Rays of Hope

[flippy]

As hard as some of that game was to watch, I saw quite a few positives last night.

1. As long as Jonathan Dwyer is healthy, he's our starting RB for the foreseeable future. Tomlin's mind games have work on the young man. He's in shape, he's working hard, and he ran pretty well given how bad the OLine played last night. Sure he fumbled - it happens. And he was indecisive on some of his runs - who wouldn't be behind that line. But how many breathers did he need? This is a brand new Jonathan Dwyer and it's the story of the offseason that everyone's been missing so far. Between Dwyer, Howling, and Redman, I think we're in really good shape at RB.

2. Shark, JJ, and Wheaton need to get playing time asap. These 3 stand out every practice. And you can't help but notice their impact in the games. These are 3 special players. Shark is everywhere. I like how JJ is always trying to take the ball away. And Wheaton's got fantastic hands, precise routes, and speed.

3. Manny Sanders - I've been seeing flashed of greatness in this kid since he first came to Pittsburgh. Finally he's gonna break out. He's had a rough go of it his first couple years with the injury and lockout and not getting a complete offseason of work. The thing that I think makes him different than the rest of the WRs is his competitiveness. He continues to do a lot of little things that go unnoticed. Surprised no one still talks about his blocking. He may be small, but he's relentless.

4. Our secondary looks like the best unit on the field. And we still don't have our best CB in the mix. Man is it nice to have Troy healthy. Lets keep it that way. Guy's still got the magic burst. Shark seems to have that burst and athleticism as well. When Tez is back, he and Ike are gonna put this league on lock down. Tez and Thomas might just have the biggest upsides of any Steeler at any position.

5. Ben still looks mobile in the pocket for an old guy with a bum knee. This is good. May the football gods keep him healthy for the SuperBowl run. He's still the most exiting QB in the league to watch. Not sure we're ever gonna see another one like him and he's still the main reason I think we can string together a few more SuperBowls.

6. Both lines are still a work in progress. The OLine looks a mess, but it's a new system with new players and moving tackles. I think we may just have to give them a little time. And Beachum needs to get some serious consideration to start at RT. I think he even looked better at RT than Adams did when he got the chance last year. So he's definitely better than Gilby. On the D side, we still can't seem to get a push or any kind of pressure up front. For a team that's used some high draft picks on the DLine, we should be much better. Unfortunately Casey Hamptons and Aaron Smiths dont grow on trees. And until we can get that kind of play, this line may make it tough for the Steelers to get any consistent pressure.

7. I've been harsh on Jonesto date, but he has looked better in practice at the end of last week and during this game. I'm starting to see some potential in Landry. Once he figures out the mental part of the game, I think he's gonna be fine. Still making lots of mistakes, but he's starting to show he can throw.

8. The offense still doesn't look as bad as it did during the preseason before we won SuperBowl XL. Ben's not really a preseason QB. And he usually needs the full 60 minutes to win most games. So I'm gonna be patient with this offense in progress. And with Bell in the game and the OLine scheme, everyone knew we wanted to work on the running game. So I won't read too much into the O performance yet.

9. The key to our SuperBowls have been our 3 stars in Ben, Troy, and James. James is gone now, but I'm not too concerned because I'm starting to believe in the not too distant future, we've got a couple of superstars in JJ and Thomas. If those guys do what I think they can, the formula for more SuperBowls is in tact.

[Shawn]

What I see is a preseason team, making preseason mistakes...not worried in the slightest. I agree we have much young talent showing significant ability and that is encouraging.

[Shawn]

I actually think Jones looked better than our #2 last night. He looked more comfortable...made that nice touch deep ball throw, and overall did well.

[feltdizz]

preseason mistakes???? LOL.....no, I saw the typical mistakes we made last year.

[Shawn]

preseason mistakes???? LOL.....no, I saw the typical mistakes we made last year.

Ok, well I will be concerned when I see them in the regular season. Until then, I won't lose my sanity or pull out my hair unlike some fans on this MB.

[raycafan]

Flippy, I agree with you 100 percent about Beechum. I watched him pretty close last year and to me he had the best feet of all the tackles. He also does not quit, watch the Dallas game and the play where Ben buys time then throws to Heath for a score if I remember. Watch Beechum stay with his guy right in is chest never letting him get free to get Ben, he stays with him the entire time.

"And Beachum needs to get some serious consideration to start at RT. I think he even looked better at RT than Adams did when he got the chance last year. So he's definitely better than Gilby"

[steelz09]

"And Beachum needs to get some serious consideration to start at RT. I think he even looked better at RT than Adams did when he got the chance last year. So he's definitely better than Gilby"

I'm very disappointed in Gilbert like most here. I'm also disappointed in the fact that Colbert and Tomlin initially thought Gilbert was our future LT. HOW?!?! What would lead them to believe that Gilbert could easily replace Starks. It's just flat out stupid.. Like I said the past 2 years in several of my posts, Starks saved Tomlin @$$. Now, Starks isn't around to do the same for a 3rd year in a row. Our o-line would be much better with Adams at RT and Starks at LT. Then, you'd have solid depth with Gilbert and Beachum.

