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The good the bad and the ugly -Steelers-Falcons preseason edition>

slashsteel

slashsteel

Thank you for everything Franco, R I P.
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The Good

Tuitt he looks like he is ready for the season with some good backfield penetration (that's what she said).

Conner's running ability - What did he average about 5 yards per carry? I was at the game binocular-zooming in on him. What's interesting was he seemed to be more comfy running to his left. I will have to keep a eye on this...

Berry and Boswell- did well at their perspective positions.

Anthony Chickillo- 2 sacks for a player coming off injury.Not bad. (Coach don't get too excited)

Dangerfield - Days before the game I gave him no respect calling for his roster spot thru final 53 hypothesis.2 ints might paint a different picture.

Trey Williams - A nice punt return for a TD, but perhaps a little too late ? I guess we will see moving forward.

Nix- I see you, I saw you sneak that punt block in. Good special teams play is always welcome. And we already know you can block.

The Bad

Dobbs - On the one roll out where he avoided the pass rush and ran out of bounds for a loss, hey Josh perhaps throw it away there. You are already out of the pocket son...throw it throw it for got damnit's sake. Let us not forget that fumble out of bounds,oopsie. And last but not least that horrible INT-while flailing falling down, simply trying to do too much all at once. I thought he did have some nice throws and scrambles. Which helped keep him off the ugly list.

Houston - that INT into triple coverage was ugly. Houston we have a problem.

Matt Feiler -Gave up a sack in early play. Keep fighting the fight, but not sure it will end with anything but a PS spot.

Golden : Mitchell please hurry back. Because Roberts performance out there was anything but Golden.

The Ugly

James Conner's -pass catching or lack of. Time to hit the jugs son. This is how we dooooooo it.

Cockrell - If your **** performed this bad, you might give up sex in its entirety.


MY TWO AND A HALF CENTS: Overall perhaps not the teams best performance. But Ben,Brown,Shazier,Mitchell,Dupree,Pouncey,and Juju. Were not out there early (er not at all), that reigns significant.

On the injury front Steven Johnson's ill timed hamstring injury, might be his final straw in the camels back.
 
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I don't think Chickillo is better than Dupree or Watt, but he could develop into starting material if he was on another team. For now, he's a fine reserve and I'll stand on the point he should have started over Jarvis Jones long ago. Joey Porter loves the guy.

I'd give Trey Williams all kick and punt returns in the next game for a better look. We need such a player.

The DB's were pretty bad in coverage. Outside of Burns we have limited cover man ability.
 
Coach said:
I don't think Chickillo is better than Dupree or Watt, but he could develop into starting material if he was on another team. For now, he's a fine reserve and I'll stand on the point he should have started over Jarvis Jones long ago. Joey Porter loves the guy.

I'd give Trey Williams all kick and punt returns in the next game for a better look. We need such a player.

The DB's were pretty bad in coverage. Outside of Burns we have limited cover man ability.
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Yeah I try to keep in mind Atlanta has a explosive O, but a game like that exposes end game Super Bowl aspiration weaknesses. Perhaps the season can improve play, and perhaps Cockrell simply had a bad game and will bounce back.

But I damn sure wouldn't be upset to see the Steelers trade one of these WRs for a better coverage CB to pair with Burns. A WR not named Brown,Bryant, or Rogers of course.
 
Good points. Bright spot so far is special teams. It's been a while since I could say that.

The secondary as a whole doesn't have anticipation skills. If you are going to play zone, you have to read and react to the ball, and most of these guys are too late in reads to make it effective. Cockrell is just plain bad. Mitchell is a hitter more than ball hawk. Golden has regressed. Let's hope some of the young guys step up. If not, then I see an average season coming.

Front 7 played a better offense and it showed. Not as much pressure from the starters, though I like how Watt learned to seal the edge after getting burned on running plays. 3 different QBs looked like all-pros, though I attribute that mostly to the secondary.

I have Dobbs and Houston about even now. Houston improved a lot this week. Dobbs is smarter with the ball most of the time. Houston seems to move the team better. God help us if we have to rely on either one in the season. I don't know how you evaluate WRs and TEs when they don't see many catchable passes in the games.

Oh, and welcome back Sammie Coates. Solid game and proved the coaches are right to keep you around. Let's hope that translates to real games.
 
