pre-season wk. 1.......postgame observations

offense:
1. starting o-line looks like it could be special barring injury
2. dri archer in space is going to be deadly for us
3. leveon bell is going to have a monster season
4. markus wheaton is the real deal
5. tauren poole will make the team strictly on his special teams play
6. mike adams is really scaring me out there
7. guy whimper was no better than adams
8. martavis Bryant has all the tools, but needs to get his head in the game
9. Justin brown is the real deal, and plays with some fire


defense:
1. sean spence was a beast, as were the rest of the ilbers
2. Jarvis jones is poised for a break-out season
3. mike Mitchell is every bit the hitter that ryan Clarke was
4. shemarko Thomas can really lay the wood as well
5. cam heyward must be a reall loveable guy the way the o-line was hugging him
6. cam Thomas needs to work on his consistency..... beast mode one minute, sleep mode the next
7. keep an eye on howard jones the next 3 wks.
8. chris carter is still a one trick pony
9. mt. McCullers is an automatic double team


special teams:
1. coverage teams look good
2. return teams need work (especially the blocking up front)

 

Didn't get to watch the game. Thanks for this post!

 

replay of the game on NFL network right now!!! I know we lost but it's the preseason; good analysis B&G looking forward to watching

 

I enjoyed watching the defensive return for TD, not just because the Steelers scored their only touchdown, but because a convoy of backups flew to the ball and kept playing without having heard a whistle. That play showed a hunger (and, I suppose common sense) that we haven't always been able to rely on. Great recovery on the muffed punt as well. Not overwhelmed by the overall performance and the defense on Painter's drive was like an awful rerun, but some solid performances. Looking forward to preseason game 2!

 

I think a very fair observation,BG good job.
Lots of preseason left.Players will improve
I really enjoyed Sean Spence!

 

My takeaway after one viewing: health. I like our starters at almost every single position. I have issue with our depth at many crucial positions.

Can anybody show me a clip of Jarvis Jones' sack? They didn't show it on TV.

 

You can see the JJ sack here, Snack.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/gamecast?gameId=400554698&version=mobile

 

Good assessment however I read reports that Mike Adams had a good game.

Unfortunately I was not able to see the game

Bman

 

Originally Posted by blackandgoldpatrol offense:
1. starting o-line looks like it could be special barring injury---impressive
2. dri archer in space is going to be deadly for us ---like he has been around for years
3. leveon bell is going to have a monster season---played big
4. markus wheaton is the real deal--- just getting warmed up
5. tauren poole will make the team strictly on his special teams play---he was in your pre-draft 53 [good pick]
6.mike adams is really scaring me out there --- he's trying but
7. guy whimper was no better than adams---might have been sleeping when he got in
8. martavis Bryant has all the tools, but needs to get his head in the game ---think he will
9. Justin brown is the real deal, and plays with some fire --- no shortage of WR's on this team


defense:
1. sean spence was a beast, as were the rest of the ilbers --- man on a mission ---accomplished
2. Jarvis jones is poised for a break-out season --- want to see more
3. mike Mitchell is every bit the hitter that ryan Clarke was --- we know what he can do
4. shemarko Thomas can really lay the wood as well --- one of my favorites
5. cam heyward must be a reall loveable guy the way the o-line was hugging him --- they had to pay special attention to him, he warrants it
6. cam Thomas needs to work on his consistency..... beast mode one minute, sleep mode the next --- but he will help a lot
7. keep an eye on howard jones the next 3 wks. --- sure has tools
8. chris carter is still a one trick pony --- never been much of a fan of him
9. mt. McCullers is an automatic double team --- improving daily


special teams:
1. coverage teams look good
2. return teams need work (especially the blocking up front)
Good assessment however I read reports that Mike Adams had a good game. --- he did his job at times, but on a critical 3rd down play he got caught leaning and could not recover. His guy blew by him and disrupted the play. The fans will only recall this play. Yes, it is scary when he is one on one.

Unfortunately I was not able to see the game --- All the positive individual play was as stated. But overall team play on both O and D was choppy. By game 3 the pieces should fit. There certainly are enough of them.

Bman

---A couple other things I didn't expect to watch for that caught my eye. Maybe I am wrong about Gilbert. He played very well. He was confident and attacked his man almost like Pouncey and when needed is quick enough to adjust to speed rushers. Good!

They are probably going to have to keep at least one of the new DL players. Mauro has a motor but? Hemer is nearly as big as the Mountain, I really didn't notice N. Williams or Arnfelt [ last year guys]
but there are more games.

Oh! The punter has skills. Heck, he might have been the teams best offensive weapon. But he also had a couple clunkers.

Overall, more positives than not. I am now going to watch the game again. I did not see enough of Arthur Moats. I have high expectations of him.

 

Some good observations. The only thing I have to add, and to quite the disappointment of myself, is that Fanguopo is not very good. I tried to watch him as much as possible, and he seems to have no drive at all. It appeared to me that if the play wasn't directly in front of him, he really didn't even try.

