Positives and negatives from the Lions game

Ben didn't get hurt. That is the key. I like the idea of a ton of vets sitting out due to them being entrenched as starters.

Good to see Doran Grant getting major reps.

Landry Jones is brutal, Grad is brittle, Vaughan playing with scrubs. He had some moments feeling the pressure and good movement in the pocket. With Grad injured again I hope to see Vaughan get some more reps.

Coates is a threat sans the fumbles.

 

those fumbles are huge though. if he does that with starters from other teams he won't be seeing the field much.

grant impressed me coming up and making tackles. he was playing like gay and that's a good thing.

i know one thing they better get together quickly is the corner blitz. we leave a huge hole that someone is supposed to fill but didn't nearly every time we ran it. big plays for the lions most times when we tried it. of course if shazier and timmons are in there it may be different, but if it's the safeties supposed to be there, they weren't.

 

Our CB'S can't really guard there guys so they have to play way off and our Safeties are not fast enough..Maybe they have foot speed but they lack game speed, they are slow to diagnose route combinations and they are slow to figure out the correct angles to make plays on the ball ...This is why I still believe that a WR convert would be better than our hit first guys, we need that's my ball guys back there and I haven't seen them yet...

 

thats not true and at this stage of the preseason it's way too late to try to convert anyone because they will still be out of position and trying to learn where to cover in a base defense let alone when we do more exotic things. communication is what i see lacking. we ran into this last year too on these blitzs and we had safeties that knew what to do in will allen. with gay on the field it will work much better and i'm not to sure that grant shouldn't get more time as a 3rd cb or 3rd safety or whatever you want to call him at that point. these guys are young and it will take time for them to learn to play together. in the preseason is the time for these mistakes to happen, when the games don't count.

 

I don't think it's communication that is the problem I think it's a lack of skill at the positions..I hope I am wrong ,but I am afraid we will see guys running open all year ...You are correct about it being to late for a convert this season ,I am thinking start looking towards next year and next years draft or better yet hit the FA market or trade for some better skilled players.....IMO not one of our Safeties are good at defending the pass not a 1 of them ...

Defense and blitzing is not really rocket science from the Safety position..If your on the side of the blitzer and a guy runs deep on your side he is your man..If no one goes deep you are looking to protect the middle ...Neither the blitz side Safety or the FS is even close to protecting the middle on most plays and it's been that way for years...Every once and awhile they will get close enough to make a hit , but rarely are they in position to make a play on the ball.

 

to add to that PWP
i believe it was a mind set of our backs to go for the BIG HIT EVERY TIME thusly missing on the opportunity to go for a play on the ball.

 

Oh yes I agree the mind set and the skill set ..Going for the hit buys them at least a second maybe even 2 seconds ,I would have to time the average NFL tuck time ...The bottom line is you have to have the mentality to go for the ball ,which I don't think they do...And you have to have the skills to be in that window earlier which I am sure they don't have...

Even on jump ball type of throws our guys are still on the ground waiting to make a hit , this is where a trained WR type could be huge ...They have been trained to go up and fight for the ball their entire career ....I would also guess that most DB'S with great ball skills played WR early in their Football careers or their DB coaches doubled as WR coaches...

 

Rewatching and something NOT on our side of the ball, Rudock, Lions backup QB looked good.

As far as the first preseason game goes as auditions. The three people who I think showed a largely noticeable increase over what we expected were Daryl Richardson, Doran Grant, and LJ Fort

Oh and kinda Sharko

I keep editing, but ALSO, Jordan Berry went from somewhat inconsistant last year to reall really really good so far that I've seen.

 

and if you were on the phone with tech service they would say "he was Berry Berry good!"

 

Landry might be average, but there's no free agent QB that's a upgrade at this this point.

 

Oh christ man, why did I even laugh at that? *cringe*

 

Yeah. I would tend to agree with that but . . . I don't know. Landry . . . Landry can't be counted on. He's bad.

 

I'll give Vaughn another shot. His receivers didn't seem to be giving him much help, or his o-line.

Agree with an earlier poster who noted that steelers didn't seem too energised all night. They seem to use these games more as extended practice.

 

He can throw the quick slant as long as he can do that he was miles and miles ahead of where Vick was he was made the starter last season with fewer weapons surrounding him

 

I'm not gonna argue that Vick was better.

Still, Landry Jones is terrible. If Ben goes down, we're done. He's not gonna manage us to 3-1 like Charlie Batch. He's not gonna keep us competitive like Byron Leftwich. If Martavis Bryant hadn't have weaved 88 yards, nobody on this board would be defending Landry Jones in any way shape or form. His appearance in the postseason last year almost ended our season. He didn't even come close to moving our offense in that game. He's not good. He's been in our system too long to be this inept. I don't know that there is anybody out there that we could sign off the street who would be better so, I don't know where to go from here. TJ Yates, Matt Flynn . . . maybe slight upgrades, but probably lateral moves. Ben has to stay healthy. That's all there is to it.

