Happy to be able to do this again. It's been too long. Just taping these off my VCR until I have to buy the Rewind package (don't know if I'm going to be able to get coaches film or not, pretty expensive) so I didn't bother with pictures. Just notes. So let's jump into it.
First Half
- Kickoff Times: Suisham: 4.64 (-9, returned to 38), 3.58 (TB), 4.42 (TB). Hrapmann 4.06 (-3), 3.2 (-2). Couldn't time his last one.
- Dwyer, Rainey, deepbacks on opening KR with Rainey obviously being the return man.
- Starting 11. Adams, Foster, Pouncey, DeCastro, Gilbert. Brown, Sanders, Ben, Redman, Miller, David Johnson
- DeCastro pulled on first down after Johnson's first catch.
- Completion to Antonio Brown. Stack receivers, force a CB to play off (CBs can't play at same depth if one is pressing) and then run the speed out to take advantage of the natural separation.
- 4th and 1. 3 TEs in. Nice vision by Redman on little jump cut to avoid pile and pick up the first.
- 3rd and 11 pass to Sanders where Ben eluded the rush and hit him. Cullen Jenkins tries to swim over DeCastro but the rookie is able to mirror and stonewall him. Nicely done.
- Great to see Kirby Wilson back on the sidelines for the first time since the fire.
- Gilbert got pushed into David Johnson's leg, resulting in DJ's torn ACL. Terrible.
- Drew Butler the holder on Suisham's first kick.
- Some guys I saw on first team kick coverage. Ivy, Keenan Lewis, Spence, Rolle, Mundy, W. Allen, C. Allen, Brown
- Cortez Allen running as nickel corner over Brown. Lewis was #2 CB.
- Dual jammers to each side on Eagles' first punt. Will Allen, Brown to one side. Mundy, Cortez Allen onn the other.
- Pouncey, Ben, and Redman all lasted just one series. Replaced by Legursky, Leftwich, and Dwyer respectively.
- Ben ran about 5 yards onto the field after DRC's hit on Lefty.
- To his credit, Adams rebounded well on the following pass play after allowing a pressure or sack. Picked up a stunt on the play Leftwich was blasted. So that was encouraging to see from the rookie. The pressures/sacks/injuries obviously were not. But it's all about improving from play to play and game to game. Too bad he'll likely only have one more preseason game to do that.
- Leftwich's slant to Brown was a hot. Checked out of the run.
- Adams hurt on his second fumble recovery. Finished out the series and then was replaced by Trai Essex.
- Sly replaced Woodley at OLB.
- Beachum came in at left tackle to start his career. Essex kicked to RT to replace Gilbert.
- Toney Clemons, Rolle, Baron Batch, DCS, Spence, Curtis Brown on punt coverage mid-2nd. Nice hustle by Rolle to track down Johnson of the Eagles on his near-TD (though play ultimately negated by penalty).
- Al Woods at the right place at the right time on his INT. There's one or two openings along the DL especially if Hamp starts the year on the PUP.
- Derrick Williams was the first receiver into the game after Brown, Sanders, Cotchery. So he appears to be the current #4 and that's reflected on the team's depth chart. Obviously though, very fluid situation there. Maybe someone else gets a crack next week (Clemons, Beiler, Maze).
- Saunders lined up at FB in a goalline formation. Something to watch there now that Johnson is done for the year. Heath gets a handful of snaps there each year and did at least once in this game with Pope on the line. Could be fullback by committee (and Saunders suspended for first four. Didn't forget that).
- Suisham was solid.
- Watching the defense a little more, Sly went back to ILB and Brandon Johnson was placed at OLB.
- DeCastro, Foster the two starting OL to play entire first half. DeCastro was really solid. Mirrored well in pass protection and was a solid run blocker, even showing the ability to get to the second level once or twice. Looked sound technically which is part of what I had in my scouting report along with many others. I'm sure there were flaws but from this fan's perspective, I didn't see any.
