What the Steelers second preseason game revealed about the 2017 season
By now you know the score: the Steelers won their second preseason game over the Atlanta Falcons 17-13. To me, to the coaches and perhaps to you, that means nothing. Wins and losses are meaningless in the preseason but how you play means everything in the world.
For some of these guys, they are playing for starting roles or to be the lead reserve at certain positions. Other guys are just trying to make the team and have a job. The coaches are looking at everyone intently and they certainly saw both ups and downs during this second of four exhibitions. While I’m not a coach, I watch the battles intently and the first thing that stood out to me was the secondary. The good, perhaps the only good, was Jordan Dangerfield with his two picks. I think he has played his way onto the team through camp and with his preseason performance thus far.
You must have a presence in the secondary and Dangerfield exhibited that presence on Sunday.
Ross Cockrell did not.
I’ve long had an issue with Cockrell being a starter on this team as I think he’s better suited for the nickel package and I think he proved that again on Sunday. Whenever you know a cornerback because you see the back of his jersey so often, you have a problem.
That used to be my issue with William Gay, but now it’s Ross Cockrell that has become that guy. I don’t believe he can be the starter on a Super Bowl defense and ultimately, I think if Cam Sutton can get healthy and get some time on the field for the black and gold, he’ll overtake Cockrell for the number two spot.
It wasn’t just Cockrell though, as big plays and third down conversions were given up by the Steelers secondary too often throughout the game, to the tune of 255 passing yards allowed. I know that the starters didn’t play a lot of the game and Mike Mitchell didn’t suit up at all but that has been the Achilles Heel for Pittsburgh for a while now. It will need to be rectified sooner than later.
I’m very comfortable with the front seven and think the run defense will be one of the better ones in the league with the amount of talent they possess. Anthony Chickillo showed with his five tackles and two sacks that he can play well in big spots. He and Arthur Moats will certainly continue to battle over the next few weeks for that top reserve role on the outside.
Offensively, I was most impressed by James Conner. Conner was afforded 20 carries in his first game action ever and he turned those carries into 98 yards. I was impressed by his quickness and ability to find the holes and while he dropped a few passes, I have no concerns about him catching the ball out of the backfield moving forward. He typically has sure hands and he’ll be fine the next time around.
I had watched Conner in camp without pads and was impressed by both his speed and agility but to see it at game speed confirmed what I had already suspected; Conner is going to be the starting running back in Pittsburgh starting in 2018 if Le’Veon Bell doesn’t lower his asking price. He has already shown me he has the talent to be a starting running back in the NFL, and soon.
The former Pitt running back will certainly have a big role behind Bell this season and it’s starting to look like Josh Dobbs might have a bigger role than originally expected behind Ben Roethlisberger as well. I’ve been very impressed by Dobbs so far through camp and two weeks of the preseason.
While Landry Jones continues to remain on the sideline with an injury and Big Ben rests, Dobbs continues to get reps that a typical third stringer wouldn’t receive. He’s done fairly well through the first couple of weeks to the point that I think there is some serious consideration for him to be the backup sooner than later. I’ve been a big supporter of Landry Jones through the years and think he’s a quality backup but Dobbs can play his way right into the job if he keeps this up.
Quite frankly, I like Bart Houston as well but the team won’t keep four quarterbacks so the best-case scenario for Houston would be as a practice squad stash away.
Looking ahead
Next week is the ‘dress rehearsal’. Typically, the starters play at least three quarters in an effort to get up to speed for the regular season. I believe you’ll see just about all of the defensive guys play a significant amount of time next week with the exception of Ryan Shazier and James Harrison. Everyone else will be asked to perform. The defense won’t run anything complicated but they’ll get their reps in before they are allowed to sit out.
Offensively, the play calling will be relatively vanilla but I believe you’ll see a lot of the same in terms of starters playing at least a half, possibly three quarters (with the exception of Ben Rothlisberger and Antonio Brown). I think both will play, but I’d be surprised if they were out there for more than a quarter.
Other than that, players like Martavis Bryant and James Conner will be featured quite a bit. Sammie Coates and Justin Hunter will be given their opportunities to prove why they belong on this team and special team guys like Knile Davis and Trey Williams will show why they should be retained as well.
Even next week, the score doesn’t matter but the plays that are made, the effort put forth and the individual position battles do. If you’re looking for regular season football in August, next week will be as close as you’ll get to it so pay attention and watch it unfold.
