The Steelers dropped the preseason opener in a very sloppy game to the New York Giants. It’s hard to get upset about anything but injuries but the Steelers looked uninspiring and made some critical mistakes. Going to sum it up pretty quickly.
What went wrong:
1. The Special Teams put together one of those “Magical Nights” that cost us the AFC championship in 2001. Just awful!
2. Linebackers were mediocre, Lamar Woodley where are you? Jason Worilds had two personal fouls and Jarvis Jones didn’t make an impact. Stevenson Sylvester continued my streak of lousy picks as he disappeared after being spiked. We need a much better effort out of this unit or this will be a short season.
3. Landry Jones, the highest quarterback picked since Big Ben, looked like an amateur.
4. William Gay hasn’t gotten much better since he left and definitely can’t start.
5. No Le’veon Bell, better to be safe than sorry, but was expecting him to play.
What went right:
1. La’Rod Stephens Howling and the O-line blocked well and pushed the Giants around. He averaged 5.7 yards per carry.
2. Bruce Gradkowski made some nice plays and looks to be a competent backup.
3. Nice job by the receivers when they were called upon, great catches by Wheaton and Sanders!
4. The defensive line was plain good, Al Woods broke my streak of bad predictions, he looked excellent! “Steelhead” Heywood and Ziggy Hood played great up front. If he can keep out of legal trouble, Alameda Ta’amu could be a good addition.
Player who distinguished himself: Larod Stephens-Howling, he clearly is in the lead to make the team. Also Considered: Al Woods, he was a force to be reckoned with.
Player who is in trouble: Jonathon Dwyer, he had a rough night playing behind the second string line and he may get beaten out by Baron Batch because he doesn’t play special teams. Dwyer shouldn’t be counted out but he needs to do something and do it soon. Also Considered: Dave Gilreath, who took a huge step backwards.
Beer of the game:
Not to be confused with the game beer was Croxley’s 20th Anniversary Ale from Bluepoint Brewing Company, excellent beer and they went down easy! The beer made a great showing and might make the cut for the regular season beers!
Coach Tomlin summed it up best, it was not an acceptable performance. Look for a nice bounce back week.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!