- Mike Adams did do a nice job as a run blocker. Threw his weight around a bit. So it wasn't a total loss.
- McLendon was fantastic as many have pointed out. Penetration via the bull rush, was able to shed blocks, and showed a good motor to chase down backs. Remember that he's not actually 280 like listed. He's 325.
Second Half
- Ta'amu started the second half.
- Corbin Bryant/Al Woods at DE, Sly/Ivy at OLB, Johnson/Spence at ILB rounded out the front seven.
- Marquize Maze starting punt returner for the third quarter.
- Andre Freeman and Toney Clemons two of the four jammers to start the half. Couldn't see the others.
- Starting 11 on offense for the second. Jerrod Johnson/QB, Jamie McCoy/TE, Essex/LT, Beachum/LG, Malecki/C, Legursky/RG, C.Scott/RT, Baron Batch/RB, Will Johnson/FB, Williams&Clemons/WR.
- Matt Katula the long snapper for the second half.
- Johnson felt a ghost rush and poor pocket presence on 3rd and 14 run for a minimal gain.
- New offensive line midway through the third. From LT to RT. Beachum, Ryan Lee, Malecki, Chris Scott, Jolly.
- Curtis Brown's second TD allowed. Either in Cover 1 or 3.
- Paulson entered mid-way through 3rd.
- Great cut block down the field by John Malecki on Rainey's TD. Derrick Williams sacrificed his body making a cut too.
- LeBeau more aggressive with reserves than normal. ILB twist and ran Cover 0 once. Letting his guys try to make some "splash" plays.
- Curtis Brown remained in game after Lewis/Allen were taken out. Played opposite of Walter McFadden.
- Ta'amu came off on passing downs. Had a nice game even if the stat sheet didn't light up. Showed his strength and constantly collapsed the pocket. That means he's showing good leg drive and proper leverage. All pluses.
- Hate the delay of game in a 3rd and 1 situation.
- Andre Freeman, Terrence Frederick the gunners to start the 4th.
- Back end of the roster came in to start the 4th. Just the names as I wrote them down. Adrian Robinson/OLB, Kade Weston/NT, Mike Blanc/Ike I (not going to try and spell his last name) at DE, Ryan Baker/Marshall McFadden at ILB, Brandon Hicks/OLB, Robert Golden/FS, Terrence Frederick/CB, Josh Victorian/CB, Jake Stoller/DE.
- Rolle had a couple of tackles but also missed two or three. Looks pretty stiff to me. Much bigger than I thought too. Almost looks like a LB. And he's pretty short on speed. So mixed on his chances of having a future in the NFL. He's getting a chance, like I said ran with the one's on kick coverage, but don't know if he's simply talented enough.
- Like Kade Weston's hustle. No quit for a big man. Taking advantage of his playing time.
- Tyler Beiler, Juamorrris Stewart entered the game late at WR.
- Batch took a shot to a knee late in the game. Happy to see him spring up quickly.
- Maze working in the slot.
- Paulson looked like a willing blocker but not a very good one.
- Saunders' run blocking was also poor. Wasn't winning leverage battle and got pushed aruond.
- Another delay of game on our second to last possession with the team at the Eagles' 20. Bleh.
- Nice job by Hrapmann to nail the 43 yarder to give us the lead. Good for his tape reel after he's cut.
- Frederick got caught opening the gate playing with inside leverage, allowing the WR to work inside for a catch on a slant on the Eagles' final drive. Had two nice open field tacklers though. That was one of his better attributes I saw at A&M.
- Pouncey is just as intense on the sidelines as he is in the game. Had a clipboard and always fired up when one of the "little guys" made a big play. Future coach.
- Adrian Robinson did look good as a pass rusher but a lot of his snaps came with his hand down like he did at Temple. To play here, you have to be able to play with your hand up. Yes, there is some talent there. But it's probably suited for an even front team.
- One quick note on Chris Rainey. Good debut but it was just that. A debut. He's going to look pretty fast when playing against reserves. Let's not anoint him the next big "thing" yet.
