Some thoughts after the first preseason game

Was fortunate enough to be in town for the game today during one of my somewhat erratic visits to Pittsburgh ... I mean, the games don't count yet, but tickets for $16, though! Really good to see some live action pro football. I know preseason is preseason, so everything comes with a big "BUT" - still, some things really stood out while watching it in person:

1. Rudolph ought to kick the dogshit out of Dobbs for the #2 QB job if tonight was any indication. The difference was night and day. People were half-asleep, and then he comes in and starts throwing these accurate, straight passes to exactly the person he needed to, and the difference in the offense was incredible. People were screaming and fired up. He looked like a real quarterback. Everyone else looked like a shaky quarterback. Yes, the big "BUT" - of course you can't crown him as the Second Coming after one preseason game, but he seems like he gets it. Very exciting to see how that turns out.

2. Snell looked like garbage. He was neither elusive nor hard to bring down, which is a bad combination for a running back. Especially in preseason Easy Mode.

3. Maybe Gentry won't be useless? I had him pegged as a worse Jesse James, but a few times out there, he looked like he knew what he was doing. Maybe a pleasant surprise if I was wrong about him.

4. Diontae Spencer is a midget who can't catch. Not a great look. At least he got open a few times, so I guess that's better than Dri Archer, but I did not like what I saw. For a while I thought it was Diontae Johnson, the guy we used a R3 pick on, and I was PISSED.

5. Washington looked like an actual receiver. I've been pretty down on him after what was basically a wasted rookie season, but maybe he can turn it around. I guess I won't be so harsh on him unless he starts fucking up again.

6. I am still worried about our defensive depth.

7. #49 is going to hurt someone. Maybe it was #46, I was barely paying attention on defense by that point in the game. Someone rocked their TE pretty hard a couple of plays in a row. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but I hope that whoever this mystery man is, he can at least start a few fights.

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Originally Posted by steelreserve

1. Rudolph ought to kick the dogshit out of Dobbs for the #2 QB job if tonight was any indication. The difference was night and day. People were half-asleep, and then he comes in and starts throwing these accurate, straight passes to exactly the person he needed to, and the difference in the offense was incredible. People were screaming and fired up. He looked like a real quarterback. Everyone else looked like a shaky quarterback. Yes, the big "BUT" - of course you can't crown him as the Second Coming after one preseason game, but he seems like he gets it. Very exciting to see how that turns out.

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:iagree:

Dobbs = Kordell Stewart redux.

I don't give a shit that he can run. They have RBs who they are already paying to do that. I want a QB who can PASS. And on that front, I think Rudolph is light years better already.

Defensive depth is god awful. Why didn't they draft a safety again? Glad getting Benny Snell to fall on first contact 10x this year was more important than getting another safety who could play. Washington and Bush both looked real good. He and the rookie LB Gilbert were pretty much the only bright spots on defense

From here on out, draft and sign MAC linebackers.

Ola: Created a few pressures, one showing his fantastic Rip move. Also I believe he created a incomplete pass while in coverage, may be wrong.
Tuzar Skipper: 1 sack and 4 QB hits. Skipper brings a lot of power with his pass rushes.
Gilbert: 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4 QB hits, made a interception on a 2 point play attempt by Tampa.(doesn't record on the box score)

Steelers Vs Buccaneers Winners & Losers

By Alex Kozora
Posted on August 9, 2019

The first football game is in the books. The Pittsburgh Steelers emerged victorious in their preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But like any preseason game, the focus rests more on the players than the outcome. I’ll leave it to the Detroit Lions to tout the wins and losses.

So let’s talk about the best and worst from tonight.

to read rest of article:

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/08/st...inners-losers/

Apparently Benny Snell football is not NFL football. Who knew a guy with no explosion, poor testing numbers, and ludicrous counting stats would struggle in the NFL?

While I was definitely unhappy with Dobbs, you all do realize Dobbs was going against the first string defense with a second string offense, right? I want to see Rudolph going against a first string defense with even a first string offense before I start towing the line for him.

Other than that . . . Washington looks as though he is remembering his fundamentals. Big Dan did a decent job stuffing up the center. I predict he'll stay around another year if we see the same thing from him in the next couple of games. The people who did the best for their chances of moving up the depth chart or solidifying their place on the depth chart tonight were Washington and Diontae Johnson (edit, I may have confused Johnson with Holton).

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Originally Posted by fansince'76

:iagree:

Dobbs = Kordell Stewart redux.

