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Pre-Season Week 1 vs Packers....Post Game Thoughts.....

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Chicoman

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I don't know where Coolie is with his post game thoughts so I figured I'd toss this out there.....

So what did everyone think?

I sat there tonight watching with excitement hoping we'd see something good from Will Howard or Drew Allar and both guys showed us something to be excited about. I think I saw more throws over the middle of the field tonight than I did the entire season last year. Now I'm sitting here and I'm thinking to myself after Todd Haley left as our OC after the 2017 our offense was neutered by Mike Tomlin and his gross incompetence. Our offense has been a ******* joke for the past 8 seasons and Tomlin had to go! Tonight we saw how an offense should use the field and look out there.

The Standard is the Standard MY ******* A$$! **** MIKE TOMLIN! Guy wasted Big Ben's best years as QB! Seriously...WTF was Mike Tomlin doing the past 8 seasons with the offense? NOT A GOD DAMN THING from what I saw tonight!Most Overrated Head Coach in NFL History!

I thought Troy Fautanu struggled at Left Tackle tonight......wonder how long it will be before we see Max Iheanachor

Will Howard & Drew Allar both looked pretty darn good....I know it's only pre-season but damn Drew Allar throws a really nice ball!

Roman Wilson has nice hands and looks like a completely different player this year compared to the last 2 seasons.

Germie Bernard looks as advertised....solid hands, polished route runner....he's going to have a solid year!

Kaden Wetjen is a fast shifty WR with better than average hands

WTF was Caleb Johnson? Is he as good as gone?

I'd like to see Eli Heidenreich lined up in the slot....his receiving ability is where he excels

Lew Nichols is a hard runner.....guy gives good effort everytime he touches the ball

Too many frikkin penalties tonight by the Steelers tonight....10 total
 
QB-
Rudolph was rock solid and probably solidified himself as the backup.
Howard had an awesome 2 minute drill and really helped himself
Allar balled the f_ck out and looked like a guy ready sooner than expected.

Here’s my honest opinion. Keep 4 quarterbacks. Rodgers is gone next year and having these guys all come back next year imo would be great.

RB- my guess is after the top two the #3 spot might not even be on the roster currently.

TE- besides Tonyan no one looked good tonight but it’s early.

OL- Flip Cook and Fautanu back. Neither looked good at all. Interior line looks decent.

WR- Wetjen really showed something in the passing game. Not much in the return game. But Smith likely off the 53 man at this point.

DL- group looks pretty stout.

Edge- sawyer was chasing the QB all night just needs some closing speed.

ILB- group itself seems like we have ample speed. Roberts becomes the thumper we need.

CB- Asante Samuel jr looks phenomenal. The group itself looks solid.

S- didn’t get to see the starters but backups held their own.

It’s early but I’m optimistic. That QB room really gets me excited.
 
QB - Rare preseason game when every QB impressed. Distinct arm strength difference between Howard and Allar. Allar's velocity just looks different in live action. I like that he made some aggressive throws. Too often at Penn State I thought he played scared, he seemed to trust himself tonight. He was the best player on the field in the second half and looked very good relative to his competition.

RB - Nichols is easily RB3, unless they look towards free agency. Homer is meh and Johnson showed a bit why he's buried on the depth chart. I don't see Heidenreich as RB, too small and not enough power. He needs to play in the slot or catch passes out of the backfield.

WR - What's Bernard's issue in camp again? I saw a guy who got open, caught the ball cleanly, and showed the ability to create. No reason he should not get on the field early. Wilson did alright, I'm just not sure I start him over Bernard. It'll be fun to get DK and Pittman out there as well. Wetjen with the ball in his hands, wow!

TE - Tonyan looked real good.

OL - Fautanu's training camp penalties translated into game action--not ideal. I did think the holding was soft. Still not much push in the ground game. The right side of the line...eh. I know it takes time, but they'll really need to improve, IMO. I get why Dunker is playing 3rd string now, definitely needs some work with hand usage in pass protection.

DL - Not too bad. Rubio was a standout. Props to the scouting department if he even makes it as a rotational backup.

LB - Sawyer is a step away, but how about Jamin Davis? IMO, the best defender on the field.

CB - Good showing by Samuel, though I do wonder about his size against tougher matchups. Everette looked good in all aspects of the game. Great size too for a potential future starter outside.

S - Spears-Jennings had a solid game. He was active and had good closing speed.

The officiating crew was bad tonight and called a lot of ticky-tack penalties. With that said, McCarthy really needs to clean that up and soon. Also, I think the special teams is immune to coaching, they're going to have bad penalties no matter the coach or coordinator.
 
One more note, I appreciate that McCarthy was pretty aggressive on offense and played to win. It doesn't matter in the preseason, but I do think it sets a tone for the expectations.

Also, how did the new type of turf come across on TV? It looks very different in person, cut very short. I'll be interested to see how it holds up once Pitt starts playing.
 
For the first preseason game under new management, Berm grades it at a solid "B".