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There is one BIG UGLY that should be cut. BIG DAN. The dude looked absolutely awful against the Atlanta third and fourth string guys. Dude looks like he got worse instead of better. I see no way, based on yesterdays performance, that he makes the team this year.
 
slashsteel said:
Yeah I try to keep in mind Atlanta has a explosive O, but a game like that exposes end game lwoB repuS aspiration weaknesses. Perhaps the season can improve play, and perhaps Cockrell simply had a bad game and will bounce back.

But I damn sure wouldn't be upset to see the Steelers trade one of these WRs for a better coverage CB to pair with Burns. A WR not named Brown,Bryant, or Rogers of course.
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Cockrell isn't the only one. I re watched that game last night just to see if I could find one good thing either Cockrell or Gay did. To no avail. Experience is nice to have but right now I'd be willing to trade both of them in.

We have some young potential that really needs to step it up in the next week and change some minds in the coaches room.....jus sayin'


Yeh that means you Hilton, Dixon, Allen and (cough cough) Golson.
 
TDX27 said:
There is one BIG UGLY that should be cut. BIG DAN. The dude looked absolutely awful against the Atlanta third and fourth string guys. Dude looks like he got worse instead of better. I see no way, based on yesterdays performance, that he makes the team this year.
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I forgot to mention him. I zoomed in on him on the one play. To see the kind of push he was or wasn't getting.. He was late to react, and when he did it was less than awe inspiring. For a huge man,he is a huge dud as a football player. He simply hasn't developed.

Perhaps WWE can be his calling, although I am not sure he is even aggressive enough for that.

Like I mentioned in another thread security in one shape form or fashion might be in his future.

But it isn't being a Pittsburgh Steeler I am afraid.
 
Yeh, Big Dan is not lookin' solid at this point. Walton was even playing that spot better than him. The base 3/4 is slowly getting pushed into a nickle / dime so the NT will be morphed into a more agile/aggressive player like Hargrave............Philon, Hooks and Maxey all fit that mold. Picking one though is not easy.
 
A few key guys were not playing. So not gonna panic about the defense.
Add a bit of speed and TJ's ability to seal the edge alongside with Dupree.

I'd also like to see Matakevich get some reps with Shazier on the field.
Despite that goal line bull doze, I liked his instinct for the ball carrier.

Take out Cockrell and plug in Sensabaugh. Hilton with Mitchell. I think a lot of these guys can have their strengths amplified by the surrounding talent
 
slashsteel said:
I forgot to mention him. I zoomed in on him on the one play. To see the kind of push he was or wasn't getting.. He was late to react, and when he did it was less than awe inspiring. For a huge man,he is a huge dud as a football player. He simply hasn't developed.

Perhaps WWE can be his calling, although I am not sure he is even aggressive enough for that.

Like I mentioned in another thread security in one shape form or fashion might be in his future.

But it isn't being a Pittsburgh Steeler I am afraid.
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His wrasslin name can be Heavy D
 
Cockrell getting consistently beaten by all strings is not a good sign. He's taken a few steps back, if that's possible. The secondary is going to be a huge problem, as usual. Maybe they'll give Mike Hilton a chance...he makes plays.

I like #80, the tight end Jake McGee. He can block, and he showed good hands at UVA and Florida. I'm rooting for him.

LJ Fort seems to be getting better every year, and I still think Matakevich was a steal late in last year's draft.

Trey Williams had the great punt return, of course, but he also made smart and instinctual plays in coming up and handling a short punt which could have bounced for twenty more yards, and allowing another to bound into the end zone, where a lot of guys would have made an ill-advised fair catch. I would have liked to seen what he could do at running back, but I guess Tomlin needed to watch Conner carry it 20 times, including some late in the fourth quarter.

It's early, but Josh Dobbs does not look like anything close to an NFL quarterback. On the INT, the receiver was open early...Dobbs could have just thrown it right away instead of trying to avoid the defender and attempt a ridiculous shovel pass. If he's as smart as everyone says he is, maybe he'll develop. Probably not.
 
slashsteel said:
I forgot to mention him. I zoomed in on him on the one play. To see the kind of push he was or wasn't getting.. He was late to react, and when he did it was less than awe inspiring. For a huge man,he is a huge dud as a football player. He simply hasn't developed.

