Offensive Line......

Adams stinks in pass protection but looks really well in run blocking. Foster looked ok, nothing special. DeCastro looked great. # 53 solid as usual. Legs job is secure but needs to get better in the run game.

Colon and Starks we haven't seen yet but will make the squad.

Who's left? Essex looked bad, so bad reprts have foster doing more RT work and fewer sightings of essex, Is his time coming to an end?
Gilbert- He looked better as a rookie. He'll also make the squad but I truly hope he doesn't regress any.
Beechum- forgettable as was Jolley.
My surprise was Ryan Lee, Does he have a chance to make the 53? He's a lock for the PS at this point.

Cajun-

 

It's a little early to say Adams stinks at anything. He had a terrible game, but it was just one game. I detailed it in another thread, but he flashed enough promise to give me plenty of hope. For guys like Essex who have years and years of experience and still stunk it up against backups... that is more telling. Adams will be much better by the final preseason game, assuming he plays in the third.

 

A question about the preparedness of our OL for the eagles game. I'm not one of them but there are some on this board who believe our coaching staff did not prepare a game plan for this game and refer to a Tomlin presser where he said that. I went back to all the pre-eagle game pressers and was not able to find where he said anything about not game planning but let's assume they're right and a game plan was not devised. What would be the thought process of Tomlin in not preparing a game plan for our offensive lineman around the wide 9 scheme knowing that starting two rookies who have never seen this formation before and never practiced against it and starting their first ever NFL game trying to defend against it? Setting our OL up for failure, and especially DeCastro and Adams as first year players, doesn't seem to be the way to build confidence within themselves or in the eyes of their team mates. I believe DeCastro passed with flying colors in spite of facing a tough and unfamiliar formation in front of him. The same can't be said for Adams but was it because he was not prepared by his coaches (no game plan) or was it just due to it being his first game and made multiple rookie mistakes which should frankly be expected? Interested to know what others think.

 

Man forget about the Adams stinks quote, its not true. We didn't see enough of him. I stand with him because he is young, has good feet and very long arms which will help him. The Eagles game was his first nfl experience as a rookie playing the toughest spot on the O-Line, LT and going against a very tough D-Line scheme. Also, Tomlin has said from the beginning that they were going to put them in certain situations just to see what they would do. Thats exceptable because the Eagles game was just such a situation. They knew that it was going to be tough for him in his first nfl action. He should still be the starter because he is better then Essex and Foster, even as a rookie, plus you can't lose your job because of an injury, Tomlin has always said that. What I saw was a young rookie LT playing in his very first nfl game, who was indecisive about things, alittle timid, unsure, alot of jitters, and worrying about making mistakes. He's going to learn from that experience. Now he knows what to expect and will be ready!

So, lets see him get back out their for the last two pre-season games which should make him ready for the start of the season at Denver. And please don't give me that Max Starks should be the starter. He should be so lucky just to be resigned!

 

Some people are having way too much early expections of Decastro and Adams, I for one, didn't expect a Bruce Matthews or Orlando Pace over night.

 

Did anyone read where Chris Hoke said that he felt one of sacks was not his fault? Foster said miscommunication caused the second one.


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1292 ... son-opener

However, former Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke said via Twitter that the first sack was not Adams’ fault.

"Just turned on game late... Very impressed with Mike Adams on 1st drive... Sack wasn't his fault..."

So I asked Hoke to break down the play and he said that Adams “pushed his man 10 yards deep.”


http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/238 ... ek-quarter

Four plays later, miscommunication between Adams and Foster allowed Darryl Tapp to split them and share a sack of Roethlisberger with Brian Rolle.

“It’s just miscommunication,” Foster said. “We have to stay on our angles. It wasn’t anything more than staying on our angles.”

 

I love Hoke, but he's full of it. Adams didn't push his man anywhere, his man ran straight to where he wanted to go.

On the split sack, that was much more Foster's fault than Adams. On the two full sacks (the ones that caused fumbles), Adams just whiffed.