- Malecki wasn't too shabby. Someone I'm secretly rooting for (perhaps that's the hate for Legursky talking).
- If you didn't know any better, you'd think Chris Scott was a UDFA. Not a 5th rounder we all once had high hopes for. Mixed bag for him. Had trouble sticking at times and wound up on the ground but when he locked on, he did get a push.
- Beachum with a rough game. Guys got under his pads and he was flagged at least twice. One hold and one false start. Hope to see improvement Sunday.
- For wanting to get an "extended" look at Jerrod Johnson, kinda was looking for more than six passes. Of course, there's things you can take away from running plays too (identifying fronts, controlling the game, etc) but I would have liked to see a couple more throws.
- Please, please, please overhaul the KDKA crew that does the game. Those who watched it on the local channel will sympathize. The camera crew are awful in every aspect and Edmund Nelson takes the Dane Cook approach when he's on TV. Loud = funny
- I think everyone that was not hurt played in this game. Can't think of anyone off the top of my head who didn't. I may have only saw them for a snap or two (like Jimmy Young) but they were out there.
Sacks
What else is new. There's a bunch of them.
- 2nd and 3, 11:30 left in 1st. Over front from Eagles. DE Hunt in Wide 9 vs Adams. Looks like he rips under Adams. Fully on Adams.
- 2nd and 6, 6:33. Eagles bring four. Landri gets past Foster to Ramon's outside shoulder and puts pressure on Ben. (Foster may have been expecting stunt because Tapp shifted down close to Landri at the last second). Tapp does not stunt but eventually counters inside past Adams and gets to Ben. Half on Foster, half on Adams.
- 1st and 10, 2:42. Have six blocking vs five. Adams beat around edge, didn't get his hands on the end. Fully on Adams.
- 2nd and 20, 9:17 2nd. 6 vs 4. Kinda bad luck here. DeCastro tries and help out Essex but pushes the end away from Trai and lets him get past. Gunna put half on Trai and half on DeCastro.
- 3rd and 15, 6:48 3rd. 6 vs 4. Thornton splits C.Scott and Jolly to drop Jerrod Johnson. Half on the pair.
- 3rd and 6, 9:35 4th. 5 vs 4. Kyle Jolly can't seal backside, Johnson taken down. Fully on Jolly.
Sack Counter Game
Mike Adams: 2.5
Kyle Jolly: 1.5
Ramon Foster: .5
Trai Essex: .5
David DeCastro: .5
Chris Scott: .5
--------------
Rough guess of how the depth chart lies after one game.
QB: Ben, Leftwich, Batch, Johnson
RB: Redman, Dwyer, Batch, Clay
FB: Will Johnson
TE: Miller, Pope, Saunders, McCoy, Paulson
WR: Wallace, A.Brown, Sanders, Cotchery, D.Williams, Clemons, Maze, Beiler, Stewart, Young
LT: Starks, Adams, Essex, Beachum
LG: Colon, Foster, Beachum, Lee
C: Pouncey, Legursky, Malecki
RG: DeCastro, Legursky, Chris Scott
RT: Gilbert, Essex, Chris Scott, Jolly
DE: Keisel, Hood, Heyward, Bryant, Woods, Blanc, Ike I, Stoller
NT: Hampton, McLendon, Ta'amu, Weston
OLB: Harrison, Woodley, Carter, Worilds, B. Johnson, Adrian Robinson, Hicks
ILB: Timmons, Foote, Slyvester, Spence, Baker, M. McFadden
CB: Taylor, Lewis, C. Allen, C.Brown, W. McFadden, Frederick, Freeman, Victorian
FS: Clark, Mundy, Golden
SS: Polamalu, Mundy, W.Allen, Cromartie-Smith, Rolle
K: Suisham, Hrapmann
P: Butler, Kapinos
LS: Warren, Katula
KR: Rainey, Maze
PR: Rainey, Maze
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by polamalubeast
Enthroned Into The Good Old Boys Club - 2024 
