McCutchen, Pirates win in 10th, end 9-game skid at Milwaukee

By Joe Totoraitis, Associated Press

http://www.espn.com/mlb/

August 26, 2016

Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen watches his solo home run off Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Wily Peralta during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Benny Sieu)

MILWAUKEE -- Andrew McCutchen feels right at home in Miller Park.

McCutchen hit a home run and a pair of RBI singles through the shift, including the tiebreaker in the 10th inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates stopped a nine-game skid in Milwaukee, beating the Brewers 3-2 Thursday night.

He now has 44 RBI in 56 career games at Miller Park, his highest total at any opposing park.

"There's no (surprise) elements here," McCutchen said. "You get the same thing. You know what you are going to get. You know how the ball is going to look, regardless of the weather. There are really no elements unless you are playing a day game and the shadows start to creep in."

McCutchen, who came in batting .246, homered into the second tier of seats in left field off Wily Peralta in the first for his 18th home run of the season. He then hit an RBI single that beat the shift in the third.

"I know he hasn't had the great year that he normally has, but he's a force, no question," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.

McCutchen's blast was the 26th career home run against the Brewers and tied with the Cincinnati Reds for his highest total against any single opponent.

Pinch-hitter John Jaso blooped a single off Carlos Torres (2-3) in the 10th, advanced on a sacrifice, took third on a ground out and scored on McCutchen's liner through the empty right side of the infield.

"Even when I'm behind in the count, I know I can still battle and get the job done," McCutchen said. "I was able to do that today."

McCutchen foiled the strategy that moved the second baseman behind the bag, leaving a huge gap between first and second.

"I'm just taking what they gave me," he said. "If they have a shift on, I'm a guy that hits the ball to all parts of the field. That's starting to show a lot more."

Antonio Bastardo (2-0) picked up the win in relief and Tony Watson pitched a scoreless 10th for his eighth save in 11 chances.

Chad Kuhl, making his first career appearance against Milwaukee, cruised through the first six innings -- allowing just two hits. However, he ran out of gas in the seventh.

Pitching coach Ray Searage made a mound visit after Chris Carter's one-out double and just before Nieuwenhuis stepped in. Whatever was said, didn't work.Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit Kuhl's first pitch into the seats in right to tie the score.Orlando Arcia doubled to end the 23-year-old rookie right-handers' eighth start of the season.

Kuhl thought that his slider deserted him in the seventh.

"It was going well for me all night," he said. "Then, it flattened out. I'm a human, not a robot. I wish I could throw it perfectly every time, but it happens."

Kuhl walked two, snapping his streak of no walks in his three previous road starts. He struck out five in 6 1/3 innings, his longest outing of the season and fifth consecutive time he went at least six innings.

With McCutchen's winning hit, the Pirates have won seven of Kuhl's first eight major-league starts.

Peralta was done after throwing 63 of 100 pitches for strikes in five shaky innings. He walked three and struck out five in his fourth start since rejoining the rotation on Aug. 9. He had been optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs on June 12 after going 4-7 in 13 starts, including the season opener.

MARTE'S MOTORING

Marte stole his 43rd base of the season. The last Pirate to record more than 42 steals in a season was Tony Womack who had 58 in 1998.

CALL OVERTURNED

Second base umpire Bob Davidson's out call on Starling Marte's attempted steal of second in the Pirates' fifth was overturned after a 2:34 review.

CREEPY TALE

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle shared a story about ghosts at the team's hotel during his pregame session with the media.

Baseball players in the past have reported eerie encounters and strange happenings at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.

"I had a player call me one night assuring me of the fact that there is a ghost and it turned his TV on twice during the night," Hurdle said. "I actually had him come into my room to settle him down. Went back to his room for a while. Sat with him. The TV didn't come back on. I exited and everything was OK. I don't want to name names, but he's still playing."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Pirates: 3B Jung Ho Kang accompanied the team on the road trip. He's been on the 15-day disabled list since Aug. 20 with a left shoulder injury.

