Evalution: Take Two.

Hello fellow members of TSF..


.. It is as the thread title states... give me your positives and negatives of the game.

I shall have mine in a bit..

 

Rogers is going to be very good as a slot WR ...We have good depth at inside LB..We have really good depth at WR....Our RB position also has good depth ...

Negatives pretty much everything , but above ....

 

Starting Defense played well tonight.
Jones and Vaughn both looked bad.

 

Positive - I wasn't able to watch the game.
Negative - somehow I wanted to.

 

Positive: Grave digger is climbing the depth chart. Tuitt is worthy of the mantle of "91" Rodgers looked good.

Negatives: No run game, very conservative play calling, for a Haley offense no TE seam routes, no sitting down in the soft spot in coverage, no RB in the flat, over the middle or even really getting them involved. Coverage was sketchy. Davis needs to blow up that handout when given the chance.

 

Rogers is going to be a solid wideout. Pouncey thankfully made it past the second preseason game this year. Matakevich looked good. Those were my only positives.

 

Negative: Xavier Grimble can't catch for sh*t

 

All positives and negatives will be listed from greatest to least. They are as follows:


Positives:


Alejandro Villanueva:


... What a difference a week makes. Did not overthink much of anything. Leverage is still an issue although given his height.. it always will be. However, much improved control of leverage and improved balance upon taking blows this time around. His timing of his punches has also improved; some serious pancakes as a result. Hand placement was also on point.



Eli Rogers: I think that, if he shows up one more game like this... he is either really close to locking up the slot or has it altogether. There really is nothing I have negative to say about him. Outside of Big Al, he is the biggest skill position riser thus far and I expect him to even see some 1st team reps the following week in the big easy.



BJ Finney: Outside an extremely rare blip of lack of leverage and hand placmenet... arrow is still pointed up. Should Wallace's injury be serious (or not), I would not mind Finney being the backup to Pouncey as he was a lock for the final 53 a year ago.



Doran Grant: Allowed only two catches. Improved backpedaling from what I saw. Improved hand placement on getting jams. Increased ability to contest catches. On top of it all, fumble recovery. Had it not been for Big Al's big bounceback.. Doran Grant gets the top nod.



Tyler Matakevich: He still had some small quibbles.. but his play recognition improved from last week and continues to show his situational awareness and high football IQ. Just needs some more splash plays to make the final 53 considering he is a practice squad lock.



Sammie Coates: Needs to improve contesting catches and reading soft spots in zones. Other than that... his ball security has improved.. as has his awareness and footwork. Had some really nice catches. However.. he needs to power up on the aforementioned issues... and he is running out of time. Either way... good bounceback.



Negatives:



Landry Jones:


Self explanatory. Still can not identify zone based looks or blitzes. Still lacks deep throwing accuracy. Still lacks decision making. Still lacks... you... you know what...





Chris Hubbard:



Color me impressed Mr. Hubbard. Your constant inconsistency never ceases to surprise me; same reason why I be as equally impressed when the organization finally releases you when this preseason is over after finally seeing how inept you are as a backup; regardless of spot on the line.



Shamarko Thomas: Thought he had a great game one showing and would improve. Now I realize this is the same Shamarko from 2013. Still does not recognize routes. Still overpurses his tackling angles. Still misses routine tackles. Like Landry Jones... expect this..






Daniel McCullers: Same old bull rush. Yet to see any assortment of pass rushing moves. Can hold the POA... but that is expected. He still has the starting spot... but he is losing it little by little.



Special Teams (again): Much better than game 1 but quite a bit of yellow laundry.




Verdict:


Same as my game one verdict..







Hope to see Dupree and Burns next week. Other than that though.. relax guys. Preseason is essentially evaluation of depth.

 

Evaluating the QB depth behind Ben after the first two games is very close to zero. My whole frustration is that they look sloppy and poor in the preseason every year. Even with the 1st string. Give me one game to feel good about. Just one.

 

Positives: we have identified some clear areas of need in the depth chart.

Negatives: it is the Tight End and Quarterback position.

 

rogers, hamilton, finney, harris, 3rd and 4th rb's, grant, white i thought all had decent games. i'm not expecting them to be as polished as our starters at this point like some fans, but it will come. fort is a stud as a backup LB. that guy had a ton of tackles and his coverage is pretty darn good. matakevich is also going to be good down the road and i'm not to certain he wouldn't become a guy like moats and be able to play inside and out on occasion. same as fort. there were some positives from that game but everyone wants to just look at the score and the negatives. these guys need work and it doesn't come in two weeks. the arrow is still pointing up.

 

Positives:

Ben, AB, Le'Veon, Deangelo, Pouncey, Decastro, Gilbert, Foster, Villanueva, Heyward, Tuitt, McCullers, Hargrave, Shazier, Debo, Timmons, Gay, Boswell, Berry . . . all healthy after two weeks of the preseason.

Eli is da bomb. Love that kid. Sooooooo much more disappointed in Martavis now. Martavis stretching the field, Eli and Antonio slanting, curling, sitting, rubbing . . . defensive coordinators would just start lofting towels onto the playing field crying mercy.

