What I am Watching For in Final Preseason Game @ Lions
Here it is, yinz. The end of the preseason. The Steelers are just 16 days away from kicking off their regular season in Atlanta. However, like Head Coach Mike Tomlin said in his press conference ahead of tomorrow’s game: “...we won’t turn our attention to Atlanta until it’s time to do so.” We’ve got a game against the Lions tomorrow with jobs (quite literally) on the line. In his press conference, Coach Tomlin made it clear that everyone that’s healthy will participate, although the division of labor is delicate and not set in stone.
I figure I’ll kick this off with the most obvious thing everyone is going to be looking at: Russell Wilson. Arthur Smith was pretty forthright about the fact that he was passive in his play calling with Russ behind center in an effort to preserve that calf that he has been dealing with. That’s something I completely understand and support, but between that and the Broderick Jones debacle, it made for some ugly and horrendous tape. Russ has been named the starter for tomorrow’s game, so that begs the question…how is the calf? Can we open up the playbook and get him moving around a bit? It’d be nice to see him put together two or three solid series before he’s presumably named the starter when we head to Atlanta for week one.
With that being said, Russell Wilson’s ability to run the offense will be heavily influenced by the offensive line, and I, like most of yinz that watched last weekend’s game against the Bills, will be keeping a close eye on Broderick Jones in this game. I thought this guy’s spot as a starter was set in stone, but after what we saw last week, his seat has to be HOT. Last week was a solid example of how one guy can derail a whole offense. There’s no way in hell you can put that guy out there if whatever’s going on with him persists. Whether it be an issue with that elbow, or with his technique, he MUST show signs of life in tomorrow’s game. Dan Moore Jr., Troy Fautanu, and Dylan Cook are all going to get more playing time if he doesn’t.
Now I won’t lie to yinz, I fell victim to the Brandon Aiyuk bullshit, like most of us probably did. I really thought he was ours at one point, but it’s been so hard to weed through the bullshit in this situation that my hope has diminished quite a bit. I’d like to think they have a move in mind to get an outside receiver before the regular season begins, but I’m starting to get nervous. I think Van Jefferson has put together a NICE preseason, and I’m glad he’s on our squad, but I really believe we need another real difference maker. Even if it’s just a big bodied guy that likes to get his hands dirty and block. You already have guys that can get open in Scotty Miller, Quez Watkins, and Calvin Austin III. However, if this is the WR room we enter the season with, I do think Van Jefferson is going to have a year that’s comparable to his 2021 campaign with the Rams when he went for 800+ yards and six touchdowns. I’m not saying that George Pickens is 2021 Cooper Kupp, but I think Jefferson will benefit immensely from playing opposite that MONSTER. With all that being said, I’d like to see some splash from the second team and third team receivers tomorrow; guys like CAIII, Jaray Jenkins, Dez Fitpatrick, Scotty Miller, etc. Just in case this is the group we’re rolling with in week one, let’s at least try and feel good about it heading into the season.
We’re also going to need to see continued growth from Justin Fields. While I have been pretty adamant about the fact that he looks more comfortable in the offense right now, he has also missed some guys at times by falling victim to phantom pressure and not trusting his eyes. I like where Justin Fields is at, but Kenny Pickett got himself in trouble pretty often trying to escape pressure that wasn’t there, and if we’re going to criticize Kenny for it, we must criticize Justin Fields for it too. In this game, I’d like to see him let it rip from the pocket. Obviously, the improvisation with his legs will come to him naturally based on the flow of the game, but he needs to develop some trust in his eyes and his o-line and just throw that damn pigskin. If he can do that, he’ll be so on Russell Wilson’s heels, he’ll know what his socks smell like.
As for the defense, it’s hard not to feel like we might have the best linebackers in football. As it was last week, it’ll be so friggin’ cool to see Patrick Queen in the black and gold. Elandon Roberts is still his steady self. Payton Wilson will be playing, after he went down in last week’s game. We may even get a T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith appearance, although I thought that last week. Even if we don’t, Nick Herbig has been blazing a hell of a trail for himself, and I expect that to continue. Look at all those names…good lord. I’m as comfortable with those spots as I’ve been in a LONG time.
Defensive line, however, is where things were supposed to get interesting. Steeler fans haven’t exactly been high on the d-line this summer, but these guys have honestly been ballin’ to this point. We know Cam Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi will be solid at their starting spots. I personally, am expecting big things from Keeanu Benton as well. He has shed a few pounds and is looking a lot faster than he was last year. It was the depth that concerned many of us. I feel like most of us forgot all about Montravius Adams. He and Demarvin Leal have been extremely active and making plays in the backfield. Isaiahh Loudermilk, Dean Lowry, Logan Lee, and Breiden Fehoko round out the rest of that group. Barring a catastrophic string of injuries…that’s not bad. This preseason has made me feel a lot better about the d-line. Can we keep that going during tomorrow’s game?
Defensive back is another area I’m not too concerned about. Joey Porter Jr. is just a freak and I can’t wait for him to build on his AWESOME rookie season. I can’t find anything concrete about whether Amon-Ra St. Brown is going to play tomorrow, but if he does…he and JPJ are going to be a fun matchup to watch. Donte Jackson’s versatility on the other side has been a welcome surprise for me as I’ve gotten to know his play over the last couple of months. That nickel spot is where things become a bit more clouded. Beanie Bishop Jr. has been taking the majority of the snaps with the first-team throughout the summer, but when coach was asked if Beanie has shown him enough yet, he responded with a resounding: “Absolutely not.” Despite being held out in last weekend’s game against the Bills, he will be playing tomorrow. Grayland Arnold was listed as the backup NB on the most recent depth chart from the team, but he was released shortly thereafter. That leaves only Cameron Sutton, who will be suspended when the regular season begins. Still, given the quality guys we have in our secondary…Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliot holding down the safety spots, Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush bringing back the hype we had for them last summer, Damontae Kazee, Miles Killebrew, Ryan Watts (who I’ve been thrilled about all summer, and has made a name for himself); the list goes on and on. For now, all eyes on Beanie Bishop Jr., I guess. We’ll worry about nickel if and when it becomes necessary. Sidebar: Thank God we cut CB Anthony Averett. By all accounts, he was a likable guy, but it just seemed like whenever I saw #18, a tackle was being missed or a long ball was getting caught.
As yinz can see, I’m not too concerned with the defense. We will be in a lot of games this year because of them. I think the main points of emphasis are:
QB Play
How does Broderick Jones respond to last week’s performance?
Is Beanie Bishop Jr. cut out to be a starter?
Continued dominance by the D-Line
The next time we do this, it’ll be for a game that counts in Atlanta.
Here we go. Here we go…Steelers, Here we go…PITTSBURGH’S GON’ TO THE SUPER BOWL.
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