Good, Bad, & Ugly: Preseason Game 1

The Good

Several players looked sharp, considering where we’re at in the season right now.

Dri Archer, getting a boatload of playing time, made the most of his opportunities and looked much more confident than last season. There were several missed opportunities as well, but some of those were due to miscommunication with QB Landry Jones.

Shakim Phillips, who would be hard-pressed to make the roster at WR, found himself with the biggest play of the night, on a bomb from Jones. While this will be the flashy play fans might remember, Phillips routinely torched Vikings first round draft pick, CB Trae Waynes, causing the rookie corner to commit a few penalties with potentially 1 or 2 others that went uncalled.

Kevin Fogg and B.W. Webb both made their case to make the final roster in the secondary, with a number of key plays. Webb stripped a catch in which Fogg would scoop up (statistically an interception) while Fogg himself saved a touchdown on special teams by chasing down a 62 yard punt return short of the goal line.

And while we’re at it, with limited exposure, William Gay, Cortez Allen, Antwan Blake and new acquisition Brandon Boykin, all looked sharp.

And while he’ll show up elsewhere on this list, I will give a nod to Landry Jones. I’ve been overly critical of his play in the past, but Jones didn’t fold to pressure in the same way he had in past preseason games. He looked composed, patient and made his progressions. Many of his passes were on the mark, and through no fault of his own, not caught by the receivers. Also give Jones credit for not turning the ball over, something he has been jeered at doing during camp thus far.

The Bad

The offensive line backups, save Alejandro Villanueva. There were several penalties, collapsed pockets, and even a mistimed snap while Jones attempted to change protections.

Villanueva, smartly highlighted by the NBC crew, had a solid night of keeping his side of the pressure from getting to Jones. A mountain of a man that’s a raw talent, he reminds me of an O-line version of Dan McCullers from last year.

The Ugly

Yes, Jesse James easily had the worst night of anyone in a Steelers uniform. Dropping a surefire touchdown catch and also committing a fumble, James had one heck of a learning experience. We’ll chalk that up to rookie jitters.

I was both impressed and unimpressed with Sammie Coates. His one fade route we can give a mulligan on, due to mistiming with the snap to Landry Jones.

Jones makes his way back to this portion of the article for dropping 30 points in his QB rating from the first quarter to the fourth. Sometimes Jones goes down easily, but in another instance, scrambled to a first down (in which I cringed that he didn’t slide – that type of hit on a quarterback is very ugly.)

Overall I was pleased with the quality of play for, what is, a preseason game filled with a majority of players, whose only NFL experience will be in these exhibition games. I’m looking forward to seeing more, especially with those players who did not suit up, alongside some of the rookies and new acquisitions, to get a bigger picture of what the regular season might hold.