I don't give a shit that he can run. They have RBs who they are already paying to do that. I want a QB who can PASS. And on that front, I think Rudolph is light years better already.

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Like I said in the game day thread. If Lamar Jackson can be a starting QB in the league, I see no reason why Dobbs can't. I agree not my style of QB but still a talent. Oh and yes was very impressed by Rudolph tonight.

Was really happy with Rudolph, Washington, Bush, and Gilbert.

Gilbert keeps playing like this, who do we keep at ILB?

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Originally Posted by Fire Goodell

Was really happy with Rudolph, Washington, Bush, and Gilbert.

Gilbert keeps playing like this, who do we keep at ILB?

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Yea Gilbert had a nice game! Also like what I saw from Dirty Red.

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Originally Posted by Fire Goodell

Was really happy with Rudolph, Washington, Bush, and Gilbert.

Gilbert keeps playing like this, who do we keep at ILB?

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we kept 5 ILBs last year when we cut the roster down to 53: (Vince Williams, Jon Bostic, L.J. Fort, Tyler Matakevich, and Matthew Thomas).

maybe we keep 5 again...

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Originally Posted by Craic

While I was definitely unhappy with Dobbs, you all do realize Dobbs was going against the first string defense with a second string offense, right? I want to see Rudolph going against a first string defense with even a first string offense before I start towing the line for him.

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By the same token, Rudolph was playing with the third- and fourth-string offense by the time he got in the game. There were a couple of times when he made a good choice and a good throw, but it was simply dropped. That's why it's preseason; everything's a muddle, and yes, it's way too early to start chalking up victories until we see the promising guys go against steadily better competition.

It was exciting, however, to see Rudolph play like someone who has what it takes to be an NFL quarterback. There is a certain difference - just the demeanor, decisiveness, instinct - between QBs who get it and QBs who do not. This is the first time in a long while that I have seen a Steelers QB other than Ben demonstrate the former. That part was clear as day. Maybe he just turns out to be "a" quarterback, not "the" quarterback, but I am excited to find out.

Holton I thought looked all right - the one big play, of course, but a few lackluster efforts as well, where a better WR would've run a better route, or been in a better position, or I don't know, just done something that allowed him a good shot at making the play. Hard to pin down exactly what it was, but there was something frustrating lurking under there. Also, if he carries the ball that way, he's going to become the second Steelers #80 to have a stupid fumble out of bounds without anyone touching him. If he can play special teams, though, definitely worth keeping him around to see if he turns into anything useful on offense. That's a big skill and we could use someone who effectively helps us finally turn the page from DHB.

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Originally Posted by steelreserve

If he can play special teams, though, definitely worth keeping him around to see if he turns into anything useful on offense. That's a big skill and we could use someone who effectively helps us finally turn the page from DHB.

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Holton saw work as a gunner and returned 2 kickoffs for 45 yards.

I think Mason outplayed Dobbs, and Hodges can be our third QB if we think we can trade Dobbs for something good. Washington played well, Bush did well also.

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Originally Posted by steelreserve

By the same token, Rudolph was playing with the third- and fourth-string offense by the time he got in the game. There were a couple of times when he made a good choice and a good throw, but it was simply dropped. That's why it's preseason; everything's a muddle, and yes, it's way too early to start chalking up victories until we see the promising guys go against steadily better competition.

It was exciting, however, to see Rudolph play like someone who has what it takes to be an NFL quarterback. There is a certain difference - just the demeanor, decisiveness, instinct - between QBs who get it and QBs who do not. This is the first time in a long while that I have seen a Steelers QB other than Ben demonstrate the former. That part was clear as day. Maybe he just turns out to be "a" quarterback, not "the" quarterback, but I am excited to find out.

Holton I thought looked all right - the one big play, of course, but a few lackluster efforts as well, where a better WR would've run a better route, or been in a better position, or I don't know, just done something that allowed him a good shot at making the play. Hard to pin down exactly what it was, but there was something frustrating lurking under there. Also, if he carries the ball that way, he's going to become the second Steelers #80 to have a stupid fumble out of bounds without anyone touching him. If he can play special teams, though, definitely worth keeping him around to see if he turns into anything useful on offense. That's a big skill and we could use someone who effectively helps us finally turn the page from DHB.

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That's not acurrate however, because Rudolph was playing with second and third stringers against second and third stringers. It's a big difference compared to playing a group of players against a higher tier group of players. Is that the only reason Rudolph looked better? I'd probably say no. Rudolph seemed to anticipate receivers better and put the ball where it needed to be. On the other hand, pressure causes problems and first team vs. second team means a lot of pressure and defenses can close a lot faster on receivers.