As far a Beachum goes, you HAVE to think that he will be given the opportunity to get the starting role over Gilbert. I like how Gruden said that he'd sit Gilbert because he's "seen enough".

[feltdizz]

I'm very disappointed in Gilbert like most here. I'm also disappointed in the fact that Colbert and Tomlin initially thought Gilbert was our future LT. HOW?!?! What would lead them to believe that Gilbert could easily replace Starks. It's just flat out stupid.. Like I said the past 2 years in several of my posts, Starks saved Tomlin @$$. Now, Starks isn't around to do the same for a 3rd year in a row. Our o-line would be much better with Adams at RT and Starks at LT. Then, you'd have solid depth with Gilbert and Beachum.

As far a Beachum goes, you HAVE to think that he will be given the opportunity to get the starting role over Gilbert. I like how Gruden said that he'd sit Gilbert because he's "seen enough".

watch the San Diego vs Chicago highlights to see how well Max is protecting Rivers. He damn near got him killed last game. Total whiff and the DE blindsided Rivers and caused a fumble. Word out there is Max will probably get replaced due to his play thus far.

He is still better than Gilbert but I think we were trying to get young up front. Unfortunately we are picking scrubs or coaching them down.

[feltdizz]

Ok, well I will be concerned when I see them in the regular season. Until then, I won't lose my sanity or pull out my hair unlike some fans on this MB.

we are losing out sanity because we are seeing the same mental mistakes from last year. Does it really look like they fixed the OL protection? Holding penalties?

[steelz09]

watch the San Diego vs Chicago highlights to see how well Max is protecting Rivers. He damn near got him killed last game. Total whiff and the DE blindsided Rivers and caused a fumble. Word out there is Max will probably get replaced due to his play thus far.

He is still better than Gilbert but I think we were trying to get young up front. Unfortunately we are picking scrubs or coaching them down.

Honestly, I don't care what Starks is doing in SD right now. Starks is not old and was not a bad LT for us and I would gladly take him back. In fact, he was probably our best o-lineman last year. That might not be saying much but at least he was servicable and Ben trusted him protecting his blindside. Getting Starks back not only improves the LT position, it improves RT because Gilbert will get replaced by Adams.

[ramblinjim]

I remember when Starks was considered our weak link. Now about 2/3 of us want him back. Ugh.

[ramblinjim]

I was at the "game" last night and here are a couple of things I noticed. Please note that all of this was from watching live without much in the way of replay as the 'Skins folks only show good Redskins plays.

1.) The 'Skins looked pretty good. There were times when it looked like they were really going gang-busters trying to win the game and the Steelers looked like they were "trying out new things".

2.) Ryan Kerrigan just dominated from the left outside linebacker spot. He took his blocker into the backfield everytime he rushed. He really looks like a good player for Washington. It didnt' matter if was matched up on tight end or or Gilbert.

3.) When the Steelers ran right and left they actually looked pretty good. The pile was moving in the right direction and the tackles (Gilbert included here) seemed to be able to move the pile. When they tried to run up the middle, it was terrible. Coffield just dominated Pouncey and the middle of the line. It wasn't close. It seemed like everytime they ran up the gut there was a Redskins player, or two in the backfield.

4.) Dwyer ran like a man possessed for 3-4 runs, then would try to dance his way around a corner or a safety. I kept wanting to yell at him "you're a big SOB, lower your shoulder and deliver the blow!".

5.) As soon as I praised Dwyer for his effort he fumbled the football.

6.) Sanders looked really good, he really displayed excellent hands last night. If he stays healthy and puts up big numbers this year, he will be offered a boat load by someone next year.

7.) A number of our really young guys looked alright last night. Wheaton, Thomas, both looked sharp.

8.) If I were the coach, and this is why no one pays me money for my football knowledge, I wouldn't have tried to kick the field goals. The long snapper and kicker are both the same from last year, we know those guys are alright, I would have went for it on 4th and 5 or less in red zone. Also, I would have told the starting O-linemen that they have to stay in the game until they could go a whole series without a penalty. Some of those penalties last night were just garbage, many times, the penalty seemed to have nothing to do with the play.

9.) I'm a big fan of Big Ben. But I was kind of annoyed when I saw on a replay that it looked like he was smiling after her threw that pick-six. I know it's a pre-season game but come on....you screwed up! I'll give Gilbert a little bit of credit for at least trying to run after the guy on that play. No one else seemed to.

[feltdizz]

maybe Ben was smiling because the same thing happened in practice with Jarvis...

he probably hates that play.

[pittpete]

Dwyer did look decent against a tired Redskin defense, and he did fumble
Just saying

[papillon]

maybe Ben was smiling because the same thing happened in practice with Jarvis...

he probably hates that play.

It can only work if the tackle can keep the rush end or OLB from getting his hands in the passing lane or Ben needs to adjust his footwork to give himself a passing lane. Personally, I've seen enough of that play in the past 2-3 years to say that it isn't a play that the Steelers should run. I'd scrap it and look for something else to replace it.

Pappy