 

ramon looked bad. I don't know how you guys can say our top 5 all looked good. he's slow.

j.brown didn't really impress me either last night.

moye about the same as above.

grad looked bad.

jones looked bad.

the backup qb's had little time, because of the backup line.

adams isn't very good.

munchs' Johnson looked pretty decent at center.

cam Thomas had some good moments.

poole was good on ST's.

the punter scares me.

the ILB'ers all looked pretty good.

zumwalt impressed me last night.

Bryant browning and hubbard did a decent job at guard.

whimper- see adams.

arnfelt had 4 tackles and whiffed on a critical tackle in the backfield late.

the mountain looks pretty decent and should get better as he goes. he seemed to build as the game went on.

bell looked good.

blount, ehh, not bad, not great.

the heath hit almost made me puke at first.

dri- tee hee hee. had about a half a chub on after that catch and run.

they ought to be ashamed to let that RB run right up the gut like that.

still not sure about our secondary. they still seem slow.

howard jones could be a player.

so'oto looked decent.

carter is what he is. I'd move on from him.

Mauro looked pretty good, but has to stay after it. I saw him kind of stop and look around thinking he was out of the play and it was right in front of him still happening.

Wallace a little iffy last night.

beachun looked good.

gilbert looked decent.

DD, atta boy.

willj, I've seen him play better but it's a new position they have him at.

I saw way too many receivers have alligator arms.

green is not very good at corner.

the shark is fast and a hitter. they need to get him on the field somehow.

our backups need some work still.

preseason game 1, pretty typical.

 

I've got no problems with the fade route, but hate seeing it thrown to munchkin receivers.

 

Bryant looked like Limas Sweed 2.0
Settling for too many FGs
Run defense bad another long TD run ugh
Midget CB can't cover taller WRs
Backup QBs too many errant throws
Backup O-line not very good

 

Thanks, but for some reason that didn't work for me. :-(

 

You didn't miss much it wasn't some great hit, Jones just hit Eli around the ankles and he fell. At least he already matched his last season sack total of 1.

 

I thought the D on the first series had good push and penetration. Tuitt had a brain fart on the snap count, but overall a good series. I believe they were in nickel formation when they gave up the big up the gut run, so hang that on your inside backers for not making the play. Adams has no heart... Literally. Bryant will be fine just needs some more experience obviously. Spence looked good and shark did as well. Big boy is gonna anchor that line like a beast once his mechanics are fluid and consistent. Grad was hit and miss. Liked how he stood tall and fired that completion with JPP smashing him. Landry looks better and would probably look even better if if the left side would've help up better than a wet paper bag. Dri looked good and versatile. We have a lot of youth with tremendous upside, I imagine cuts are gonna be tougher than in the past but that's a good problem to have. Wanted to see Kay get some snaps but he would've looked terrible running for his life as well. Hope our OL stays healthy or were screwed!

 

the thing to really focus on was how he beat the left tackle....... his outside/in move was textbook and he showed explosive hands

 

Maybe because it's a mobile link? Sorry, but as mentioned above it's nothing spectacular.

 

I agree completely with this.

First game of the preseason I tend to look for all the positives.

Mauro and Howard Jones looked promising, as did most of the draft picks.

Pleased to see Dangerfield getting in on some plays - while I'm still not sure if he stays around or not, it will be fun to watch him try.

I think everything else has been covered, really.

By the way, did they ever get to the bottom of why Danny Smith was so worked up at the end of the half?

 

He also showed explosive speed.. Dude can really burn it up

Bman

 

Hmmm...ok - my thoughts.

1. I am disappointed that with a first down on like the 10 yard line, all we could manage was a field goal.

2. I missed JJ's sack but I am happy about that because he made me nervous at camp. Was it against the Giant's starters?

3. The long running TD against our starting D didnt look too great.

4. I really like our OL. I did when I saw them at camp and I liked them in the game. If they can stay healthy, they will be solid.

5. I love the idea of Blount and Bell in the backfield.

6. #10 (cant think of his last name right now) had a really tough game but I love his height, so I hope he comes around.

7. Did Troy play? I think I missed him. Also, nice to see Spence on the field.

 

Not certain but I would say yes because manning was the sack

I believe your talking about Martavis Bryant .. He had an awful game.

Bman

 

Heres an observation from a sports page analysis:

More disturbing than Painter's game-winning TD pass on a field full of backups was Rashad Jennings' 73-yard touchdown run against the Steelers' starters in the first quarter, which gave the Giants a 7-3 lead. That's not what Mike Tomlin wanted to see after the Steelers allowed 11 plays of 50 yards or more last season, most in the NFL.

And, in my opinion, the other 3 teams in this division is going to test this defense to see if they still cant stop the run, and if we cant we wont win this division period...........