Brewers: RHP Jacob Barnes is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Biloxi on Friday. He's been on disabled list since July 27 with right elbow soreness.

UP NEXT

Pirates: RHP Ryan Vogelsong (2-3, 2.98 ERA) makes his seventh start and 17th appearance when he faces Milwaukee for the first time this season. He is 4-0 with a 2.53 ERA in his last six appearances, including five starts, against the Brewers.

Brewers: RHP Matt Garza (4-5, 5.27) faces the Pirates for the third time this season. He is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in those two starts and overall, he is 3-4 with a 4.37 ERA in 11 career outings.

Pirates can't overcome Cole

BY JOE STARKEY

http://triblive.com/sports/

August 24, 2016

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole labors through the fifth inning against the Astros on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016, at PNC Park. (Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review)

Say this much for Gerrit Cole, who suffered a career-high ninth loss Wednesday: When reporters trekked into the clubhouse to inquire about his latest failed start, he was right there at his locker, ready to face questions.

If only someone had answers.

What is wrong with the Pirates' presumptive ace?

I asked manager Clint Hurdle what he saw from Cole in the 5-4 loss to the Houston Astros, one in which Cole lasted just five innings and gave up seven hits and five earned runs. That makes it a mind-blowing 31 hits surrendered in his past three starts.

It's a good thing Cole's contract doesn't make him give back money by the hit. He'd be broke.

Anyway, what did Hurdle see?

“It's a big question,” Hurdle said. “Anything specific?”

Well, yes: Why did he struggle again?

“His overall command is coming and going,” Hurdle said. “Balls are elevated over the middle of the plate.”

Consistency. Command. The usual stuff. Nothing injury related that anybody knows of or is willing to admit. But, wow, have things changed. The Pirates were 23-9 in Cole's starts last season. They are 8-12 this season.

Does anyone swing and miss at his stuff anymore?

Can this team possibly make the playoffs with Cole scuffling like this?

On many nights last year, Cole was simply overpowering. On many nights this year, especially during an August swoon where his ERA is 6.07, he looks like a right-handed Jeff Locke.

“I'm just getting killed when I miss,” Cole said.

The Astros did almost nothing against Jameson Taillon and Ivan Nova the previous two games. The major difference Wednesday was Evan Gattis, who did not start the previous two games and made Cole wish he hadn't started this one, either.

With one on in the second — after Carlos Correa nearly hit Cole with a shot up the middle — Gattis launched a juicy fastball to the “S” in “PIRATES” in the center-field shrubbery, some 410 feet away. The boos came later, during the Astros' two-run fifth.

Cole has surrendered 41 hits in 26 2⁄3 innings this month. His flops have occurred at very bad times: with a chance to sweep a series (Reds); a chance to set up a sweep (Dodgers); a critical game against a fellow wild-card contender (Marlins); and now this, a chance to win a series against the Astros and somewhat salvage a six-game homestand that instead crashed and burned to 1-5.

Pitching coach Ray Searage was on an ESPN podcast with Buster Olney before the game and said his advice to Cole was to keep it simple.

“You set the bar so far up there that if you don't reach it every start, you think you've failed,” Searage said he told Cole. “And you're not failing.”

Actually, at this point, Cole is failing. He is failing his team badly.

Searage was right on this, though: Cole doesn't have to be lights-out dominant every time. That is unrealistic. But he does have to get deeper into games and not just “give his team a chance to win” but put it in position to win.

Right now, Cole is as big a reason as any that the Pirates are in position to lose out on a postseason bid — and the next week could be telling. First comes a trip to dreaded Miller Park, where the Pirates have lost nine straight games and are 19-68 since 2006.

Yes, 19-68.

I asked Hurdle if he has an explanation for the horrors that unfold there.

“They've played better than us,” he said. “And we're due. It's our time to do something there. It's easy to talk about. We need to go in there and play well.”

After Milwaukee comes a trip to Wrigley Field and a three-game set with the Cubs. The pitching matchup for the opener has a familiar ring to it.

