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Key Takeaways from Preseason Game 1!

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by brosonke, Aug 9, 2019.

  1. brosonke

    brosonke Well-Known Member

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    • Like Like x 2
  2. pjgruden

    pjgruden

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    One thing I would add is the guy they brought in to help Tomlin with Coaches Challenges either wasn't listened to, or is just as bad as Tomlin.
     
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  3. BK99

    BK99 Well-Known Member

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    I agree, Devin Bush does look like the real deal but way too early to tell. Edmunds didn't look good,, out of position a lot and his pass break up will draw a PI in a regular season game. The entire secondary looks bad and if this is like the past 4 years then it isn't going to improve much after the preseason. On offense Dobbs looked rough, he had the pass to Washington who made a nice catch but that was it. He was still locking onto guys and his accuracy hasn't got any better, Rudolph looked a lot better and after one game I'd say the job is his to lose.
     
  4. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    I have only watched the first half so far, and only one time through, so I don’t have too many definitive takeaways yet. However, on the positive side Bush looked like a quality veteran out there in his first career preseason game. That bodes very well. Also on the positive side, Rudolph looked to me like a legit NFL QB who can aspire to be a long term starter in the league. I can’t envision a non-injury scenario where he isn’t our #2 this year. James Washington looked like who I expected him to be based on his college tape. He is a legit NFL #2 or #3 receiver, and I expect him to have a breakout year.

    On the negative side, Okorafor scared the willies out of me. Is he really the guy who is one injury away from protecting Ben’s blind side? Whoah.... he got annihilated by Spence. It wasn’t close at all. I’ve read that he’s been doing well in practice, but last night it looked he’d forgotten everything he’s ever been taught about pass protection. Banner sucked too. There were also interior guys who got beat up pretty good (didn’t recognize all of the uniform numbers). We have great starters on the o line, but they’d better stay healthy.
     
  5. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    I'm not as down on the backup o-linemen yet and if they had to go into a game with starters next to them that would be a different level of play. Chuks however did not look good.

    Everyone is excited about bush but I'm still remaining cautious about him. He did a few things but the amount of tackles wasn't all that impressive to me. That comes from where they were made. Many were Larry Foote tackles, way too far down the field. I want to see them in the hole, not 5-7 yards down field. Coverage wasn't too bad from him.

    UG3 finally started just playing ball instead of thinking at first. It showed. I can see these guys getting better once they quit thinking as much and react more. Across the board the lber group has some talent and speed. Red looked better as well. Spilaine is on the cusp too. Ola looked good. High hopes for our backers to improve. Not bad for the first game.

    What can they do with starters and against starters may be different but the d is faster.

    Samuels looks good on o. He will need playing time and should help our offense.

    Washington came to play.

    Gentry didn't look too bad.

    Mason and the kid have good pocket presence. I for one hope they hang on to the kid. MT loves Dobbs though. I like him myself but I believe there is greater potential behind him. Tough delema. Gonna be some tough cuts after one game but that's why they have more than that. Game two can tell quite a different story for some.

    boz looked good. Nice to see.:cool:
     
  6. groutbrook

    groutbrook

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    I was thinking the same thing.
     
  7. BigBensBigBong

    BigBensBigBong Well-Known Member

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    If Boz is back, that is HUGE. We are talking about the difference of maybe 2 games in the standings between good or bad Boz.

    I think we are solid except in defensive secondary. Any QB in the NFL can pick us apart and that is so sad.
     
  8. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    Those were not our starters you know.:cool:
     
  9. steel machine

    steel machine Well-Known Member

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    I'll say this Bush was so fired up to be in his first NFL game, of course he has a lot of growing to do but my hopes are high.
     
  10. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    Devin Bush Jr. was as advertised as I thought he be. Had he had that interception, penalty or not, that would have been even more impressive. Still though, an awesome debut. Ten total tackles?! Have yourself a day Mr. Bush!



    Justin Layne... well, he is raw and I know he has work to do. I just did not realize he was THIS raw. Looked fine though in college.



    Benny Snell Jr. is definitley old school like many of us thought. Not many explosive runs. However, he can wear down the defense. He just needs to work on the details overall.


    Biggest winner for me is Ulysees Gilbert III. Did not have the same amount of tackles as Bush but still showcased his sideline to sideline speed, coverage and blitz capabilities. He still needs to show out on Special Teams to make the Final 53 though.
     
