Thoughts From Pre Season Game 3

The Steelers were calling this one the ”dress rehearsal”.  Let’s hope not. They didn’t look so hot and the final result was not what we want when the season counts. That being said, pre season scores don’t matter, it’s how well the team and players played.  First off, let’s say this. The team should be fine when Ben comes back. He looked good in his 1 quarter of action, he threw the ball well, he read the defense well and he made some plays. So that’s a bit of good news.  I think the linebackers looked pretty decent too and that’s always a constant when you’re talking Steeler football. Then I took a look at the young 1st round pick on the offensive line, and I have to say, Pouncey looks really polished for being a 20 year old center and playing with the first team.  Very pleased with his production. 

The bad news, the O line looks rough again. 

Hey, Flozell Adams, YOU CAN’T MOVE UNTIL THE BALL IS SNAPPED! ENOUGH OF THE FALSE STARTS! 

Hey Keenan Lewis, IF YOU WANT TO PLAY, CUT OUT THE DUMB ASS PERSONAL FOULS!  Lewis seriously needs to pull his head out of his ass, he was dissapointing last year and he’s not looking great this year. McFadden was out last night so Lewis started in his place, let’s just hope that’s his only start of the year. He may be ok in the nickel D, but who knows.

Hey, Antoni Brown, rookie, you’re fighting for a job on this team and you field a punt inside the 5?!  How many yards did you return it, oh, ZERO!  Idiot, don’t EVER field the ball insided the 10, let alone the 5 unless everyone on the other team collapsed and is on the ground, and if they did, they still need to be 20 yards from where you are. If it were up to me you’d be walking back to Pittsburgh, no way you’d be getting on the plane with the team after that kind of play. Stupid.

Hey, Sepulveda, if you want to do kick offs, try keeping it in the field of play! We don’t need the other team starting at the 40.  You’re a punter and maybe kick off guy, THAT’S IT. Is it really that hard?  I love how you make tackles when you need to, that’s awesome, but is it that you don’t want to tackle on kick offs so you kicked it out of bounds? Really? STOP!

Hey Tomlin, DICIPLINE THESE GUYS!  WAY TOO MANY PENALTIES, ESPECIALLY PERSONAL FOULS! It’s called accountability, make them accontable for their mistakes!

Ok, enough venting. The team is still good and can have a good season, they’ll need to weather the Ben storm and it looks like a mix and match at QB is the best option as nobody is standing out but if they can go 2-2, that should be ok. Mendenhall can be a beast if he stays healthy. The D is usually stellar so it’s going to fall on the O line and the usually porous special teams. If decent play comes form those two units, I still don’t see why this couldn’t be a playoff team

Thoughts From Pre Season Game 2

The game just ended minutes ago, the Steelers won, but we have some concerns.  Special teams defense looks porous again, that’s not a good sign.  The defense looks a little old and beatable, especially when Bomar, the Giants 3rd string QB who was a practice squad guy last year was able to move the ball on them. Maybe the biggest concern though, Leftwitch.  You may look at Leftwitch and say that ball to Wallace was unbelievable, what are you worried about? Yeah, that was a great ball, but he’s erratic, not consistent and not mobile. If he’s going to be the starter for four games, or six, we think it’s trouble for the team.  They will really need to rely on Mendenhall during the time that Big Ben is out.  The good news from the game, despite the one bad interception we felt Ben looked pretty decen tonight. Especially when you consider it was his first game action since the beginning of January.  He’ll be ok when he comes back from his suspension.  What the team needs to do while he’s gone is win 2 or 3 games. If they can do that, we feel Ben can do the rest upon his return. 

Yeah, that’s what we got out of pre season game 2. Let’s see next Sunday night at the Broncos and we’ll go from there.

                                                                                                              

Thoughts from Pre Season Game 1

A few thoughts after the game last night. First, a win or loss, that’s not what we’re looking at here. We wanted to see what the players/team were made of.  After one pre season game it appears the team has an offesnive line issue. Not that that’s a new thing for this team, but really, it’s not good.  Mendenhall couldn’t get any penetration, Leftwitch was knocked around a bit and they just looked old. One pre season game does not a season make, but that was the glaring issue last night.  It also further makes our assertion that Dennis Dixon should start at QB while Ben’s out all the more true. He’s the most mobile, he seems pretty accurate with his throws and we think he’s ready. 

Another issue that may be a problem is the secondary.  The second string is not looking too good and that’s going to be a problem.  We’ll see next week on that one.

A positive note, Redman looked really good last night and very well may be a good 2nd back option.

Can the Steelers Win the AFC North This Year?

In one word: YES.  It won’t be easy, but it’s definitely doable!  What will it take?  One, it will take a strong running attack, especially the first 4-6 weeks depending on Ben’s suspension.  Can Mendenhall and Co. get it done on the ground? Yes, they can. Mendenhall is poised to be a premiere back in the league and if the offensive line can do their jobs he can get 1,500 yard easily. 

The Defense needs to be the Defense of 2005 and 2008. Is that doable? Maybe.  They are certainly still as strong unit. With Troy coming back, hopefully healthy for a full year they can be dominant. Woodley and Harrison need to charge the line with authority and Casey “Big Snack” Hampton needs to plug the middle, which he can.

The Special teams need to preform?  Is that doable?  Iffy.  We are very worried about this unit, they were atrocious last season in kick coverage. If they can please stop the long returns and TD returns that will allow the D to get back to form as well.

Ben Can’t be a distracion?  Is that doable?  Probably not if they are winning early without him and lose a few when he comes back.  The team needs to do well in his absence but it could hurt them when he returns. Even though there is no question that he is the QB of this team, you know the media will try to start a controversly if Leftwitch (probably starting) is 4-0 or 3-1 and then Ben goes 1-2 in his first 3 back.  The team needs to ignore any non football related questions and try to concentrate on the task at hand.

The Ravens need to struggle some.  Is that doable? Yes. The Ravens are a damn good team. I almost threw up in my mouth as I wrote that as it makes me sick, but unfortunately it’s true. Are they capable of struggling?  Sure.  The D is getting older and we aren’t sold on Flacco.  Ray Rice is a monster so he probably will not be stopped but this team does have some question marks. 

The Steelers need to win their games. If they can go 11-5 that should win the Division. The schedule could go anywhere from 7-9 to 12-4 we think, it depends on coaching, focus and preformance!

So can they do it? Yep.

Here we go Steelers, Here we go!