What I will say, however, is it seems the Steelers made the right choice last year because both Josh and Mason looked to get the ball out far faster and better than Landry Jones. Jones had already hit his ceiling, neither Dobbs or Rudolph are even close to it yet.

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Originally Posted by Rotorhead

I think Mason outplayed Dobbs, and Hodges can be our third QB if we think we can trade Dobbs for something good.

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and if we do decide to keep Dobbs, I can see a Hodges "injury" occurring in the last pre season game so we can stash him on IR for this year.

As I said in the gameday thread, get used to hearing this:

“Olaqwerty & Bush force a turnover.”

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Originally Posted by teegre

As I said in the gameday thread, get used to hearing this:

“Olaqwerty & Bush force a turnover.”

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I saw what you did there.:chuckle:

Positive Players:

Offense: Rudolph, Washington, Hilton Fred Johnson , Boz

Defense: Bush, Spillane, Ulysses Gilbert, Ola


Negative Players:

Offense: O-Line, Snell, Samuels, Dobbs, Spencer

Defense: DBs especially Layne, Chickillo...he’s garbage. He should be a camp cut when all is said and done. Thanks

One other thought I had is that There’s a good chance that Holton could take Rogers spot in the WR line up...

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Originally Posted by 86WARD

One other thought I had is that There’s a good chance that Holton could take Rogers spot in the WR line up...

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or in ST...

- - - Updated - - -

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Originally Posted by Mojouw

Apparently Benny Snell football is not NFL football. Who knew a guy with no explosion, poor testing numbers, and ludicrous counting stats would struggle in the NFL?

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I'm not prepared to write off Benny Snell footbaw just yet. He was running behind a poor line against the first string defense, and your RB is only as good as your o line. Let's see how he does in an apples to apples comparison.

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Originally Posted by GoSlash27

I'm not prepared to write off Benny Snell footbaw just yet. He was running behind a poor line against the first string defense, and your RB is only as good as your o line. Let's see how he does in an apples to apples comparison.

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Exactly.

In another thread, we are told to slow down the enthusiasm about Bush because he was playing against backups, but in this thread, we are told that Snell is bust because he a poor performance with our back up O line. :noidea:

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Originally Posted by stillers4me

Exactly.

In another thread, we are told to slow down the enthusiasm about Bush because he was playing against backups, but in this thread, we are told that Snell is bust because he a poor performance with our back up O line. :noidea:

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Also, nobody had a particularly good showing yesterday. I checked the stats and it went like this:
1st half, Samuels -1, 22 Snell -1,5,1,2,2,4,5,4,-2
2nd half Snell 5,-1,0,2 Edmunds 3,2,13,0,1 McMillian 1,-1
Samuels was untouched on his 22 yard run. *EDIT* Same deal for Edmunds; he was sprung on his 1 positive play.
*EDIT* And for the record, I'm fully on board the Devin Bush hype train. He laid the smackdown on the first stringers as well, even while playing with the second stringers. Dude had an awesome performance.

It is mostly that Snell just looked SLOW on an NFL field. Which is almost exactly what a ton of draft related stuff said might be a major concern with him. I don’t care about the lack of yards, I care that he looked like he didn’t belong. I hope I am wrong and there are many reasons to suspect I am. However, dude was in like the bottom 10% of testing #’s for his position and much of his impressive college production was because he was given the ball a fantastic amount of times. The next few games will tell us, as fans, far more than the first go round. But despite the big amount of hype for Snell across the Steelers related internet, it didn’t look good out of the gate.

To be more positive almost all the young LBers looked good. At some point the idea of NOT rostering Chickillo has to be taken seriously. CHick is not a good pass rusher and was victimized in space early in the game. Based just on last night the top three should be Watt, Dupree, and Alphabet Soup. Then Tupac. On the inside you have VW and Bush (who clearly needs to start) then Barron and Gilbert.

That’s 8. Dirty Red makes it 9 because of special teams and grittiness. I would rather have those 9 guys on the roster before Chickillo — who just isn’t going to get any better.

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Originally Posted by Mojouw

It is mostly that Snell just looked SLOW on an NFL field.

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I can't argue with that. Snell is slow. Still... if he can play the '4 yards and a cloud of dust' game reliably he can be a valuable weapon, speed notwithstanding. At the very least, he can be a good 3rd down back.
Assuming, of course, that he can prove it behind a good line against a good defense. :drink: