Impressions of the 1st preseason game...

Our running game was nothing special but thats to be expected with all the backups in there on the OL

Ben got out of there without any injuries and looked decent in his first game back on the field

Omar Jacobs led a great drive at the end of the game

I want to see more of Humes and Jacobs in the coming weeks

Our defense was nothing special overall but we made some plays


Santonio looked good as did Reid. All of our rookies got some decent work in and are looking good for the most part. Yeah we didnt win which sucks but from a preseason standpoint we did some good things.



Overall game stats..

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/live/NFL_20060812_PIT@ARI

i didn't see the game, so my opinion is based off the stats

anthony smith had two picks, ryan clark and carter better watch their behinds cause the rookie seems hungry

boyd seemed like ****, 8 of 16 and he only got 6 more yards then jacobs who threw 9 less balls

humes had a good catch and was are leading reciever lol...but he sucked (today anyway) on the goalline, but at least we still ended the drive with a td

or 3rd down defense seemed a lot like last year, the first drive the cards were 4-4 on 3rd downs. so it looks like cowher still hasn't fixed that.

holmes and reid had solid days, to bad our d sucked and only forced 3 punts. reid got 8 yards, and that's pretty much what ARE avg. cause of all his breaks so that's good

The best suprise of today had to be Anthony Smith even though in those first two or three drives we got walked all over by Warner and his passing.

We typically go 2-2 in preseason so we'll see how the team progresses after their first game action since the SB. Humes will get better as will the backups on the OL and blocking for him as camp goes on and the pre season games continue.

I don't wanna judge anything too quickly good or bad after just one meaningless game..there were some good things and bad things. The running game was definately not good nor was the overall defense. Remember though too, the cards have sucked for so long that now they have a new stadium and they have James in the backfield..we were coming into a hornets nest to begin with so I didnt expect us to win but I was hoping. We always rise to the occasion but you know how preseason goes, the vets just wanna get outta there without injury and all the backups are playing hard but none of them have jelled with thier team mates yet.

Overall we looked rough. That is attributed to the fact that we had a mix of different strings and players in on a lot of plays. We made Kurt Warner to Johnson or Fitz look good. We stuffed James a few times which I liked to see.

I could tell that every WR and RB was gunnin for a top spot by how they were playin and goin for the big play which I liked to see as you get to see some good potential for the regular season.

