LaRod Stephens-Howling gained 40 yards on seven carries in last night's preseason opener. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
The Super Bowl isn’t going to be won in the first regular-season game. And it’s certainly not going to be won in one as utterly meaningless as the first preseason game. That’s not such a bad thing as far as the Steelers are concerned.
Leading up to Saturday’s game, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin did say he wanted to see how his team responds to adversity in a stadium environment. Well, the Steelers faced no shortage of that.
“We’ve got a long way to go, but I thought it was a good start,” said right guard David DeCastro. “We did some good things and moved the ball well. We’ll look at the tape and clean some things up. It’s early.”
Never mind the result – an 18-13 loss to the Giants -- it was a mixed bad for the Steelers. Today, Times Steelers writer Chris Bradford takes a closer look.
1. THE ROOKIES
Even without Le’Veon Bell, it still marked the highly-anticipated debut for three Steelers rookies, who all gave a good accounting of themselves. “A nice start for those guys, but they need to continue to grow,” said Tomlin. First-rounder Jarvis Jones recovered a fumble (OK, it was a gift from New York’s Andre Brown) and had a nice diving tackle in the third quarter. Shamarko Thomas saw time at the nickel corner and had a tackle. The most impressive rookie, however, was fourth-rounder Markus Wheaton. He might not have Mike Wallace’s speed, but Wheaton is quick and runs excellent routes (though he did have a catch overturned for bobbling the ball going out of bounds). The 5-11, 182-pound receiver showed a willingness to make tough catches over the middle in traffic. Don’t recall Wallace doing too much of that. “I played OK,” said Wheaton. “I made some mental mistakes, which I shouldn’t have, obviously. Outside of that I thought I played well.”
2. PER-PLAX-ED
One man’s misfortune, as Mike Tomlin is fond of saying, is another’s opportunity. With Plaxico Burress likely lost for the season with a torn rotator cuff, there could be an opening for Rochester’s Derek Moye to make the 53-man roster. That is, if Kevin Colbert decides to stay in-house for a replacement. If he does, Moye will likely find himself in a tough battle with former Penn State teammate Justin Brown for the fifth receiver spot. Brown has the advantage of being a draft pick (sixth-round), but Moye has a two-inch height advantage. You don’t teach 6-5, as they say. “I still have to go out and perform every day and can’t worry about who’s there and who’s not,” said Moye, who had two catches for 22 yards. “Just go out there and do what I am capable of doing.” Brown, who was called for an illegal block to the back, had four catches -- including an outstanding leaping catch in the third quarter -- for 32 yards.
3. TIGHT SPOT
In hindsight, the Steelers would have counted themselves fortunate if only Heath Miller was injured. Now with Matt Spaeth also out (likely 8-10 weeks with a “significant” ankle injury), the Steelers are in a bind at tight end. They have brought in Nathan Overbay and Michael Palmer to add depth but David Paulson and Jamie McCoy (who didn’t play Saturday) will have to carry the load possibly into October. Obviously, the Steelers wouldn’t rely on Paulson -- or Spaeth for that matter -- as much as they would Miller, but it’s a concern. Paulson had one catch for 13 yards.
4. THE COMPETITIONS
-- After Eli Manning, New York has veterans David Carr (79 starts) and Curtis Painter (eight starts) as backup quarterbacks. The Steelers have Bruce Gradkowski, Landry Jones and John Parker Wilson, who have a combined 20 starts (all of them Gradkowski’s). Jones’ first play from scrimmage? A fumble in the end zone that resulted in a safety. John Parker Wilson was sacked four times. Enough said.
-- The Drew Butler vs. Brian Moorman battle will have to wait another week. Butler had three punts (the first of which was blocked, though little fault of his own) for an average of 48 yards. Moorman actually averaged just 43.8, but that included a 59-yard bomb that was returned 17 yards.
-- With seemingly every corner not named Ike Taylor injured, cornerback is a growing concern. Cruz exploited William Gay on a perfectly thrown 57-yard strike from Manning.
5. IN THE ZONE
The Steelers’ offensive line debuted their new zone blocking scheme and were able to establish the run. At least with the first-team offense, anyway. LaRod Stephens-Howling was the biggest beneficiary. The former Pitt star rushed for 40 yards on seven carries (5.7 average). “We had a lot of productive plays, it’s an awesome start for us,” said center Maurkice Pouncey. “We just need to keep building throughout camp.” But the Steelers are extremely thin outside of the starting five up front.
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