Too many penalties and while the 'no tackling' may be better on the body in the long run - personally, I think the boys were undisciplined and trying to prove themselves with dumb penalties (if I recall there were multiple late hits and roughing calls).

We've got a great problem at QB and I truly hope that Kaleb Johnson is packing this morning as Lew Nichols is the better RB.

Why did Berm get so excited about the Bernard pick??? He appreciates Roman's efforts but the young fella is clearly not a well rounded as the Bama product, who gave us a 'goosebump moment of AB' early in the first quarter.

Ok, I'm spent now...
 
xjx said:
Allar showed quick decision making, and good touch with his passes.
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That was the most impressive thing. Maybe Mike is a “QB whisperer” because Allar did not make quick decisions in Penn State. It almost was like he had to second guess himself before he was allowed to throw. Maybe Franklin made him double check before throwing because he was so adamant about protecting the ball. But that hot read throw on the blitz was an NFL throw.

Howard looked good but he has way too happy feet. Ran out of clean pockets. He has a decent arm but like I said in my training camp report you can just see the difference in velocity from Rodgers and Allar vs Howard and Rudolph.
 
FordFairLane said:
That was the most impressive thing. Maybe Mike is a “QB whisperer” because Allar did not make quick decisions in Penn State. It almost was like he had to second guess himself before he was allowed to throw. Maybe Franklin made him double check before throwing because he was so adamant about protecting the ball. But that hot read throw on the blitz was an NFL throw.

Howard looked good but he has way too happy feet. Ran out of clean pockets. He has a decent arm but like I said in my training camp report you can just see the difference in velocity from Rodgers and Allar vs Howard and Rudolph.
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I agree about Allar. I did not watch many Penn State games but have some co-workers that have season tickets. We discussed Allar a lot, particularly after he was drafted. He looked night and day better than I was actually expecting. Still a little worried about his ability to read an NFL defense, but the only way to tell that would be to put him into action against a team playing their ones, and not the grocery baggers he went up against tonight. I loved Max Hurelman's game. I would love to see him get some time working in with the ones to see if he really is that good or whether he was just dominating the garbage! He might be WR #5 or 6.
 
That was fun

Three Y banana plays in one game, awesome!

Every time a pass was thrown across the middle of the field, an angel got his wings.

Mason is a no. Both Will and Drew made better throws, and what is sad is that Mason had the better players around him...also playing against the better players. I really want to see Will and Drew getting #2 reps.

Special teams was horrible. 4 punt returns for 5 yards?! CJ averaged 49 yards per punt and when the Steelers were back on thier 20-25 yard line, he didn't have the leg to pin them deep.

The OL looked a little confused and didn't really make much of a push on the run plays and got pushed back on passing plays. I was expecting better
 
Allar looked like an NFL QB. Very good movement in the pocket, avoided the rush, kept his eyes downfield, and showed his great arm.

So yes, Allar was playing against some dubious defenders. Got it. But good footwork, decision-making and strong arm are not dependent on playing against a bad defense - those are NFL QB traits.
 
Badcat said:
That was fun

Three Y banana plays in one game, awesome!

Every time a pass was thrown across the middle of the field, an angel got his wings.

Mason is a no. Both Will and Drew made better throws, and what is sad is that Mason had the better players around him...also playing against the better players. I really want to see Will and Drew getting #2 reps.

Special teams was horrible. 4 punt returns for 5 yards?! CJ averaged 49 yards per punt and when the Steelers were back on thier 20-25 yard line, he didn't have the leg to pin them deep.

The OL looked a little confused and didn't really make much of a push on the run plays and got pushed back on passing plays. I was expecting better
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I agree with all that take…

Except for the mason analysis… he was under severe duress every time he dropped back to pass and made the most put of **** sandwiches that are offensive line in particular our tackles were giving him..

I thought him and Ashanti Samuel were the two best Steelers in the first quarter..

Still don’t understand why we let Danny Smith walk… Coach bubbles will be missed this year
 
MOTF! Guys running slants and crossing routes using the MIDDLE OF THE FIELD! Holy Hell!
MOTF oughtta be on a T-shirt with a pic of McCarthy.
 
steel dino said:
I agree with all that take…

Except for the mason analysis… he was under severe duress every time he dropped back to pass and made the most put of **** sandwiches that are offensive line in particular our tackles were giving him..

I thought him and Ashanti Samuel were the two best Steelers in the first quarter..

Still don’t understand why we let Danny Smith walk… Coach bubbles will be missed this year
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Will and Drew were also under duress, but they had the legs to extend the plays. Mason's Ceiling doesn't reach Drew's floor.
 
