My takeaways from preseason game 2

[Cyphon25]

I missed a chunk of the 4th quarter so don't have a complete picture but close enough.

- I like what we saw from Rudolph tonight big picture. It wasn't a good night but after the pick 6 he showed resilience and still made some plays. Stayed cool out there and looked like he had a veteran head on him already. The 2 issues I have are pocket presence and when he misses he misses high. Those are INT balls a lot of the time and that is worrisome. Highlight for me was the stiff arm he had when he took off out of the pocket. Showed some toughness there. Also when he was crushed and fumbled the ball he kept his head and made the recovery.

- The more I see of our running backs the more sure I am the Steelers will be okay without Bell. I think a fair argument can be made that Conner is already as good a pure runner as Bell so if his blocking can come together we are going to have another great back in him. Toussaint is the complete package. Looking decisive as a runner and showing good vision and looked great in passpro tonight. 2 standout blitz pickups in the game. I haven't been high on Samuels but he looked solid tonight as a runner as well. Might have to re-think my stance that he wont make the 53. As for Toussaint I am about to call him a lock. First team KR duty along with having back to back good games on offense.

- Is Vince Williams our best pass rusher? The dude can blitz his ass off. I know there is more to life as an ILB than rushing the passer but anyone who doubts this dude is a starting level ILB is foolish. He isn't perfect and isn't the athlete Shazier is but he is a great blitzer, sure tackler, and great against the run. Somewhat underrated in pass coverage as well.

- Big Dan is starting to look like a man amongst boys. I am exaggerating obviously but this guy is finally showing the fire we have been waiting for. Just straight up bullying centers at times. Pressure up the middle is key and if he keeps this up I think the Steelers should seriously consider getting him first team time when the season starts. He is now a lock for the 53 in my opinion.

- This defense gives me heartburn. Particularly the safety group but it was mostly bad all around. Let's talk about how terrible our guys are in open field. Nat Behre turned around something awful by a 12th string receiver for a touchdown, and Burnett looked like Mike Mitchell out there on a play early in the game when Sensabaugh got beat on a slant. To Burnetts credit he did go on to have like 2 or 3 nice plays after that. Brian Allen had a rough night. PI call in the endzone and burnt at least twice that I can remember, one being the TD Behre failed to make a tackle on. Burns also had a missed tackle. Think Sutton and Sensabaugh both looked shaky as well.

2 guys I want to talk positively about though. Quickly want to mention Malik Golden. Is this dude getting a fair shake out there? He has been pretty good but seems like a forgotten man. Is there a chance he surprises and makes the 53? 2nd is Edmunds. I don't think he had all that good a night on the whole but an almost INT in the back of the endzone, a forced fumble and recovery on kickoff coverage, and actually had great coverage on the TD the TE caught over him. It was just a great pass from Kizer. I am really excited about him after tonight. He is around the ball and may just be the playmaker we are looking for.

- James Washington is the real deal. Dude is a baller and the way he plucks balls over guys heads makes you think he has the height of Randy Moss. I am all in on him. Our receiving group will be undisputedly the best in the league this season.

- Adeniyi may already be a more polished pass rusher than Dupree and that is sad. Wonder if they keep him on the 53 as a pure pass rush specialist?

- A few odds and ends now. Berry had a pretty crap night punting. Marcus Tucker is a good ST player making 2 nice tackles including chasing down a PR that broke big. Too bad he doesn't do anything on offense. Sutton finally got a chance at PR duty which was good to see. Hopefully we actually get to see him return some.

[BlackAndGold]

My takeaways.

I don't wanna watch that again.

Thankful this is preseason

Sure hope there is some sort of trade market for an ILB

[BlackAndGold]

Also, Jordan Berry needs to be replaced.

It's tiresome that they can't find a consistent punter. If only Daniel Sepulveda's knee's could've held up.

[Edman]

Packers Homer Announcers can eat a bag of dicks for sure.

Keith Butler is quickly running out of time. The Defense has picked up right where it left off from Jacksonville by being a trash fire.

[Cyphon25]

Also, Jordan Berry needs to be replaced.

It's tiresome that they can't find a consistent punter. If only Daniel Sepulveda's knee's could've held up.

Good point. Berry was really bad.

Packers Homer Announcers can eat a bag of dicks for sure.

Homers? The one guy said there are very few pass rushers like Bud Dupree and said he was a pro bowler. You can't find that kind of ridiculously stupid praise even amongst Steelers fans lmao. Couldn't believe my ears.

