SteelerAllDay
09-01-2009, 11:50 AM
I haven't been as critical as most of the contributors on the SA regarding PS o-line play. Mainly because last year was first year this group played together. Lets not forget that this group that ended wasn't the group that started. Simmons was the rg and Smith lt. Injuries forced Stapleton in at rg and Starks later in the year at lt. It was Kemos first year as a starter replacing perennial pro bowler Faneca. At center was newly signed Hartwig, that came from two good running teams, Tennessee and Carolina but still first with this unit. Colon was a guard at Hofstra learning to play tackle in the nfl.
We keep telling ourselves that the FO knows what it does and its a good evaluator of talent, but why do we seem to forget this when it comes to the line. These guys all can play at this level but they need to play together for a couple of seasons. Again this year, we will have a new rg, Essex. And I think we will be better for it. Essex has been in the system for few years now, longer then Stapleton. He will be an upgrade based purely on time and experience. Stapleton will come into his own as well. I remember how some of us, a lot of us, liked Stapleton as UDFA. So what happened? He got tossed into the fire after an injury to the starter. Lets give this guy a break. I still see him as starter at some point, maybe center.
I have seen and reviewed all PRE-SEASON games up to know. I emphasize pre-season because we can not forget what we are watching here. These games are to try different things, put players in different situations to see how they respond. After reviewing a lot of the running plays, I saw a lot of good things from the o-line and a lot of things that need to be improved on. A lot of times the blame was on the rb for not picking right hole, or hesitating running up into hole, or just not letting it develop. I also saw crappy blocking by Speath, which is why I think Johnson should replace him. (Speath has got to go) But I also saw plays that all this did happen and execution was very good but more often then not, the bills, redskins, and arizona had 7-8 guys in the box. Not even Minnesota or Carolina can consistently run well against these defenses. They may have one or two big runs but not consistent. Which is what we have seen so far. Mendenhall has had a few runs of 9-12 yards against these defenses, but thats all. Which leads us to pass protection, that I think has been improved this year. Ben has just been Ben, holding ball too long or just scrambling to make things happen.
So again this year, we are not going to see the big running attack of the Steelers return, but it will be improved especially as the season gets older. After all, best running teams like Carolina and Minnesota didn't go that far last year because their passing games were as bad as the Steeler running game. Its hard to have both. But a decent running game and solid passing game combined with nasty D will get you far, every year.
I like this o-line, and will look forward to watching them gel throughout season. BTW, based on previous pre-season games, Urbik, Foster, Legursky and Parquet should be our back ups. Hills on ps. Versatility of these four help them especially with Stapleton on IR and Hartwig getting up in age and often injured.
What does Steeler Nation think?
We keep telling ourselves that the FO knows what it does and its a good evaluator of talent, but why do we seem to forget this when it comes to the line. These guys all can play at this level but they need to play together for a couple of seasons. Again this year, we will have a new rg, Essex. And I think we will be better for it. Essex has been in the system for few years now, longer then Stapleton. He will be an upgrade based purely on time and experience. Stapleton will come into his own as well. I remember how some of us, a lot of us, liked Stapleton as UDFA. So what happened? He got tossed into the fire after an injury to the starter. Lets give this guy a break. I still see him as starter at some point, maybe center.
I have seen and reviewed all PRE-SEASON games up to know. I emphasize pre-season because we can not forget what we are watching here. These games are to try different things, put players in different situations to see how they respond. After reviewing a lot of the running plays, I saw a lot of good things from the o-line and a lot of things that need to be improved on. A lot of times the blame was on the rb for not picking right hole, or hesitating running up into hole, or just not letting it develop. I also saw crappy blocking by Speath, which is why I think Johnson should replace him. (Speath has got to go) But I also saw plays that all this did happen and execution was very good but more often then not, the bills, redskins, and arizona had 7-8 guys in the box. Not even Minnesota or Carolina can consistently run well against these defenses. They may have one or two big runs but not consistent. Which is what we have seen so far. Mendenhall has had a few runs of 9-12 yards against these defenses, but thats all. Which leads us to pass protection, that I think has been improved this year. Ben has just been Ben, holding ball too long or just scrambling to make things happen.
So again this year, we are not going to see the big running attack of the Steelers return, but it will be improved especially as the season gets older. After all, best running teams like Carolina and Minnesota didn't go that far last year because their passing games were as bad as the Steeler running game. Its hard to have both. But a decent running game and solid passing game combined with nasty D will get you far, every year.
I like this o-line, and will look forward to watching them gel throughout season. BTW, based on previous pre-season games, Urbik, Foster, Legursky and Parquet should be our back ups. Hills on ps. Versatility of these four help them especially with Stapleton on IR and Hartwig getting up in age and often injured.
What does Steeler Nation think?