Attack Mode: Steelers May Have a Problem at T; Recapping Preseason Game vs. Bills
The Steelers’ second preseason game of 2024 against the Bills showed us some definite highs, and also highlighted some pretty significant lows on the depth chart; most notably the tackle position. With that being said, it’s just the preseason, and yinz need to pump the brakes on the doom and gloom posts on social media. I hate to regurgitate the same sentiments as every other blogger and sports writer that covers the Pittsburgh Steelers, but a lot of us (myself included) were damn near ready to crown them as Super Bowl Champions after last year’s display in the preseason when Kenny Pickett was ripping defenses with ease, and we saw how that played out. The preseason is about finding out what you’ve got on your depth chart, and growing as a unit; not picking teams apart. Woosah.
Still, I have some reservations about some things I saw, particularly the offensive line, which, just a couple weeks ago, I dubbed as having top-10 potential. I’m eating those words as I rewatch the all-22 of last Saturday’s game, particularly when I focus my attention on the left AND right tackle positions.
Yinz were extremely critical of Russell Wilson and the first-team offense, but when you take a closer look at the tape, you’ll see that Broderick Jones and Dan Moore Jr. were responsible for a ton of the lapses on offense. So, for the sake of this post, I focused my attention on the offensive line while watching the all-22. So, let’s switch to attack mode:
Broderick Jones
I could’ve made this entire post a 2000 word shitpost about how bad Broderick Jones has looked; someone that I have been saying ALL OFFSEASON that I expected big things from. I see a lot of yinz talking about the elbow brace he’s been wearing, and I’m sure that’s a part of it, but it looks like it’s much deeper than that if you’re paying attention. Everything is off with him. His timing is bad, his technique is bad, his punch is nonexistent, and he’s not getting off blocks quick enough.
The first thing I noticed from the very first snap of the game was that Broderick Jones was really struggling to time the snap properly. I counted three occasions in the first few possessions where he probably should’ve been called for a false start, but he wasn’t. And, that’s what makes my next observation even sadder: Greg Rousseau was absolutely working his ass. How are you jumping early, fairly consistently, and still getting beat?
Don’t get me wrong, Greg Rousseau is a solid ball player. 30th overall pick in 2021, has 17 career sacks; not bad at all. But, he’s not a game wrecker. Yet, even with the early start he was getting away with, Broderick Jones couldn’t stop Rousseau. His early snaps against Rousseau are prime examples of everything I said was wrong with Jones earlier. His feet are too wide when he’s engaging Rousseau, and he can’t get them set, and his punch is ineffective. It’s just bad technique all around, and it shows on the first sack of Russell Wilson. He got straight up bullied.
I also attribute the second sack of Russell Wilson to poor execution by Broderick Jones. Jones engages Bills DE Dawuane Smoot (#94), and Bills LB Joe Andreesen (#44) comes in unblocked, forcing tiny ass Russell Wilson to step up in the pocket where he can’t see shit, and he runs into a wall of men. Jones needs to be able to see #44 coming on that one, and he needs to realize that he has an All-Pro-Caliber guy at RG, James Daniels, next to him, and get off that block (#94) and engage Andreesen (#44) to keep Russ from having to step into what was otherwise a pretty clean pocket. Russ had about four seconds from the time the ball is snapped to the time he gets hit, which is plenty of time if he isn’t forced to step up by #44.
The very next play was an inside zone run for Jaylen Warren, and it got STUFFED, because Broderick Jones didn’t get to his zone fast enough, allowing Andreesen (Bills #44) to break on the ball. I’m not going to fault him much on this play, because Andreesen seemed to know what was coming, but if Jones got to his zone quicker, Warren could’ve gotten a decent gain on that play.
Then, comes probably the worst rep of the night. Broderick Jones actually times the snap well, but he’s unable to properly set his feet, and his nonexistent punch failed, and he just gets moved out of the way by Bills DE Greg Rousseau AGAIN for the third sack of the day on Russell Wilson. It was just an embarrassing rep overall for Jones, and his day would come to an end shortly after this play.
The “Russell Wilson holds the ball too long” crowd was out in full force after this, leading to some pretty harsh criticisms of his first action in the black and gold, but Broderick Jones is almost exclusively responsible for all three sacks that Russ took (although we could argue about the second one).
Broderick Jones has some significant issues he needs to work through. I understand the elbow injury, but if it is affecting him THIS MUCH, then he shouldn’t be playing, period. Let that man get whatever procedure he needs to get right and shelf him for the year. That would be the responsible thing to do, but the Steelers aren’t doing that, probably because they know that’s not the issue. I don’t know if it’s him moving from left to right tackle, or if the “Fire Pat Meyer” (Steelers O-line coach) crowd is right, but this isn’t the year two leap I was envisioning for our 2023 first round pick. He will have an opportunity to prove me wrong this Saturday against the Lions, but the high expectations I had for him are fading away by the rep.
Dan Moore Jr.