Perhaps WWE can be his calling, although I am not sure he is even aggressive enough for that.

Like I mentioned in another thread security in one shape form or fashion might be in his future.

But it isn't being a Pittsburgh Steeler I am afraid.
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what would he be in the WWE? "the gentle shade tree"
 
slashsteel said:
James Conner's -pass catching or lack of. Time to hit the jugs son. This is how we dooooooo it.
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More about reps in practice than the jugs machine. His hands aren't bad, keeping his eyes on the ball through the catch is what was lacking.

Watt had a couple of stops in the backfield and the guy knows how to get into the passing lane even though he didn't bat any passes down this week.

The DBs were awful. Cockrell and Gay definitely stood out in a bad way with the starting units.
 
SteelerFan448 said:
More about reps in practice than the jugs machine. His hands aren't bad, keeping his eyes on the ball through the catch is what was lacking.

Watt had a couple of stops in the backfield and the guy knows how to get into the passing lane even though he didn't bat any passes down this week.

The DBs were awful. Cockrell and Gay definitely stood out in a bad way with the starting units.
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yeah I came away thinking Watt will have plenty of garbage tackles or clean up tackles whichever you prefer to call them. As he flows to the ball and has that nice effort that will be a welcoming D characteristic.Might not get the sacks some want in his first year. But I think he will have solid pressures and a solid overall game including run defense.
 
SteelChip said:
Cockrell isn't the only one. I re watched that game last night just to see if I could find one good thing either Cockrell or Gay did. To no avail. Experience is nice to have but right now I'd be willing to trade both of them in.

We have some young potential that really needs to step it up in the next week and change some minds in the coaches room.....jus sayin'


Yeh that means you Hilton, Dixon, Allen and (cough cough) Golson.
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Yep. Our safeties don't impress me in coverage either. But they can hit and blitz.
 
slashsteel said:
yeah I came away thinking Watt will have plenty of garbage tackles or clean up tackles whichever you prefer to call them. As he flows to the ball and has that nice effort that will be a welcoming D characteristic.Might not get the sacks some want in his first year. But I think he will have solid pressures and a solid overall game including run defense.
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Watt was close enough at time to get the QB's attention. I do like his ability to locate the football vs the run, and quickly disengage. He's a very strong tackler.

I think he'll get his share of splash plays this year. Sacks, passes batted down, tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and maybe an interception.
 
Not a chance Dan makes the team. I realize guys sat but would have liked to see more from the starting D. Oddly the scrubs did well against the third string qb after the starters got lit up.
 
SteelerSask said:
Not a chance Dan makes the team. I realize guys sat but would have liked to see more from the starting D. Oddly the scrubs did well against the third string qb after the starters got lit up.
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Yep. Big, lazy and slow is out of the NFL.
 
scstillerfan said:
Good points. Bright spot so far is special teams. It's been a while since I could say that.

The secondary as a whole doesn't have anticipation skills. If you are going to play zone, you have to read and react to the ball, and most of these guys are too late in reads to make it effective. Cockrell is just plain bad. Mitchell is a hitter more than ball hawk. Golden has regressed. Let's hope some of the young guys step up. If not, then I see an average season coming.
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Hit the nail on the head! Early in the game, the OLB covering the flat was running toward the sideline at an angle and the damn WR was about 8 yards away running towards him. He didn't react at all, didn't close the gap, and was an easy first down catch. If you have one damn receiver in your zone, why would you maintain an 8 yard buffer?
 
Two other observations.

Our new Long snapper ( Holba ) looked very solid. The ball came out quickly with velocity and accuracy. And he made a play down field covering kicks.

And Berry looks bigger and stronger. The guy had good distance on punts.
 
SteelerSask said:
Not a chance Dan makes the team. I realize guys sat but would have liked to see more from the starting D. Oddly the scrubs did well against the third string qb after the starters got lit up.
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I knew Big Dan's days were numbered in the first pre season game. Bob Pompiani was talking to Craig Wolfley about various guys on the bubble. When Big Dan came up, Wolf made a comment alluding to the fact that he has been awful all through camp and hadn't made a positive impression at all. Bob replied something like, "Yeah that's what I'm seeing too". I figured if it is that apparent already, he's done.
 
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