[Neversatisfied]

I remember last preseason when Steeler fans said " it's only preseason" and the Steelers defense was awful and capped the season off with a defensive stinker to end their Superbowl hopes. This game reminds me a lot of that.

[DesertSteel]

Conner and Washington were the stars of the night. Our backup QBs are garbage at this stage. As for the high school talent that was on the field most of the night, they should start calling for playbooks before they land in Pittsburgh.

[steel striker]

I know it's pre season but, the defense has me worried the offense is going to need to score 35-40 points.

[Edman]

I know it's pre season but, the defense has me worried the offense is going to need to score 35-40 points.

The Defense appears to be getting worse by the year, and that's not good.

[fansince'76]

I know it's pre season but, the defense has me worried the offense is going to need to score 35-40 points.

Agreed. On the upside, though, they are scoring 30+ ppg so far and Roethlisberger and AB haven't even been on the field yet (to my knowledge, at least - haven't been able to see the games).

[st33lersguy]

Its looking like the offense will have to carry the defense into the playoffs, even in this trashfire of a conference

[steelcityboyz]

The Offense will be fine.. The Defense on the other hand has me worried. Does the poor performance fall to Butler not being a good DC or is it just poor talent?

[HollywoodSteel]

The Offense will be fine.. The Defense on the other hand has me worried. Does the poor performance fall to Butler not being a good DC or is it just poor talent?

Well, seeing as many of the horrible plays were made by players who won’t be on the team in the regular season, I’d have to say “poor talent” is mainly what you’re seeing.

[Edman]

Its looking like the offense will have to carry the defense into the playoffs, even in this trashfire of a conference

Last time I checked, New England is still out there and Jacksonville has emerged. The Steelers went a collective 0-3 against them last year, and with this mudpile of a defense I don't think getting to the postseason is a sure thing.

[HollywoodSteel]

I admit, if we have to play a regular season game without Cam Hayward, T.J. Watt, Joe Haden, Sean Davis, and Mike Hilton... our defense will be in big trouble. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

One silver lining in an otherwise horrible play, was when our ILB of the future, Matthew Thomas, outran the safety to almost catch the GB receiver on that long TD run. Thomas displayed Shazier-like speed for a LB.

For an undrafted rookie, I like Thomas as a project.

[Moose]

Damn Cyphon, I can't believe you found all that GOOD from the game. My thought......they stunk up the place, and as usual looked unprepared. Defense is going to kill us this year. Secondary is just so bad I don't think there is a word to describe it anymore. I know it's preseason, and not take too much away from it, that's why I don't put a lot into it. But these are supposedly the cream of the new breed coming in......ugh. I just couldn't come up with that much 'likes' as you did Cyphon. Although I do have to say I loved James Conner's running. Good job on your finds.

[Born2Steel]

My take away is this was preseason game #2. Players were put into positions to make 1 on 1 plays. In traffic, in space, out of position, with backups. Our backup offense just put up 34. That I like no matter who we go against. Production is production. Points are points. Defensively I think we are severely lacking at LB. Not sure what schemes we were using but our LBs were chasing most of the time. I thought the DL did better than preseason game 1 as a unit. Burnett impressed, Coty impressed, Sutton impressed, Shadetree impressed, Bud impressed. This was played as man to man, go beat your guy and get to the QB/Cover. I think a lot of guys got exposed but some shined.

[st33lersguy]

I wish the steelers were at least half as good at drafting DBs and LBs as they were at drafting WRs

[hawaiiansteeler]

reminds me of the Chuck Noll quote: "It's gonna be easy making cuts, the hard part is going to know where to stop"...

[Mojouw]

Here’s the thing. We have no idea what the coaching staffs goal was last night. I think we saw several backup and sub package players getting some run with the big boys. Some got exposed. Not really shocking. Additionally, I saw a defensive front seven that appeared to have marching orders to get a pass rush first, second, and third with little other concerns. That left the inside backers and secondary exposed on islands. It wasn’t great, but now they know who can line up and beat a guy.

I’m not really being clear and I only watched the first half but I felt like I saw a coaching staff concerned with putting guys in situations for individual evaluation and little to no concern with collective results.

Bottom line, I felt it was more what happens if we put x player in y situation not how do all 11 guys work towards z result. If that was the case mission accomplished. If they really intended to collectively stop anyone well shit. They’re screwed.

[Steeldude]

The Defense appears to be getting worse by the year, and that's not good.