Jake Arrieta versus Gerrit Cole. 

Joe Starkey co-hosts a show 2 to 6 p.m. weekdays on 93.7 FM. Reach him at jraystarkey@gmail.com.

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Ben Roethlisberger: The Most Evolved QB

Ben Roethlisberger is the only player of his era to dominate as both a sandlot-style playmaker and a cerebral field general


by Andy Benoit
http://mmqb.si.com/
August 23, 2016



JOHN SOMMERS/ICON SPORTSWIRE

Ben Roethlisberger is the most underrated quarterback in the NFL. More precisely, he’s the most misappreciated quarterback. Almost everyone agrees that Roethlisberger is a superstar, but few seem to realize what makes him such a rare talent.

For the longest time, Roethlisberger’s greatness stemmed solely from the fact that he was the most physically gifted passer in the game. People marveled at the way he would shed would-be sackers and extend plays. Football insiders reallymarveled at how, after shedding those tacklers and extending the play, he would still make such accurate downfield throws (usually doing so while off-balance). Roethlisberger’s arm is as strong anyone’s. His precision accuracy is better than almost everyone’s. The fact that he can exhibit all this when things break down is breathtaking.

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For a long time, Roethlisberger himself was often the reason things broke down in the first place. “Early on it was, Okay who’s my No. 1 receiver, who’s my No. 2 and that’s about all you had room for,” Roethlisberger told me when I visited the Steelers’ training camp this month. “It was: take the snap, if it’s there, get rid of it. If it’s not, make a play.”

Despite a long history of injuries, Roethlisberger hasn’t lost his playmaking magic at 34. But his game no longer relies on it. And that’s why he’s a markedly better QB now than he was in his 20s.

“As I’ve evolved I’ve been able to recognize and read defenses, change a play if necessary,” Roethlisberger says. “I’ve gotten comfortable enough in this offense that it even gets down to, Okay, I’m looking at this safety. What’s he doing? What are his eyes telling me? I think that’s just the comfort level with our offense that I can afford to do that.”

Reading not just a safety’s positioning, but something as detailed as his eyes, is one element of 500-level quarterbacking. Another is manipulating a safety withyour own eyes—or with your body language as a passer. Roethlisberger has become very adroit here, controlling defenders with his vision, with little rolls of the shoulder, subtle tilts of the helmet and, of course, various forms of his patented pump-faking.

“I think when I was doing the pump fakes early in my career, it was an attempt tothrow the ball,” he says with a laugh. “The throw’s not there, so it turns out looking like a great pump fake. But as you get older, as you understand defenses and your offense, you utilize it [as a weapon]. I want to continue to get better [with all of these physical passing nuances], so I watch Tom and Drew and Aaron and some of those guys to see, Okay what’s something little they do that maybe I can do with my game? That’s how you’re always improving.”

Like Brady and Brees, Roethlisberger’s command both pre- and post-snap has led to an influx in empty backfield formations for his offense. You frequently see the Steelers spread into a 3x2 set with nobody but the QB in the backfield.

• SCOUTING PITTSBURGH: Antonio Brown Is Unstoppable

“Usually it reveals defenses easier, it’s harder for them to disguise a blitz because they’ve got to cover people, so they’ve got to spread out. We do enjoy it because we feel we can go up-tempo with it and keep it moving fast. We can take our shots but also get the ball out quick.”

Never would anyone who studied Roethlisberger in the 2000s guess that he’d one day be talking about the game through this prism of intellect and discipline. He’s the only player of his era to be independently dominant as both a raw sandlot-style playmaker and as a controlling field general.

“You have to evolve with the times,” he says. “The longer you’re around, you find little tricks of the trade. Whether it’s in meetings, or even just impromptu meetings on the field. Or spending time with the backup quarterbacks that I’ve had. I’ve been very blessed with some great guys like that. I think all those things combined really helped me become more of a cerebral type quarterback.”