-Washington looked to be competin fierce for a spot on the roster. I saw him dive for a few balls and in general just gave me an impression that he is hungry to be a top receiver.
-Holmes came out and looked promising. After all the bullshit this offseason I liked to see how pumped and ready to go he looked at the beginnin of the game and he made some decent plays in the game.
-Morgan had one pass that he should have caught. He needs to work on his hands and catch the ball before he starts to run.
-Reid seemed to be gettin a lot of opportunities. Had he had a better quarterback throwin to him we would have had at least 14 more on the board.
-Boyd looked to be tryin too hard almost. He did not wait long enough on some plays for a receiver to open up before tryin to run the ball downfield. When he did pass he seemed to only be able to throw bullets. Multiple times he had a receiver have the ball bounce off of him or his fingertips because of the force behind the throw. If Boyd wants to play in the NFL he is goin to have to learn how to pass in more ways than one.
-Roethlisberger and Batch both looked strong and confident. Roethlisberger was able to dodge several sack attempts and showed he was able to take a hit or two. Batch looked smooth and at ease in the time he played.
-Jacobs has potential and will become a strong back-up in time. He showed that he has the ability to throw the ball multiple ways and even helped the Steelers get a touchdown at the end of the game wit a pass that had just a slight amount of loft to it that got it over the D and into the hands of the receiver....who I have no idea who he was.
-Duce looked strong and healthy and with the first string OL in he should be able to make a few dents in some DLs.
-Parker looked mature and ready to become the startin RB. On mulitple plays he was able to break multiple tackles before bein taken down. On a couple occasions it appeared to me that if he had gotten through one more tackle it would have been a sprint to the end zone for him. If he keeps up the footwork + his speed he will be celebratin in the end zone before the DL knows where he went.
-Humes came out as the new rookie but hungry as well (sensing a pattern here?) His first play in the game he made a great tackle after an interception. While this did not give example to his runnin abilities it did show that he was 1) able to think fast on the fly to stop a play after a turnover 2) not afraid to go after and make a big tackle even with his inexperience. Later he caught a pass from Jacobs and made a strong run to the 6 yard line. With experience and tutorin that play will become one where he will make it to the end zone.
-Clark looked comfortable and aggressive in his time on the field and seems to be gellin' (not "gelling" lol) well the Steelers system.
-Polomalu. Troy was Troy. Meaning that he was all over the field and makin the big plays. He took some bullshit heat from a cards OLineman that a lesser man would have started a fight over on the field (anyone else see the replay where he got shoved outta nowhere?). Overall I think that they need to get Troy, Clark, and the DBs all on the same page since today they seemed somewhat disorganized and "doin their own thing" on the field on several occasions.
-Ike Taylor: if you want that cash, then stop that pass! He has tremendous talent and ability, but we didn't see much of it today.
-Anthony Smith was by far the standout player of the day. He had two picks and seemed to be followin the ball in a Troy-esque fashion. If him and Troy do pair up in the future our secondary might cease to be a curtain and just become a straight up wall of Steel!
-Joey Porter, please come back soon. You are an intimidatin force on the field and great at turnin QBs into human grass stains.
-Foote made several big plays and was the strong performer in today's DL. I especially liked his lil celebration variation of Joey Porter's "kick" where he did the "Foote."

That's my breakdown of the game and players' performance. It's all from memory so feel free to comment if I missed anythin. Overall we did look rough but as I said I saw a lot of fire in the eyes of players as they competed for top positions on the roster. I was left wit a positive outlook on the season by this game and look forward to next week to see their progression. I should say that I am not perfect and my comments were just my thoughts about certain players that stood out and showed potential. Feel free to comment on anythin. Peace.

BuFu

Nice breakdown bro !

I'll comment on a couple of them:

Ike Taylor: yeah he's looking for the cash next year which normally translates into a big performance each week. This guy can be a force for us for a LONG time but he's gotta stay committed and not take a play off now and then.

Porter: Yeah man, get your arse back out there, you're the emotional leader of the defense and one of the best OLB's in the league.

Parker: This is his year to shine, he's got all the talent around him a RB could ask for, and its time to take it to the next level and be an every down back, even in the red zone where we can use him for a change up or decoy in addition to his normal carries.



Nate Washington: Antwaan Randel El who ?



Duce: This is it man, we need you now more than ever to stay healthy and be out there each and every week.

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Originally Posted by BlitzburghRockCity

Nice breakdown bro !

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Thank you, I try.

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Originally Posted by BlitzburghRockCity

Ike Taylor: yeah he's looking for the cash next year which normally translates into a big performance each week. This guy can be a force for us for a LONG time but he's gotta stay committed and not take a play off now and then.

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I agree, Taylor needs to realize that what will make him look better in the overall light is doin what is best for the team. That means goin for that extra mile/play/block/pick/etc.

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Originally Posted by BlitzburghRockCity

Nate Washington: Antwaan Randel El who ?

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I was thinkin along similar lines. With all the multiple players playin in multiple roles on the field ("multiple" seems to be my word tonite) it made me think that by the time it is all said and done we could have several (multiple?) different Randel El replacements.

BuFu

I think everyone did pretty good besides Boyd, Anthony Smith was a Rookie Troy Polamalu, specially on his 2nd int, that was purely polamalu

How I felt about the game :sleepy: its preeseason

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Originally Posted by Blitzburgh55

How I felt about the game :sleepy: its preeseason

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:whap: Wake up! Pay attention, if you do you can start to get a feel for who is gonna be strong this season. Lol.

BuFu