I know preseason doesn't mean anything

I just can't get worked up over preseason ball. Can't. Half of the steelers on the field for these games won't play a single snap this year. Some will get cut, some will be PS, some will even make the team and be inactive. Some will be active and only play ST all season.... All the guys that affect the game (our superstars Ben, AB, Bell) will actually play. Those guys are the reason why we're good. Things like having a good back up QB, or a really good 3rd string OL or awesome 3rd team corners don't matter. They'd be nice, but they don't matter. We will win and lose this year based on the 3 B's and if the defense can be decent. That's it. If they do we will be really good and have a chance at a SB... If they get injured we will be mediocre like the teams that don't have any superstars. Simple as that

 

Only problem is we don't even have a capable bu QB nor do we have awesome CB'S period..I don't think the season is a bust I just see a very slow start coming ....1 of the B'S wont be out there and the Skins have a Great CB to put on another B and our LT has showed he can get beat so they may be able to get to our other B to often ...I just have a really sick feeling about week #1 for sure..

 

To me preseason does mean something.... There is a difference between trying to win the preseason and having winning talent.

Some teams will play their starters well into the 2nd half and game plan for games.

In the Steelers case, if they keep losing in bad fashion in preseason what it is telling me is the depth on their team, the second and third stringers, might not be very good, which is definitely cause for concern.

I could care less in Ben or AB plays... Jarvis and Bud need to play though... They still have a lot to prove.

 

Dumb

 

There is no doubt that this team will once again start terribly slow under tomlin. History is no lie. 2-2 at best 1st 4 games.......

2007 3 1
2008 3 1
2009 2 2
2010 3 1
2011 2 2
2012 2 2
2013 0 4
2014 2 2
2015 2 2

 

I'll third or whatever its up to!!!

 

Does the NFL keep score in preseason games? Preseason matters, especially game speed conditions. I don't care for coach Tomlins method of holding starters out all snaps. As someone else pointed out, you can't just turn it on
or off. We shall see. Can we afford to start the season 2 & 2? Can we afford to lose to teams we are suppose to beat?

 

I agree in general.

There are three things that I don't like from the preseason so far, regardless of the scores or level of interest the players are showing in the game.
1. Poor tackling
2. Poor catching
3. Left tackle - we seem to be giving up a fair few sacks from there

Granted, all of these can be attributed to having the 3rd team out there, and running plays purely for coaching film rather than winning the game. But these are technical things that make me a little unsettled. The tackling in particular.

Still, I suppose it only matters when it matters.

 

saw stat this AM that we are 2-13 the past 15 pre-season games. I never look at the scoreboard during pre-season. I just like to evaluate talent and see what we got. As for not playing the starters I am 100% behind it. You let Ben or Brown go down in a pre-season game and everyone would be complaining that they played???

 

Well overall poor tackling is a league wide issue, not just a steelers issue. Ever since they made a "tackling window" and kept people from hitting high, tackling suffered league wide. I feel like 95 percent of the fan bases think their team is the worst tackling team in the league. I'm not trying to make excuses, but it's just the way the NFL is anymore. You win with stars in this league now.

Idk what the deal is with LT now tho. I thought Villanueva would look a little better than he has. Harris is okay, but nothing special. It hurts losing Beachum, but you can't afford everybody. Gotta save money for guys like Bell and AB.

 

fort, grant and matakevich seem to be tackling just fine as backups.

 

The opener vs. the Redskins will be painful to watch. I predict the Steelers will outgain the Redskins on offense by +250, but lose due to stupid penalties and turnovers.

2-2 after the first 4 games. 1-3 is a possibility.

 

Last year we played 5 pre season games and our record was a pathetic 1-4 and in our game against the lowly Bills they hammered us 43-19 and yet we still made it to the division round of the playoffs, and during that game vick threw a TD pass to Bryant and the announcers declared him the best back up in the NFL if you can believe that, fans would like to win all the pre season games, but the reality is these un polished players are just trying to learn a position to make the team with no game plan and using vanilla plays our coaches have to evaluate them as individuals based on the playing time they get....

 

yuck the image

 

I think we get 2 picks and 3-4 sacks in this game, Ben throws 3 TDs and we rush for over a hundred yards, thats called positive thinking..........

 

all in the first possession
even better positive thinking

 

The preseaon means nothing. What is the difference in the starters playing one series and none at all? Rest them keep them healthy. They will probably play the entire first half of the next one. These guys aren't new to each other they have been together for awhile now. Its not like Ben and Brown forgot their timing together or anything like that. The only one it may hinder is Rogers but even so they get a ton of time together practing in camp. If you read about the Steelers camp compared to others it is a lot more physical. One reporter for ESPN said the Steelers have the most physical camp of every team in the NFL. These guys are ready and they don't need to risk ending our season in the preseason if Ben or Brown go down for the year. If that happens it's game over. I completely agree with Toll on on this one.

 

I fear Reed. Our TE coverage has never been good. But I feel sooo good about our offense and (and this is important if were gonna have a rocky start) our Punt game (im serious). We had some issues winning the field position battle all last year. If we cant stay on the field on offensive 3rd downs, i want good punts at least.

 

RIP my football IQ after reading this thread!

 

What bothers me is Tomlin seems to think preseason has no value to the offense. If we have a problem with a slow start on offense against the `Skins and lose, it will be on Tomlin.

I hope this gamble works out. The only thing to evaluate so far this preseason is the defense because the real offense has not been on the field yet.

 

Good point on punts. Field position was a problem last year. Coverage teams need to improve, IMO. It wasn't all the punter's fault.

 

i think we look great. no need to improve anywhere. i am a real fan

 

Cowher is Marty Schottenheimer 2.0, but with more chin and spit.