Nova, Polanco lead Pirates to 7-1 victory over Astros

By John Perrotto, Associated Press

http://www.espn.com/mlb/

August 23, 2016

Pittsburgh Pirates' Gregory Polanco, left, is congratulated by Josh Bell after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. (Fred Vuich/AP)

PITTSBURGH -- Ivan Nova has developed a pre-game ritual since coming to the Pittsburgh Pirates from the New York Yankees in a trade on Aug. 1.

The right-hander walks up to right fielder Gregory Polanco in the dugout just before the first pitch and asks him to hit a home run.

"He hit two for me today," Nova said with a smile.

Nova took a shutout into the ninth inning and finished with a six-hitter while Polanco hit two home runs to lead the Pirates to a 7-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

Nova (10-6) struck out six, walked one and threw 69 of his 98 pitches for strikes while improving to 3-0 in four starts with the Pirates.

It was the fourth complete game of the right-hander's seven-year career with the others coming in 2013.

"He was very efficient with his pitches," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "He threw a lot of really good sinkers against a very good-hitting team with a lot of right-handed hitters and he locked them up with the ball away."

His bid for his third career shutout ended when Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve led off the ninth with consecutive doubles.

Pittsburgh snapped its four-game losing streak and stopped Houston's four-game winning streak. Both teams entered 3 1/2 games out of the second wild card in their respective leagues.

Nova is doing his best to keep the Pirates' hopes of a fourth consecutive postseason appearance alive after being traded for the first time in his career.

"You don't want to get traded," Nova said. "This is not what I was looking for. Stuff like that happens, though. I'm happy to be here. It's a good group of guys who want to win and I'm trying to do the best I can to help them win."

After the Pirates scored four runs in the first inning, Polanco hit solo shots in the third and fifth off Joe Musgrove and Tony Sipp to extend the lead to 6-0 and raise his season total to a team-high 19 homers.

It was Polanco's second two-home run game of his three-year career. The other was July 4 at St. Louis.

The right fielder hit a combined 19 homers in his first two seasons.

"I guess I'm getting stronger," Polanco said. "My swing is getting better, shorter and quicker. Experience, too. The more swings you take, the better you get every day."

The Pirates opened the first inning with six straight hits off Musgrove (1-2).Matt Joyce and Andrew McCutchen hit consecutive RBI doubles then Polanco and rookie Josh Bell drove in runs with singles.

Polanco had three of the Pirates' 11 hits while driving in three runs and scoring three times. Joyce and Bell added two hits each.

The Astros' Marwin Gonzalez had three hits.

Musgrove, a rookie making his fourth career start, was rocked for five runs and eight hits in four innings with two strikeouts and no walks. He has allowed a combined 13 runs in 9 1/3 innings while losing his last two starts.

"He's learning," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "That's part of the nature of having young starters. He's got to learn to battle himself through his first back-to-back games of adversity. He has pitches to do it. He has a ton of competitiveness in him."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Astros: 3B Luis Valbuena will undergo surgery in the next few days to repair a torn tendon in his right hamstring. Out since July 27, Valbuena finishes the season hitting .260 with 13 home runs in 90 games. ... OF Preston Tucker(strained right shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment Wednesday at Double-A Corpus Christi. ... 3B/OF Yulieski Gurriel (right hamstring tightness) did not start for a second straight game after making his major league debut Sunday but is expected to be in the lineup Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Astros: RHP Collin McHugh (7-10, 4.99 ERA) starts the finale of the three-game series Wednesday. He is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in his last five starts.

Pirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (7-8, 3.30) is 0-2 with a 6.48 ERA in his last three starts.

For Le'Veon Bell, actions speak louder than apologies

By Mark Madden

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/

August 22, 2016

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

I’m not the kind of guy to say I told you so, but…

Wait a minute. Who am I kidding? I am exactly that kind of guy.

On June 14, I said on my radio show and Twitter than Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell faced suspension for missing a drug test.

Bell responded by lying: “I haven’t missed any drug tests (or) failed any drug tests.”

The local media fell right in line, accepting Bell’s denial unconditionally.