I don't like to complain when I don't have solutions, but that's what I'm doing here.

 

Actually there would be because I just did and it had nothing to do with Bryant's catch and TD run and everything to do with what LJ can do and what they were asking him to do.

 

There may be a body or two cut after the 3rd preseason game worth looking at.

When did we find Charlie?

 

Whoever the 49rs. cut we could upgrade some at QB ..Bryce Petty will probably get cut..

 

I didn't realize they were asking him to post a 77.3 passer rating. That's awful.

For some perspective . . . That was 62nd-'best' (ahem) among passers last season. Right behind Colin Kaepernick, EJ Manuel, the Chiefs' kicker, and Baltimore's punter.

Johnny Manziel had a better passer rating finishing seven spots ahead at 55th.

Michael Vick was 54th.

He was 67th-best in completion percentage.

Landry threw 3 tds to 4 ints (not including what should have been the season-ending pick at cincy so, five picks really). For some perspective on that, only one quarterback on the list of 61 passers with a better passer rating threw more picks than td's. ONE. And that was Luke McCown (who threw 1 pick and 0 tds).

Landry never even looks good in the preseason and that is merely against camp fodder.

Aside from that Arizona game, when he has ever even remotely looked competitive?

 

Does anybody have any info on weather or not players are training or practicing together outside the leagues written parameters ? That's usually an indication of how that particular group practicing together will do in the reg. season

 

My impressions after game 1:



Positives:

Ricardo Matthews: Not reiterating what people have been saying considering Matthews' play did that for me.


Jordan Berry: 'Aussie had gotten better. Hand times may be off but got him in the 4.8-5 sec range. In addition , his angling of kicks as also improved.


Javon Hargrave: Was as advertised. Did everything I expected him to do; two gapping included. Not much else to say since many of us saw it coming.


BJ Finney: Improved from my complaints of his first year in Pittsburgh. Hand fighting has gotten more quick and violent, functional and play strength have improved conaiderably, situational awareness has improved, footwork has gotten quicker and a decrease of lunges. Surefire backup interior lineman should his play continue and could mark the beginning of the end for Hubbard.


Anthony Chickillo (Pre-Injury): Before the end of his 1st half decline, Chick gave Taylor Decker some fits. No sacks.. but a holding call demonstrated his improved twitch and speed to power; hand fighting speed also a highlight.


Jerald Hawkins (3rd Quarter Only): Even if it was one quater... Hawkins showed that, even if his injury was not completely gone.. he still had some determination left. Good punch and good footwork.


Eli Rogers: Showcased some serious agility and elusiveness. Catch radius was solid from what I saw.


Daryl Richardson: His job to lose now. Interested if he is going to see more second team action Thursday.


LJ Fort: Was better than even expected. Made some quality hits and showed good burst.


Tyler Matakevich: Sideline to sideline. Showed some good football IQ and was active in plays despite stat sheet (two tackles).


Matt Reily: Did not register a sack but had some good pressure and was solid in run support holding the edge.




Negatives:


Fundementals (or lack thereof): Missed tackles, missed assignments, communication errors, dropped passes, poor bookend blocking and lack of urgency. What you would expect from second team and third team players... so.. not much else to add here.



Sammie Coates: Classic case of simply attempting to accomplish too much with too litte. Nevermind the fumbles which made things worse, a bobbled short pass? Focus on the catch first.. then make the play.


Alejandro Villanueva: Too early on his punch when attempting to engage his opposition. Too much lunging. Leverage is going to always be his issue.. but was more upright than he should have been. Delayed quickness countermeasures against offensive hand fighting defensive bookends. In short.. refer to Sammie Coates (i.e. too far ahead to see what is in front of you).



Daniel McCullers: Still do not see the nasty in him like we see from "Gravedigger" in his hand fighting. Started strong... but overall game fell off as the game wore on. Decreased explosiveness, decreased aggression at the point of attack... decreased everything really.


Landry Jones: .... Running out of ways to say it... so I will just say it...





Entire Secondary:


.. Refer Here:


http://thesteelersfans.com/forums/t...ll-is-the-least-of-pittsburghs-worries.14723/


Will Monday:


*Refer to Landry Jones assessment.


Jordan Zumwalt: .....







Final Verdict:






It is just the first game guys. Rusty play was expected from both sides. Now with a week into football, expect some things to be ironed out.