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  11. MeanJoeBlue

    MeanJoeBlue Well-Known Member

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    Last year's DRotY (Leonard of the Colts) put up a monster number of tackles (way more than any Steeler player in at least the past 20 years).
    Leonard averaged 10 a game.
    Bush had 10 in half a game.
    It is only a preseason game, but it does make me wonder what would be required in order to be "impressive".
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  12. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

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    I’m willing to give Layne the pass of “probably overthinking rather than just playing”. His issue seemed to be the amount of cushion he was giving, which might suggest a player getting to grips with a coverage scheme.

    Or, he may just be that raw. It will be interesting to see how much development we see between now and the next preseason game.
     
  13. Rollers

    Rollers Well-Known Member

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    Liked your write up. Thanks I agree on Chukwuma Okorafor. He was horrible. Looked slow and confused. Had to hold at least twice. We need a different option at that position.
     
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  14. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Gentry outshined Grimble, 3 catches and a TD on 3 targets to 0 targets for Grimble who played the entire first half.

    I hope Gentry learns fast because I just do not think Grimble offers much at all as a receiving TE.
     
  15. groutbrook

    groutbrook

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    I'm hoping that's the case. It's been a common narrative with Steelers young DB's in recent years though.
     
  16. Da Stellars

    Da Stellars Well-Known Member

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    Towards end of game Ulysses Gilbert and Tuzar Skipper’s name was being called out as making plays.
     
  17. JAD

    JAD Well-Known Member

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    Haven't we heard this song before, not fake news just old news with Steeler's DB's.
     
  18. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

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    Yeah, part of me did think “here we go again.” Only one game so far though...
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  19. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    More impressive is where those tackles are made. If they are Larry Foote tackles 5-7 yards down field, is that something to get excited about? If a running back averages 5-7 yards per carry he's having a pretty good day. :cool:
     
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  20. thesteeldeal

    thesteeldeal Well-Known Member

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    I agree with many of the positive assessments. I was gonna ask...No love for Tuzar? Our OLB position seems to have a nice future once the 9 million dollar man is gone. Ola was providing nice pressure and was even showing out on STs. Skipper seems to have heavy hands to go with a nice dip and rip. Couple of JH clones in the making? Another guy that deserves mention is Chickillo . It seemed early on he and Bush were the only guys making tackles. Chick had some clean up done on his ankle and has lost some weight and it showed by him flying around quite a bit....

    My take on Snell is I like the fact he is almost always falling forward. He does look to me like another player that could probably use some more conditioning to help his quickness and burst. That may have to come year 2 I’m afraid though which seems to be a trend for our RBs. For now I think he provides a nice short yardage and close out option.
    I’m really looking forward to hopefully a 1-2 punch with Conner and Samuels who are both reportedly in phenomenal shape. We saw very little of Samuels but on just that one carry I saw better vision ,burst and speed. Very optimistic about the RB position. Now it’s just a matter of using it properly.

    Overall pretty good performance for PS game 1. Nice job guys!
     
  21. HeinzMustard

    HeinzMustard Well-Known Member

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    Haden and Nelson were not on the field. Barring any injuries, CB will be fine, IMO.
     
  22. MeanJoeBlue

    MeanJoeBlue Well-Known Member

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    I have two responses to that. Since I don't have the information, this is more hypothetical, just like your "what if" hypothetical.
    • The leading TB rusher had 10 carries for 34 yards. None of the others had more than 4 carries or 18 yards. That is a fairly limited sample to guess if someone is having a good day. (Samuels had a 22 yard run, and a -1 yard run. Good day or bad?)
    • A while back, some fans thought McLendon was a bad run defender due to the number of tackles he made that were 5-7 yards downfield. Someone looked over the film, and a lot of those tackles were on runs away from Steve. A big DL was running them down from behind, preventing a bigger play... Without looking at the film and scheme, it is harder to tell if the RB was having a "pretty good day" against Bush directly, or if the RB had beat someone else and Bush had good hustle to be around the ball.
     
  23. Diamond

    Diamond Well-Known Member

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    AQL said) Justin Layne... well, he is raw and I know he has work to do. I just did not realize he was THIS raw. Looked fine though in college.

    Layne was second in tackles behind Bush, for his 1st NFL game to be second in tackles isnt a bad first time game.....
     
  24. turtle

    turtle

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    I had the offensive line as 1st half losers in that other thread. Their best drive was the first drive Rudolph came in (Rudolph-Washington TD drive). They looked solid that drive and Snell was hitting 4-5 yards a pop. But mostly they looked suspect and I'll give them some slack as they were all moving around position wise.

    But one takeaway - wow Banner and Johnson on the right side were huge. Two big big dudes there.
     
  25. HeinzMustard

    HeinzMustard Well-Known Member

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    I don't worry about coverage with Layne. It's the tackling. CBs have to be able to tackle. We'll see. He has potential... too soon to pass judgment.
     

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