On July 22, ESPN’s Dan Graziano “broke” the story. (Gag.) The NFL allegedly couldn’t reach Bell to schedule tests because Bell changed his phone number. Bell now says he doesn’t know where that story came from.

That’s understandable. When you lie constantly, it’s tough to keep track.

After the ESPN report, Bell defiantly said he wouldn’t miss any games.

Steelers management complained about the story being “leaked,” as if that negated Bell missing the test and ignoring that the leak came from within the organization.

(Note to the Steelers locker room: DeAngelo Williams was not the leak. Just because we both like pro wrestling doesn’t mean we talk. We don’t. That’s hilarious: A leak that misidentifies a previous leak.)

Then, on Friday, the other shoe dropped. Bell got banned three games. The NFLPA negotiated Bell’s suspension down from four games in a rare example of that union doing something besides mangling.

Bell apologized to Yinzer Nation, but continued to lie. He said the NFL tried to test him at 5:37 a.m. on a Saturday morning in April.

That simply didn’t happen. Nobody in any profession gets drug-tested at 5:37 a.m. on a Saturday morning.

Bell should hire Ryan Lochte as his publicist. Bell’s cascade of horse flop makes Lochte’s nonsense sound believable.

Bell being out three games puts undue pressure on his teammates. If the Steelers lose a game they shouldn’t -- like Week 2 at home vs. Cincinnati -- they might get a wild card instead of the AFC North title. Maybe they miss the playoffs. It’s a fine line.

Williams, 33, proved himself a decent running back last season when Bell was suspended, then hurt. But Williams is another year older.

The story now is accountability.

Ever wonder how the Steelers locker room reacts to an event like Bell’s latest suspension? Or his prior suspension? Or Martavis Bryant’s season-long suspension?

Yeah, I know: Everybody’s sorry. Deeply apologetic. The Steelers have only won one playoff game in the last five years, but have gotten real good at mea culpas.

Has a team leader (or leaders) told miscreants like Bell that being suspended twice before his fourth NFL season is unacceptable? Or is it more important to be one of the boys? Has Bell been on the receiving end of any harsh invective from Coach Mike Tomlin? Or is it more important for Tomlin to be one of the boys?

It’s understandable when stupid incidents happen occasionally. But they’re happening constantly in an organization that used to pride itself on being mostly above such shenanigans. (You’re talking about shenanigans, right?)

The great unwashed often says, “I don’t care what they do off the field.” Perhaps it’s blissful to be mind-numbingly shallow.

But Bell’s irresponsibility off the field will keep him off the field for the season’s first three games. Worse yet, it screws up your fantasy draft.

For Bell to commit the amount of drug-policy violations necessary to get suspended twice in two seasons, he doesn’t care. Bell says he does, but his repeated actions speak louder, and say that he doesn’t. Bell likes getting high more than he likes football.

Either that, or he’s incredibly stupid. That’s a possibility that can’t be dismissed.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).

Le'Veon Bell needs more than rushing yards to repair trust with Steelers

Jeremy FowlerESPN Staff Writerhttp://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelersAugust 19, 2016

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers could have trust issues.

They love Le'Veon Bell's ability and work ethic, but he can't truly be counted on until he resumes spending season openers on their active roster.

It's not just that the Steelers lose a featured back to a three-game suspension. It's that Bell -- who missed the first two games last season after being arrested on DUI and marijuana possession charges (he got probation) -- had talked openly about staying out of trouble after his 2015 suspension but still found it.

Originally, Bell faced a four-game suspension, but the NFL announced Friday a reduction to three games, as first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The NFL Players Association and NFL reached an agreement that Bell will stay in the same stage of the drug intervention program, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano, meaning another stumble would result in four more games missed, not 10. Six fewer games if he gets popped again, Steelers fans will say.

The fact that this dynamic has to be considered with Bell illustrates the core issue: The Steelers probably won't know what to expect from him off the field until he proves it over time.