As I said earlier, this entire post could’ve been about Broderick Jones, because he was just awful. However, the run game couldn’t get going, which certainly would’ve helped the first-team offense, and based on the film, a lot of that has to do with Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle. He was good in pass protection, actually, but his run blocking needs some work.
Look no further than the very first run of the game; a zone run by Najee Harris to the right. Moore just takes a bad angle and kinda throws his body at the defensive tackle, which does practically nothing, allowing Ed Oliver (Bills #91) to easily stop the run. I’m not sure if that block was by design since Moore was blocking the weak side, but it was just a bad rep by him right out of the gate.
Dan Moore Jr. had another bad rep on an outside run for Jaylen Warren. It’s essentially the same issue Broderick Jones had on a zone run that I mentioned earlier. Moore wasn’t able to get to his spot quick enough, allowing LB Dorian Williams (Bills #42) to stuff the run unblocked.
There are additional reps where he could’ve been better, but those two stood out to me as the most egregious.
Dylan Cook
Don’t know who Dylan Cook is? That’s good, because he played a lot of snaps at LT with the second team last Saturday night. The fact that you didn’t hear his name is a good thing.
Cook signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022 as an undrafted free agent, before eventually signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He looked like the best (healthy) tackle on the team on Saturday night, and I couldn’t wait to sing his praises in this post. It’s good I took my time watching the all-22 and making this post, because he was spotted in a walking boot during the Steelers’ practice on Tuesday. That really fuckin’ sucks, because he was a real bright spot in what was otherwise a pretty poor performance for the guys playing tackle for us last weekend.
At this point, it’s unclear how much time he’s expected to miss, but let’s hope he can get back sooner rather than later, since we have enough problems with injuries to the o-line, including Troy Fautanu’s MCL sprain, and Nate Herbig’s shoulder injury. If Cook is unable to go this weekend against the Lions, expect to see Tykeem Doss who has been taking snaps with the third-team guys.
Dylan Cook is undoubtedly in the Steelers’ plans moving forward, so I’m really hoping he and Fautanu are healthy enough to play week one at that LT spot.
Everyone Else
The rest of the first-team offensive line played great, in my opinion. How ‘bout Zach Frazier lookin’ like an absolute stud at that center spot? Clean snaps, no communication issues, getting to the second level, and playing some nasty football.
Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels held down the guard spots with ease. Their veteran presence and steadiness are going to be CRUCIAL for us as we deal with the early growing pains of some of the other young guys on the line. That interior portion of our line is as good as I expected them to be.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the backups on the o-line as well. I already mentioned Dylan Cook, but how ‘bout Mason McCormick? Our fourth-round rookie from South Dakota State has been steady all summer long, and it’s showing in a big way in stadiums. Same for Spencer Anderson. Anderson has been moved all over the line and hasn’t missed a beat. He’ll be on the roster in week one for sure.
It’s really embarrassing for your punter to be your best player in any particular game, but I truly believe that was the case for the Steelers against the Bills. Cameron Johnston was BOMBING punts, and really flipping the field for our defense. He averaged 56.8 yards per punt against the Bills, and had one go as far as 65 yards. That Australian fuck can PLAY. Thank God I don’t have to watch Pressley Harvin try and punt balls for us anymore. Have fun with that one Niners fans.
In true yinzer fashion, Russell Wilson (and, honestly, the entire offense), was pretty heavily criticized after this preseason game, emphasis on the ‘preseason’. I’m not ready to hit the panic button just yet. As Bill Cowher said on the Pat McAfee show the other day, we haven’t seen a damn thing from OC Arthur Smith yet (I’m paraphrasing of course), and I agree with that sentiment. This is a new offense with a new play caller and three new quarterbacks. This coaching staff knows that the offense is predictable right now, and I didn’t expect them to throw the playbook at the Buffalo Bills in week two of the preseason. There’s undoubtedly a TON of stuff we haven’t seen yet and we won’t see until the games count. R-E-L-A-X. It gets better from here, I know it.
Also, sidebar: I can’t help but think if George Pickens got his pinky toe down on that long ball on the sideline, we’re probably having a different discussion about the offense today; just saying.
Lastly, it should be noted that the offense actually looked pretty good with Justin Fields behind center. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, because the Bills’ starting defense was largely on the bench at that point, and Justin Fields has been constantly working with this offense while Russell Wilson has been nursing his leg injury during training camp. Those extra reps really showed, as he just looked more comfortable than Russell Wilson did in this particular game. Fields also brings that extra dynamic with his legs that was able to bring a spark to this offense. We actually moved the ball extremely well. If you take away the two failed fourth down attempts and the missed FG attempt, then I think the final score of this game is different. Even more reason to R-E-L-A-X.
I think the starting QB spot is still Russell Wilson’s to lose, but Justin Fields is making a strong case for himself. From what I’ve seen, fans seem 50/50 on this one. I think the coaching staff needs to protect Justin Fields’ confidence and roll with Russell Wilson to start the regular season, but that’s just my opinion. This weekend’s game against the Lions is going to tell us a lot about the offensive line, and QB1. What do yinz think? Russell Wilson or Justin Fields? Let me know on twitter/x.
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