Relief may be in sight Nation!

(I think we all need it after two games that, at best, can be called poor.)

As the Steelers head down to New Orleans to play the Saints in preseason game 3, it’s sounding like we will get our first chance to take a real look at what the 2016 team will look like. Both Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown have said they “want” to play Friday, and my thoughts are if they “want” to play, they’ll play.

Maybe DeAngelo Williams will get some snaps as well, although it doesn’t really sound like Tomlin plans on playing Le’veon Bell much, if at all.

The Saints will present some interesting challenges as well: their defensive line, especially Nick Fairley, has looked pretty good so far. That should workout a Steelers offensive line that wants to be a top unit. Additionally, assuming Drew Brees plays, that should test the secondary.

With all that being said, let’s take a look at some specific members of the team I think are worth a look this week.

Ben Roethlisberger

As I mentioned above, the D-Line of the Saints has looked good so far this preseason, maybe even great. In fact, their whole defensive unit has looked pretty strong thus far.

That being said, they’ve face Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Osweiler: maybe these guys will become solid starters, but it’s hard to compare them to playing Ben Roethlisberger. Still, this will be Ben’s first action this preseason, and it will be interesting to see how sharp he is.

• Has practice been enough work, or should the first team have gotten at least a few snaps in those first two games?
• Can Ben and AB work the magic we’ve become accustomed to?
• How will Ben gel with Eli Rogers and Sammie Coates?

When all is said and done, I won’t be really concerned if Ben looks rusty – after all, that’s what preseason is for. Ben may need to be on his game and get the ball out quick, based on how the Saints have been able to generate a pass rush over their first two preseason games, which brings me to…

The Offensive Line

Specifically, I’m looking at the right side here, David DeCastro and Marcus Gilbert (or Ryan Harris.) These are the two guys who will be going up against the right side of the Saints D-Line (Fairley and Cameron Jordan.) That’s good for us, because it’s strength against strength, and I would hope that DeCastro and Gilbert get the best of this battle. Alejandro Villanueva will have Kasim Edebali (5 sacks last year) who has had a decent preseason as well.

It’s going to be a battle worth watching, to see if our O-Line can keep the Saints D-Line off Ben (or whomever is taking snaps back there) and give him time to see the field and make some plays.

Cameron Heyward/Stephon Tuitt

Tuitt was a presence early in the Eagles game, but like Cam didn’t take many snaps last week. I expect both Cam and Tuitt to play more this week, maybe even the entire first half.

Much like the Eagles, the Saints O-Line is a work in progress, and hasn’t had the best preseason. They’ll be looking to improve, and it will be interesting to see how Tuitt and Heyward take advantage (or not) of a weak unit.

The Outside Linebackers

Whether it’s Deebo, Moats, Jones or whomever we put out there, much as with Tuitt and Cam, I think they have an opportunity to create pressure; pressure can allow the secondary to make some plays. We haven’t seen much from the outside backers other than Deebo’s strip sack, and Arthur Moats’ single sack last week.

This group needs to produce, and hopefully, this week, we’ll start to see some movement in that direction.

If our edge guys can’t start to create consistent pressure, collapse the edges of the pocket and get some hits on the opposing quarterback, it is going to expose our secondary, and that’s not going to turn out well. We need this group to step up.

The Tight Ends

I mentioned last week that this group has me concerned: somebody needs to step up and take that Matt Spaeth role, because we don’t have a single guy on the depth chart who is known for his blocking.

Jesse James got manhandled last week a couple times, and the direct result of one of those was an interception.David Johnson might be able to step up, or maybe Xavier Grimble, but somebody needs to make a move and show that they can handle some consistent snaps as the number two tight end.

Clearly Green is our number one when he can take the job, but we need someone to show that they can hold the fort down until he returns. The blocking issue is huge, because our running game is extremely dependent on our tight ends being able to block. This is the group that I am the most concerned about.

Antonio Brown

Saints CB Delvin Breaux is a top tier corner.

AB is the best receiver in the league.

Breaux is just in his third season with the Saints, and despite solid skills, I would expect AB to have the advantage here.

Really, the only corner who has been able to throw AB off his game at all seems to have been Richard Sherman, and frankly, that was with a fair amount of consideration from the officials (c’mon, you know it’s true). AB has to be itching to show his stuff, so I expect a lot, and it will be interesting to see how he matches up with Breaux.

Eli Rogers/Sammie Coates

I want to see how these guys perform with Ben at the helm, rather than Landry.

One of the things I feel sets Ben apart is that he has the ability to raise the level of play of those around him. The real question is how much trust Ben is going to have in these two. Frankly, if Sammie quits on balls the way he did last week, he’s less likely to get looks from Ben down the road.

One thing is for sure, he’s going to hear about it from Ben if he does.

Sammie has had fantastic practices at camp, but he hasn’t been able to translate that to the field yet. Maybe this is the week.

Eli Rogers is really pushing hard to get that fifth receiver spot. I think he has the inside track on the slot position right now, as Bob Labriola said in his Asked and Answered Live chat on Monday when asked if Rogers had a realistic chance to make the final 53, “Better than realistic at this point, in my opinion.”

Let’s see how Rogers grows with Ben as the starter.

Sean Davis

Davis has played up and down during the preseason. In my opinion, he’s being asked to play out of position, because of need, and I understand that, but he was drafted to be a safety, and he’s really only seen playing time at slot corner. I know he played corner last year in college, but still, it’s an adjustment, and I expect that if we can get Artie Burns to play some corner, and let Will Gay play the slot, maybe Sean Davis will get some snaps at his natural position.

Admittedly, that’s pure speculation on my part, and probably wishful thinking.

Burns hasn’t had the opportunity to show a thing so far due to injury. He’s practiced this week, and Tomlin said that all healthy players will play, and noted that Artie Burns had performed well in practice yesterday, so maybe he makes his official debut this week.

Javon Hargrave

I’m going to be keeping an eye on “Gravedigger” the entirety of the preseason. We need him to develop, and he’s shown flashes in both of the first two games. It’s not just him pressing Dan McCullers for the NT spot, it’s his ability to step in and spell Cam and Tuitt. I want to see continued progress and growth from this young man. I like what I’ve seen so far.

Landry Jones

I figured I would end the “who I’m watching” with the man who generated the most conversation of any non-starting player… maybe ever. Yes, Landry’s performance last week has been discussed ad nauseam, and I’m not going to rehash any of that.

What is worth seeing is how the guy responds. He’s going to get playing time in this game, and we all know it: will he play better than last week?

Or will it be more of the same?

I expect him to perform better. I also expect that no matter how well he plays, by the end of the game, half of the Nation will still be calling for his head! If this young man can perform under the kind of scrutiny that he’s been placed under, well, maybe he can develop into the backup quarterback the Steelers envision him being.

Conclusion

That’s a long list of players to watch, and it leaves off some others (Tyler Matakevich, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Daryl Richardson, Cobi Hamilton, Jordan Zumwalt, L.J. Fort) all of whom I will be keeping an eye on, because they have a shot to hang around, if not on the 53, then on the practice squad.

Some other questions heading into Friday:

• Will Doran Grant make a case to be a part of the corner conversation?
• Does Shamarko keep improving, and show that he’s finally putting it all together?
• Will Chickillo get on the field, or will his ankle keep him sidelined, hurting his chances of making the roster?
• Does Ricardo Mathews keep making us forget about that other Cam? (Thomas.)
• Does Steven Johnson make us remember that we actually signed him?

All of these are questions worth examining during this game.

Let’s get psyched to see our starters show something this week, and enjoy the fact we are one week closer to real football.

See you on the other side Nation!