Tweet
Ed: Guess Here is Leftwich Starts
TUESDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2010 15:02 WRITTEN BY ED BOUCHETTE
I would say after listening to Mike Tomlin today that Byron Leftwich will start at quarterback, even though he said Batch is in the "pole position.'' Max Starks and Casey Hampton will return and Doug Legursky will start at right guard. Trai Essex was spotted Tuesday, his foot (ankle) in a boot and walking on crutches. That's how we saw Starks after his injury in the season opener.
Legursky is not a big dropoff at guard and having Starks back is an improvement so the line, overall, should be more capable this week. Now, they'll have to feed the old guy at right tackle enough water so he does not get dehydrated again in the heat in Tampa Sunday.
Jason Worilds also should be able to play and that's more good news for the special teams (and probably not so good news for Keenan Lewis, who dressed for the second game because Worilds could not). Worilds and Stevenson Sylvester are two good, young special teams players. You don't need to know the stats to see that but Sylvest leads special teams with four total tackles (three of them solo) and has the only forced fumble. Worilds had three tackles (two solo) after one game.
That's what you want to see in young players who are not starting, outstanding play on special teams, especially from rookie linebackers. Again, it was the first red flag on Bruce Davis that he could not play special teams as a rookie and was gone before he reached his second season.
The Patriots signed Davis to their practice squad after the Steelers cut him last season. He spent all year on their practice squad, signed with them in the offseason and they released him in May. Denver signed him and then released him before training camp started and he is nowhere man today. That's a nice bust for a third-round pick. One year in the bigs virtually without dressing, one with a practice squad and you can't even get invited to a training camp in 2010.
Not to get on that tangent. Sorry, but someone blew that one. How many scouts? How much money? How many games and tapes of games and practices and millions of miles in travel? How many post-season all-star games, workouts and Indy combine poking goes on, and you wind up with that on the third round? And it happens to others, not just the Steelers.
Back to Tomlin's press conference:
First off, forget everything he said about Tampa. Opposing coaches could make the Cleveland Browns sound like Super Bowl contenders, so let's not forget that Tampa struggled at home to eke one out against the Browns, then beat a bad Carolina team on the road.
And let's not forget that MT said this one week ago after he finished lavishing more praise on the Tennessee Titans, "So, we don't have a lot to be optimistic about."
Here's one thing MT said about the Bucs today: "Nobody's scored against them in the second halves of football games this season. That speaks to how they evolve over the course of the game, so we've got our work cut out for us."
Maybe nobody's scored against them in the second half because they haven't played anyone yet.
Photo of Mike Tomlin's press conference today by Andrew Rush/Post-Gazette
[url="http://ht.ly/196pmR"]http://ht.ly/196pmR[/url]
TUESDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2010 15:02 WRITTEN BY ED BOUCHETTE
I would say after listening to Mike Tomlin today that Byron Leftwich will start at quarterback, even though he said Batch is in the "pole position.'' Max Starks and Casey Hampton will return and Doug Legursky will start at right guard. Trai Essex was spotted Tuesday, his foot (ankle) in a boot and walking on crutches. That's how we saw Starks after his injury in the season opener.
Legursky is not a big dropoff at guard and having Starks back is an improvement so the line, overall, should be more capable this week. Now, they'll have to feed the old guy at right tackle enough water so he does not get dehydrated again in the heat in Tampa Sunday.
Jason Worilds also should be able to play and that's more good news for the special teams (and probably not so good news for Keenan Lewis, who dressed for the second game because Worilds could not). Worilds and Stevenson Sylvester are two good, young special teams players. You don't need to know the stats to see that but Sylvest leads special teams with four total tackles (three of them solo) and has the only forced fumble. Worilds had three tackles (two solo) after one game.
That's what you want to see in young players who are not starting, outstanding play on special teams, especially from rookie linebackers. Again, it was the first red flag on Bruce Davis that he could not play special teams as a rookie and was gone before he reached his second season.
The Patriots signed Davis to their practice squad after the Steelers cut him last season. He spent all year on their practice squad, signed with them in the offseason and they released him in May. Denver signed him and then released him before training camp started and he is nowhere man today. That's a nice bust for a third-round pick. One year in the bigs virtually without dressing, one with a practice squad and you can't even get invited to a training camp in 2010.
Not to get on that tangent. Sorry, but someone blew that one. How many scouts? How much money? How many games and tapes of games and practices and millions of miles in travel? How many post-season all-star games, workouts and Indy combine poking goes on, and you wind up with that on the third round? And it happens to others, not just the Steelers.
Back to Tomlin's press conference:
First off, forget everything he said about Tampa. Opposing coaches could make the Cleveland Browns sound like Super Bowl contenders, so let's not forget that Tampa struggled at home to eke one out against the Browns, then beat a bad Carolina team on the road.
And let's not forget that MT said this one week ago after he finished lavishing more praise on the Tennessee Titans, "So, we don't have a lot to be optimistic about."
Here's one thing MT said about the Bucs today: "Nobody's scored against them in the second halves of football games this season. That speaks to how they evolve over the course of the game, so we've got our work cut out for us."
Maybe nobody's scored against them in the second half because they haven't played anyone yet.
Photo of Mike Tomlin's press conference today by Andrew Rush/Post-Gazette
[url="http://ht.ly/196pmR"]http://ht.ly/196pmR[/url]
Comment