Still, if Hoke has been watching him and likes him, that's a good sign.

 

didnt get to see the game so did beachum get any playing time? I read he looked good in camp. was wondering if he played well the other night

 

He did get plenty of playing time. He did not play well... but again, first game.

 

I thought Beachum played HORRIBLE...Showed no strength at the point of attack at all.....Based off game one...LEE makes the team before Beachum


HACK

 

Adams was in on 19 total plays,6 run and 13 pass. Three of the pass plays were screens so really he had to only pass block for ten plays. Out of those ten plays he allowed 2.5 sacks and 4 pressures. To me that stinks. Add to that the knock on him coming out of college was his pass blocking and it is safe to say its not too early to critque his pass blocking skills.

Is all lost on Adams? NO! He is very good in the run game and we're gonna be returning to the run game more than years past plus we're gonna see alot more RB screens with rainey and batch and the occasional "FB in the flats" and the emphasis is more on Ben getting quicker reads and getting rid of the ball quicker. This will help Adams. Starks is gonna help Adams. Kugs is REALLY gonna help Adams but in all honestly I expect Starks to be our Starter game 1 and hopefully Adams improves enough to replace him by mid season. If not he should be a 2nd year starter.

Essex, he's probably gone. A key injury to the OL is now his only hope. Sad because i was pulling for him since he worked so hard slimming down and getting into better shape.

Cajun-

 

Totally agree. I'd really like to get others perspective on Ryan Lee. I've heard so little about him.

Cajun-

 

One good thing about Adams was when the ball was fumbled he was on it pretty quickly and I atleast liked that. But hopefully we won't get to see him jumping on loose balls too much.

 

True, he had two fumble recoveries but that is also how he got hurt.

Cajun-

 

I think this is a language barrier issue. To me, "he stinks" is very different and miles apart from "he stunk last Thursday." Especially when talking about a rookie in his first preseason game.

 

If you go buy Chris Hoke.....He said first sack on Adams...was not Adams fault...said he took his guy and ran him 10 yards deep..and that should be enough......and second one D split Adams and Foster.....Foster spent little time at LG to that point...communication problems.

Adams will get beat in Pass Pro....as an OSU fan...I have watched every game he ever played in....but he still wins more often than he loses.....I mean heck...if he lost out on 3 of the 10....that means he was batting 600.....Thats GOAT for baseball stats....

HACK

 

You don't have to go by Hoke, you can go by the tape. Adams doesn't really push him anywhere, the guy is just running where he wants to go. Adams holds him a little, but it doesn't slow him down. Looking at it, I don't know how anyone could say Adams had anything to do with where the defender went. Anyway, regardless of what you call holding or what the eyeball test tells you, how deep the guy was is not up for debate. He hit Ben 8 yards deep, on his first pass through the pocket. And he was completely disengaged from Adams at the time and had full balance and was running. He would have gotten to Ben if he was 6 yards deep.

 

And Hoke as a PRO who knows football was exatly correct.....Without getting into the wide 9 stuff again,the DE is schemed to get to a spot 10 yards deep...Did Adams give him a free run?Was Adams beat so bad he was out of the play?

As I stated in the other thread the players know what happened in that game and they are not surprised nor or they disappointed in Adams play...Adams is the best LT on the roster and he will start and do very well...

Haley is a smart Coach he knows how to help him with speed rushers,he knows that if it is truley man on man that Adams will win most of those battles...There is a reason that Adams has looked so good in camp ,and the reason is the scheme that we run which a lot of Teams run.....Adams is and will be a stud ,but the Wide 9 was his ultimate test...He proved he can run block it,he also proved he can force the Wide 9 to the 10 yard deep spot....IMO that is exactly what Haley and Coach K wanted to see...Fans and Pundits can look at it from a stats 1st. perspective,but to guys with true Football Knowledge he more than passed his first test...

 

Am I the only one who learned how to count to 10? Ben went back 10 yards, but then stepped up, and the DE met him 8 yards from the line of scrimmage, completely balanced and unattached from Adams.