No Cowher players left. I know people hate to hear that, but in my opinion each time a Cowher player left the defense suffered and didn't recover. There is no leadership.

Harrison stated that the players aren't disciplined and they also run different defenses than the one called. A lack of discipline and Tomlin seem to be synonymous.

Shazier would help, but he is far from the answer. It's going to be a bad year for the defense. Hopefully the offense can put together a strong, consistent attack all season.

- - - Updated - - -

For an undrafted rookie, I like Thomas as a project.

He is just too dumb to fix.

[Born2Steel]

I admit, if we have to play a regular season game without Cam Hayward, T.J. Watt, Joe Haden, Sean Davis, and Mike Hilton... our defense will be in big trouble. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

One silver lining in an otherwise horrible play, was when our ILB of the future, Matthew Thomas, outran the safety to almost catch the GB receiver on that long TD run. Thomas displayed Shazier-like speed for a LB.

For an undrafted rookie, I like Thomas as a project.

I like Thomas too. We have no starter quality ILB on this team right now. Matthew Thomas is probably already better than Matakevich and Fort combined. And I was absolutely a Big Red fan.

- - - Updated - - -

No Cowher players left. I know people hate to hear that, but in my opinion each time a Cowher player left the defense suffered and didn't recover. There is no leadership.

Harrison stated that the players aren't disciplined and they also run different defenses than the one called. A lack of discipline and Tomlin seem to be synonymous.

Shazier would help, but he is far from the answer. It's going to be a bad year for the defense. Hopefully the offense can put together a strong, consistent attack all season.

- - - Updated - - -



He is just too dumb to fix.

I agree this will be a tough season for the defense. I disagree that this is a Tomlin issue.

[FrancoLambert]

I like Thomas too. We have no starter quality ILB on this team right now. Matthew Thomas is probably already better than Matakevich and Fort combined. And I was absolutely a Big Red fan.

- - - Updated - - -



I agree this will be a tough season for the defense. I disagree that this is a Tomlin issue.

You're correct...... it's a Tomlin AND Butler issue.

[FrancoLambert]

Special Teams play is not so special......how the hell does Danny Smith still have a job?

[86WARD]

Special Teams play is not so special......how the hell does Danny Smith still have a job?

He should’ve been fired before LeBeau...I hate him and he’s a HUGE liability. The defense just has too many holes. They lack at OLB, they lack at DL depth, they lack at ILB, they lack at CB and have plenty of bodies at safety...but they may just be bodies. Like someone earlier said...even with Shazier 100% healthy, this defense is subpar. Unless there’s vast improvement between last year, preseason and Week One, I wouldn’t be surprised if they drop Week One in Cleveland. Do they have an answer yet for Njoku or Landry? Do they have answer if Taylor puts the ball down and runs? I’m not sure they do...

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Good list of observations. A few other things that I noticed were

-Jon Bostic doesnt look that good in space. VW is a more athletic ILB from what I see and would be better on 3rd downs.

-Chukks looked like a raw rookie that needs a lot more work. Not good use of his hands, poor punch in pass pro and doesnt extend arms well

-Dupree got some good dip and rip around the edge later in the game, but his initial pass rushes didnt use his hands well or keep his feet moving. He looked to shadow box the LT

-Jake Rodgers still looks nasty in finishing run blocks and was decent at RT, but cant stay with rushers as long as Rudolph was hanging onto the football. Might be another reserve G

-Keion Adams has a nice dip inside rush move, which could be better as an outside rush from the Right side OLB. He is getting late reps, but I still like what I see, but not sure of the competition.

[GoSlash27]

- I like what we saw from Rudolph tonight big picture. It wasn't a good night but after the pick 6 he showed resilience and still made some plays. Stayed cool out there and looked like he had a veteran head on him already.

Cyphon,
I didn't see that at all. He looked thoroughly rattled to me. I thought Dobbs fit your description better. *shrug*

Best,
-Slashy

[Cyphon25]

Cyphon,
I didn't see that at all. He looked thoroughly rattled to me. I thought Dobbs fit your description better. *shrug*

Best,
-Slashy

Dobbs did fit better and I agree Rudolph looked rattled, but for me that came in the 2nd quarter when pressure really started getting to him. Remember the pick was his very first pass. For the rest of the first quarter I thought he seemed fine in there (mentally). In the 2nd is where we started seeing the high passes and what not.

[GoSlash27]

Cyphon,
Agreed. And FWIW I don't hold it against him. I expect a rookie to be rattled in the early going.

Best,
-Slashy