton.
In his first professional assignment, the Steelers No. 1 draft pick made tackles all over the lawn -- four on Buffalo's first possession, two on special teams, and three others -- and made a leaping balletic interception in front of Bills tight end Scott Chandler that he returned 27 yards.
One of only six players in the long storied history of Ohio State football to make 200 career tackles, and the owner of a school-record nine forced fumbles, Shazier bounced back spectacularly from a training camp injury -- a "boo boo" according to freelance orthopedist Mike Tomlin -- and looked very much like the full blown menace the Steelers figured he would be on draft day.
Similarly impressive were Ben Roethlisberger and his wide receivers, who gouged the Bills for touchdowns of 76 (Antonio Brown) and 16 (Markus Wheaton) yards, as the Steelers erected a 10-point lead after one quarter despite having the football for only 4:25 of the first 15:00.
All good, but there was plenty of bad in this second dress rehearsal of four, and a stiff dose of dumb as well.
It's only what the preseason is for, after all.
How many fans, for example, in their first Heinz Field outing of 2014, forgot that diapers and wipes are OK for admittance but diaper bags are strictly forbidden?
I'm guessing it was in the dozens.
Fan attire maybe wasn't in keeping with regular season standards either. One audience member showed up wearing the standard jersey in home black, No. 23, with the name above it reading, "PSALM."
That's right. Psalm 23.
And in that first quarter, the Steelers player who was wearing 23, newly acquired safety Mike Mitchell, was interpreting Psalm 23 in unprecedented ways, unless you're familiar with the one that goes, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not commit unsportsmanlike conduct. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures and leadeth me to the home sideline to be chewed out by Mike Tomlin and Dick LeBeau."
I must have missed that in the King James version........
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/gene-collier/2014/08/17/Gene-Collier-Finished-product-short-of-halfway/stories/201408170193#ixzz3Af64814o
Ryan Shazier certainly looked to be on schedule against Buffalo Saturday night, assuming you mean on schedule for Canton.
In his first professional assignment, the Steelers No. 1 draft pick made tackles all over the lawn -- four on Buffalo's first possession, two on special teams, and three others -- and made a leaping balletic interception in front of Bills tight end Scott Chandler that he returned 27 yards.
One of only six players in the long storied history of Ohio State football to make 200 career tackles, and the owner of a school-record nine forced fumbles, Shazier bounced back spectacularly from a training camp injury -- a "boo boo" according to freelance orthopedist Mike Tomlin -- and looked very much like the full blown menace the Steelers figured he would be on draft day.
Similarly impressive were Ben Roethlisberger and his wide receivers, who gouged the Bills for touchdowns of 76 (Antonio Brown) and 16 (Markus Wheaton) yards, as the Steelers erected a 10-point lead after one quarter despite having the football for only 4:25 of the first 15:00.
All good, but there was plenty of bad in this second dress rehearsal of four, and a stiff dose of dumb as well.
It's only what the preseason is for, after all.
How many fans, for example, in their first Heinz Field outing of 2014, forgot that diapers and wipes are OK for admittance but diaper bags are strictly forbidden?
I'm guessing it was in the dozens.
Fan attire maybe wasn't in keeping with regular season standards either. One audience member showed up wearing the standard jersey in home black, No. 23, with the name above it reading, "PSALM."
That's right. Psalm 23.
And in that first quarter, the Steelers player who was wearing 23, newly acquired safety Mike Mitchell, was interpreting Psalm 23 in unprecedented ways, unless you're familiar with the one that goes, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not commit unsportsmanlike conduct. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures and leadeth me to the home sideline to be chewed out by Mike Tomlin and Dick LeBeau."
I must have missed that in the King James version........
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/gene-collier/2014/08/17/Gene-Collier-Finished-product-short-of-halfway/stories/201408170193#ixzz3Af64814o