If Aaron Smith says Isaac Redman is the best running back that ever lived, does that make it true?

 

2.5 sacks w/1 allowed QB fumble,4 additional QB pressures, and 1 knee injury all on 10 actual pass blocking opportunities. That's a "passed test" for those with True Football Knowledge?

 

It's good to get back to serious football talk but we have to remember it's way too early to be too critical about how our o line looked this past game.

 

Nope ,but if more than 1 or 2 guys who are familar with the positon say it ,it must carry a lot of merit...10,9,8, really no matter to me,,I expect a guy who gets the inital step or the edge as they say to be able to make a play.....The DE had the edge by design and to stop that you must attack the spot they are vacating....

This is why scheme and Coaching is so important to me....I can't tell you how many times I have heard that the players must execute for a a play to work....Well if the scheme is completly wrong then even if the players execute the play will most likely fail...Football is a Team sport meaning everyone must be on the same page.....If someone could ask Haley a couple of questions on Adams performane then we would be closer to the truth.....Did you have a game plan or a scheme to help Adams?Did you put Adams on the 3 Gap island by himself on purpose?

Anyway I was going to let this go,but Adams played a lot better than Starks or any other current Steeler could have done in a no help system.....And wheter people know this or not no LT in the NFL can beat their guy consistantly without sheme or help from their peers...

 

Don't you know about the True Football Knowledge card? You can say whatever you want and still be right!

Warren Sapp knows a lot about football. So does Brian Baldinger. They are still completely wrong all the time.

For fun, I showed my wife the screen we ran in the 4th quarter to David Paulson. I ranted about it in another thread. Paulson acts like he's gonna block Vinny Curry, then lets him go and catches the easy screen and gains some yards. Baldinger said Curry "beat the tackle clean inside." He confirmed that after looking at a replay. Now, my wife couldn't tell you the difference between a tight end and a tackle, or what a screen pass is, but I pointed out the two players involved and showed her the play. Then she heard what he said, I backed it up and showed it again. I said, "What's wrong with what he said?" She said, "Well it doesn't matter if he beat him because he caught the ball anyway." I said yes. Then she saw the replay again and said, "He let him go on purpose!" I said yes.

 

There are so many small and intricut things that make a play work...For example if the OL doesn't get an intial crease then the lead blocking FB can not do a good job...
Now if the OL makes the crease then the FB must make a block...Sometimes the FB makes the block ,but it is not the correct one....For instance if the runner needs to cut left to avoid the pursuit and the FB gives him the right then the play still doesn't work to perfection...If the RB fakes one way and the blocker pushes his guy the other it negates the fake...

Back to the OL ,,maybe they do create a small crease ,but they allow the DL to get his outside hand free,he then uses that Hand to reach out and turn the FB just a bit...This allows the guy he is going to block to wrong shoulder him ,,as we call it and then regain both cuts from the RB....This is why play design is so Important and execution is so Important....IT'S not just executing ,but executing the right way....

Adams executed the right way against a Wide 9 with zero help.....I am sure Haley has a 5 step drop game in place instead of a 7...Make no mistake if we go 7 no matter who the LT is if the ball doesn't attack the 6 and the 5 gaps on a regular basis the heat will be all on Ben again....Smartly most people over protect the blind side and at least let the QB see what is coming...In a true test against the worst possible scheme they protected the front side and left Adams and Foster alone to cover 5 Gaps total....Not a bad showing,not bad at all...

On a side note we ran multiple types of screens most of which are not suited against a Wide 9.....I think Haley was gping to play it close to the vest,but he got upset and decided to call a play that was suited to punish the wide 9...He ran the 1 man pop screen as we call it,,he let the DE get up the field and used his OL on that side to seal the lane...It is a common play against the Wide 9 and Rainey showed them what can happen if you just keep presssing the edge....Believe me that is 1 of many plays that we could have used ,but Haley didn't want to show them.....

When we play the Eagles for real we will dominate them from our left side,,,,mark my words....