I like what I've seen this first outing against the Packers.
1. Solid QB play. I want to see them play less Rudy next 2 games and more of Howard/Allar.
2. Offensive Playcalling- For the first time in years, it wasn't offensive. Once McCarthy knocked his rust off, he got into a rhythm. He used the whole field and found what the Packers had trouble defending and kept going at it. Last time we saw anything like that was when Ariens/Haley were the coordinators. I also loved the use of the FB in the I formation.
3. Defense. Although it was vanilla and they were just playing basic zones and some man, there was some experimental blitzing. Dropping linemen into coverage?
-Yahya Black as the anchor? I liked it. I liked it alot
-Benton DE and not the nose? This guy is going to eat.
-DB Leverage. There was good communication and excellent play. There was the right pass offs in the zone and they did their best to take away leverage from the Packers. I liked the defensive adjustments as well. They tackled soundly and were not missing tackles. Other than the penalties which I think will get cleaned up, this defense has the potential to be a top 10 defense if not a top 5. The defensive backfield could become a no fly zone this season.

Players other than QB
Wetjen/Heidenreich will be the regular season returners on kick offs. They will figure it out, but I do like how Eli reads his blocks and picks up his blocks. His shiftiness looked very complimentary to Wetjen as he was reading where Eli was going.
Speaking of Heidenreich-I watched him for something other than his running in the second half. Watch it again-yes, it was against future baggers and waiters, but, the kid reads blitzes and picks them up. He allowed Allar to make throws. Those were blocks that Johnson would've whiffed on. I want to see more of him next week and the 3rd game against better/faster defenders. He may be the 3rd down RB.

Bernard- Damn, the kid plays smart. Hands, route running.
Tonyan- We have a good problem at TE. Honestly, Jonnu Smith would thrive in this offense but that ship has sailed.
Hurleman-If they can keep 54 players, this guy needs to be on the roster-I would love to see him as KR.
Lew Nichols/Travis Homer- I didn't see either much on special teams. This is where Heidenreich may have the advantage.

I hope next week we will see them build off of this next week against the Jets. It was refreshing to see how a modern offense looks like in black and gold.
 
Badcat said:
Will and Drew were also under duress, but they had the legs to extend the plays. Mason's Ceiling doesn't reach Drew's floor.
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Duress you say? I have it on good authority that Howard was just exhibiting "Happy Feet". He was not under duress and there definitely were no designed roll outs. Nope. Happy Feet.
 
bermudasteel said:
For the first preseason game under new management, Berm grades it at a solid "B".

Too many penalties and while the 'no tackling' may be better on the body in the long run - personally, I think the boys were undisciplined and trying to prove themselves with dumb penalties (if I recall there were multiple late hits and roughing calls).

We've got a great problem at QB and I truly hope that Kaleb Johnson is packing this morning as Lew Nichols is the better RB.

Why did Berm get so excited about the Bernard pick??? He appreciates Roman's efforts but the young fella is clearly not a well rounded as the Bama product, who gave us a 'goosebump moment of AB' early in the first quarter.

Ok, I'm spent now...
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The QB's all looked great. Could not be more excited for this new Offense, zero chance The QB's look like that under Canada or Arthur Smith. Zero

Bernard was the highlight for me. Got open a few times despite defenders surrounding him. YAC wise he looked like he has good feet and a nose for an opening just like a poor mans AB.
I may have been quick to dismiss the Wetjen pick. He did get caught from behind on the long run. but he flashed something we need to see alot more of. Early to judge but from what I saw he couldn't really have looked better in his first outing.
Nowakowski had a nice catch.
Brandon Smith needs more looks.
Tonyan showed why we brought him in.
Roman Wilson didn't play bad, but didn't do any harm to his reputation as an underperformer.
Kaleb "Fell" to us in the third round for a reason. Looks like the game is too fast for him, he looks like he is running in sand.
Heidenreich didn't do anything at RB either.
Nichols looked like a pro bowler compared to these guys.
We need to see more of Nichols with the 1's.

The QB's all looked great. Could not be more excited for this new Offense, zero chance The QB's look like that under Canada or Arthur Smith. Zero

We gotta take everything with a grain of salt as its the preseason, but last night was about as good as you could have asked for outside the penalties and questionable O-line play.
 
Steeltime said:
Allar looked like an NFL QB. Very good movement in the pocket, avoided the rush, kept his eyes downfield, and showed his great arm.

So yes, Allar was playing against some dubious defenders. Got it. But good footwork, decision-making and strong arm are not dependent on playing against a bad defense - those are NFL QB traits.
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Let's not pretend that Allar was out there with the 1's. He was playing with guys that will be sacking groceries right along with the Packers' defenders.
 
Sarge said:
Let's not pretend that Allar was out there with the 1's. He was playing with guys that will be sacking groceries right along with the Packers' defenders.
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And looked very good against them. He looked like a bumb last year against cupcakes while at Penn State. If you're playing against bad competition, it's better to look good than look like trash. Good progress for the rookie.
 
Was just happy to put the colors on an watch football again, especially a decent win. Too many penalties, especially on special teams, hopefully we can clean that up. Good QB play and some good young talent out there in all phases. Curious how the QB situation will end up. I think they need Rudolph for the experience but hard to choose between the other 2 young guys at this point.
 
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