I like Black Heath (Cobi Hamilton). Other than Eli, he seems to be the only wr out there consistently making catches.

Berry continues to be a stud. He may already be the best punter in team history (which isn't saying much -- to this point Daniel Sepulveda seems to be the benchmark).

Tuitt is a beast. If the equipment guy I met in Latrobe that handles the game used memorabilia is on here, just a friendly reminder to get me some of his yellow cleats.

Fort. He's our Keyaron Fox for the future. Earl Holmes. A Larry Foote upside (note: Larry Foote is one of the most under appreciated players in team history).

Vince Williams is everywhere. Dude is a tackling machine in the preseason and a very serviceable backup when the games count. I don't think he gets enough props so thought I would mention it.

I like Dirty Red. I want him on the team.

I thought Toussaint actually looked pretty good last night. He looked to be Richardson's equal where Richardson dominated the head-to-head in Week 1.

I guess I'm alone, but I thought Vaughan actually looked more comfortable/poised than he did the previous week. Still, holding onto the ball too long but, again, the camera only focuses on the pocket. Who knows what is happening downfield that may assist in him squeezing it a little tighter.

Landry Jones didn't throw five interceptions.

Negatives:

I can only badmouth Landry Jones so much before it feels like I have an agenda. The dude sucks. Anybody still trying to defend this guy as a competent backup is just delusional (or a blood relative).

I don't know if our secondary is going to be improved at all. I don't think Sean Davis is ready for big boy football yet. Not claiming he's a bust, just think he needs a year or two to be comfortable enough with assignments that he can let loose. Right now he is playing with his head and not instinctively.

Our tight ends are worthless. They're all backup (like, third string) NFL players. We've got three Jerame Tumans on our roster. WTF is up with the Ladarius Green mystery????

Shmarko. Yikes.

I probably haven't mentioned this but I'm a little concerned that Landry Jones remains #2 on our depth chart. Has anybody else noticed that his play hasn't been very good? Or are we still trying to dismiss this inept buffoonery with a casual "he's doing what the coaches are asking him to do" sort of cliche? Did they ask him to suck footballs and throw four picks in the first half? I doubt it.

 

i just haven't seen vince being as studly this year as you have eddie. fort has outplayed him in both games by far. vince isn't terrible don't get me wrong but fort has really shined and gets very little credit while doing it. we are pretty deep at ILB i will say. steelers depot had fort making 4 tackles in the game, and i beg to differ. i saw him make 4 in one series. the guy has some skills. good for us.

 

Like any offensive coordinator Haley isn't going to show anything in pre season, vanilla all the way....

 

Now if only the Vaughn and Jones we had at QB were named Rick and Davy - it would be so much more entertaining -

 

I was drunk so correct me if I'm wrong. Because this seems hard to believe. But did David Johnson totally not suck?

Our TE depth is bad if were looking for pass catchers. But JJ and DJ seem to do well with being competent (not Heathlike) do-it-alls. JJ shows a lot more confidence and feel for the game then last year. Obviously.

I'm fine with our TE situation considering the all stars that will be on the field as well, in the regular season. TE can be undervalued a little.

QB can not though. We need Big Ben for a full 19. period.

Gonna edit and add some more. Big Dan is gonna lose his job soon, its just on Gravedigger to decide how quickly.

Eli just looks like he wants to do it all. He's really taking something from AB with work ethic and determination it seems. I honestly think AB is the reason why we seem to be printing wide receivers of 2nd string quality quicker than most.

Let's see what else.

Richardson and Touissant. I think Touissant might get the nod if he stays toe to toe but Richardson seems to do more with less. Still. Our first team O line, you could put any capable body back there.

Doran Grant, face it, he's getting good. We have a good one. Hes physical.

Pouncey, I dont know how he comes back and plays so well after all the **** he goes through.
Stop putting him out there in preseason.

In fact Id like to see NO Superstars on the field til the last preseason game. And only for the amount of time the other team has theirs out there.

 

Hamilton? Cobi Hamilton? #85 right? He was making catches, that must have been during the five minutes in the 4th when I was putting the kids down because only thing I was seeing was #85 dropping a ball that hit him in the hands with no one around him.

 

Yeah he straightened up his act later in the game

 

I think he's talking about 83

 

Positives: I was able to watch most of the game

Negatives: I saw most of the game

 

That's why I asked the multi players with same numbers was tough to tell who is who. I was trying to find dirty red and was having trouble.

 

#85 is Grimble. He can't catch.

Cobi Hamilton, for what it's worth, is leading the team in receptions these last two weeks. He's #83 (which is the only reason I refer to him as Black Heath).

Oh, and according to the Steelers, he had the play of the game last night:http://www.steelers.com/videos/vide...ded-grab/05683ded-1153-4952-a906-b1f837247ac2

 

85 is Xavier Grimble, 83 is Cobi Hamilton who was catching passes in the 4th Quarter and fits the previously used description of "black Heath"


Dirty Red is 46, like Dupree, I wish LBers didn't use numbers in the 40's

 

This demonstrates two key points:


1.) Many of the Steeler linebacking greats wore numbers in either the 50s or 90s.

2.) Some of those numbers are no longer issued due towards that players legacy and impact or refusal of issuing that number again.