skeptik
Member
- Feb 7, 2003
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Wow, awful news for all of those teams. Lots of injuries week 1.
Fortunately the Steelers got some good news regarding their injuries. The ankle injury suffered by LT Max Starks is not nearly as severe as originally believed and he should miss only one game, if any at all. Likewise, it is believed that Casey Hampton may play next week if a steady diet of cheeseburgers can successfully alleviate an aggravated hamstring.
Brief take on the Steelers' game:
Somebody commented that the Steelers game was 'boring'. I won't blame you, but what do you expect from a team starting a third string quarterback? Fortunately, I thought that Dixon played well mentally for the most part. He was making the correct reads, he just made some poor throws that seemed to be due to nerves. He threw at least 3 balls that hit receivers in the feet, and the interception he threw was a failed attempt at lobbing the ball. I'm pretty confident that he'll be much more solid next week.
Also, as expected, Pouncey is the Steelers' best lineman already.
Mendenhall had a decent game through 60 minutes, but I expected more. The 50 yard run at the end really padded the stats of what would have otherwise been a mediocre day. He missed reads on a couple of open holes, unfortunately. On the other hand, Isaac Redman fulfilled the role assigned to him quite well as the short yardage back, converting all but one of his opportunities for a first down. I think he needs to be used more against the Titans.
Hines Ward and Heath Miller really came through for Dixon when he needed to get passes off. Ward is making sure nobody writes him off just yet. 6 catches for 108 yards, with some really nice grabs. He went over 900 catches for over 11,000 in this game, and also broke the Steelers record for most 100 yard receiving games.
As for the defense, they played very well, limiting Turner to only 44 yards I believe. They played the defensive package they needed to play, eliminating the big play and allowing the short dumpoff passes. Roddy White may have caught 13 passes for over 100 yards, but he really didn't hurt the Steelers. He was targeted 23 times, one of them being the ball Polamalu jumped in front of for his first interception of the year. Bryant McFadden missed most of the preseason, and this is his first start in the Steelers system since they won the super bowl, so with that in mind, I think he did a really good job of containing White. The entire linebacking corp looks to be at the top of its game too. James Harrison had an incredible bullrush to set up LaMarr Woodley's first sack of the season, and then he got a perfect jump to blow past the left tackle to get a sack of his own. Lawrence Timmons was everywhere, stuffing the run and covering receivers, finishing with 3 tackles for loss.
Special teams is improved, thankfully, especially the coverage units, who did a good job thanks to an injection of quality youth players and free agent ST stars like Will Allen and Arnaz Battle. Daniel Sepulveda had a booming leg all day and really helped the Steelers stay in in field position battle. Jeff Reed's kickoffs were much better than last year, and he hit a 52 yarder, the longest ever in Heinz field. He had the distance for a 55 yarder that doinked off of the right upright. Then he missed from 40 with the game on the line at the end of the 4th quarter...honestly, it looked like the wind blew it wide, but it still sucks. He finished 3/5.
Next week will be interesting. I was really rooting for the Jets to beat the Ravens so the Steelers could already have a division lead, but the Jets offense is in a sad, sad state of affairs. Thankfully, I wasn't particularly impressed with the Ravens.
Fortunately the Steelers got some good news regarding their injuries. The ankle injury suffered by LT Max Starks is not nearly as severe as originally believed and he should miss only one game, if any at all. Likewise, it is believed that Casey Hampton may play next week if a steady diet of cheeseburgers can successfully alleviate an aggravated hamstring.
Brief take on the Steelers' game:
Somebody commented that the Steelers game was 'boring'. I won't blame you, but what do you expect from a team starting a third string quarterback? Fortunately, I thought that Dixon played well mentally for the most part. He was making the correct reads, he just made some poor throws that seemed to be due to nerves. He threw at least 3 balls that hit receivers in the feet, and the interception he threw was a failed attempt at lobbing the ball. I'm pretty confident that he'll be much more solid next week.
Also, as expected, Pouncey is the Steelers' best lineman already.
Mendenhall had a decent game through 60 minutes, but I expected more. The 50 yard run at the end really padded the stats of what would have otherwise been a mediocre day. He missed reads on a couple of open holes, unfortunately. On the other hand, Isaac Redman fulfilled the role assigned to him quite well as the short yardage back, converting all but one of his opportunities for a first down. I think he needs to be used more against the Titans.
Hines Ward and Heath Miller really came through for Dixon when he needed to get passes off. Ward is making sure nobody writes him off just yet. 6 catches for 108 yards, with some really nice grabs. He went over 900 catches for over 11,000 in this game, and also broke the Steelers record for most 100 yard receiving games.
As for the defense, they played very well, limiting Turner to only 44 yards I believe. They played the defensive package they needed to play, eliminating the big play and allowing the short dumpoff passes. Roddy White may have caught 13 passes for over 100 yards, but he really didn't hurt the Steelers. He was targeted 23 times, one of them being the ball Polamalu jumped in front of for his first interception of the year. Bryant McFadden missed most of the preseason, and this is his first start in the Steelers system since they won the super bowl, so with that in mind, I think he did a really good job of containing White. The entire linebacking corp looks to be at the top of its game too. James Harrison had an incredible bullrush to set up LaMarr Woodley's first sack of the season, and then he got a perfect jump to blow past the left tackle to get a sack of his own. Lawrence Timmons was everywhere, stuffing the run and covering receivers, finishing with 3 tackles for loss.
Special teams is improved, thankfully, especially the coverage units, who did a good job thanks to an injection of quality youth players and free agent ST stars like Will Allen and Arnaz Battle. Daniel Sepulveda had a booming leg all day and really helped the Steelers stay in in field position battle. Jeff Reed's kickoffs were much better than last year, and he hit a 52 yarder, the longest ever in Heinz field. He had the distance for a 55 yarder that doinked off of the right upright. Then he missed from 40 with the game on the line at the end of the 4th quarter...honestly, it looked like the wind blew it wide, but it still sucks. He finished 3/5.
Next week will be interesting. I was really rooting for the Jets to beat the Ravens so the Steelers could already have a division lead, but the Jets offense is in a sad, sad state of affairs. Thankfully, I wasn't particularly impressed with the Ravens.