The Steelers obviously have affection for Bell, who is one of the team's tone-setters with offseason training and on-field intensity. He handles himself well with the media and in the team facility. People want to see him do well. But he also said on social media that he wouldn't miss a game due to the suspension and for the haters, "Let em hate."

"When I end up missin no games at all, ppl for sure gonna try to love me again and I'm only ridin with my LOYAL fans!!," Bell wrote on his verified Instagram account directly to a fan.

That was always a difficult proposition when the NFL's substance abuse policy clearly states three missed tests equals four missed games. Bell missed the tests due to a travel issue that he failed to communicate to the tester, according to Graziano. Whoever is advising him needs to send him more text alerts.

In a video from his twitter feed that is no longer available, apparently Bell said he missed the tests in the early stages of his knee rehab -- November and December of 2015 -- and the punishment is 'on me.' He vows to become a 'better person' from this, according to quotes circulating from the video, and he hasn't smoked marijuana since 2014.

That's why the team doesn't see Bell as a character concern in the classic sense. But since everyone waited for the appeal to play out, and the suspension is still coming (though cut to three games), general manager Kevin Colbert is left to play the role of disappointed dad.

"We will continue to work with Le'Veon to help him eliminate distractions in his life so he can reach his full potential as a member of our community as well as a player for the Pittsburgh Steelers," Colbert said.

Everyone in the Steelers' building wants to believe it. Bell believes it.

It's up to him to reinforce it.

On the field, Bell will be fine. That's never been the issue. Get him out there and the skills take over. In fact, this could be his most productive season. He'll be hungry to tear through the Kansas City Chiefs' defensive line in Week 4 after watching without pads for three games.

After the season, the Steelers will face one of the more fascinating free-agency decisions if Bell is unsigned. As is customary every year, the Steelers will close the window on 2016 negotiations before the first game.

Bell can make money by the way he handles the next offseason or two.

Landry Jones throws four picks, and Steelers' QB situation behind Big Ben looks ugly

Jeremy FowlerESPN Staff Writerhttp://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelersAugust 19, 2016

Philadelphia's Nolan Carroll returns an interception for a touchdown in last night's 17-0 win over the Steelers. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH -- This is not what the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense meant by going empty.

As in, the backup-quarterback picture behind Ben Roethlisberger is feeling rather bare after Landry Jones threw four interceptions in the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.

It's the preseason. And Jones is better than this. But a six-quarter preseason stat line of 18-of-32 for 166 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions will never instill confidence. Jones had solidified the No. 2 job in training camp, where he was generally pretty good.

Jones is unfazed by the picks.

"You have to let it rip," Jones said. "I would rather play aggressive than hold back and play scared."

It's no wonder the Steelers sat Roethlisberger for a handful of training-camp practices and two preseason games. They don't want to risk a thing.

Safe to say the Steelers -- who fell to 0-2 in preseason after Thursday's 17-0 defeat -- will probably run the ball a ton if Roethlisberger gets hurt. Le'Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams all afternoon. Bruce Gradkowski wasn't the answer, but he's hurt because of a torn hamstring and will be out awhile. There are no viable free-agent options. Dustin Vaughan is considered a project, at least for now.

Jones is basically it. And sometimes there's good Landry ... until very bad Landry rears his turnover-prone head.

Jones just got booed in the preseason.

At least Jones' picks weren't all his fault. He got hit on his last throw, with a wobbling ball falling into the hands of defensive back Jaylen Watkins. Two passes intended for Sammie Coates looked like miscommunications. In fact, Coates played the good teammate by blaming two of the interceptions on himself, not coming back to the ball on a throw in the first drive and not going up for the ball on a toss to the corner of the end zone.

"It wasn't his fault," said Coates about Jones. "We have to make those plays for him."

That won't quell the concerns on this night.

QB depth chart: Jones played the entire first half, followed by Vaughan, who started slowly (3 of his first 5 for just 20 yards) but connected with Cobi Hamilton on a 29-yarder down the sideline and finished 7-for-13 for 67 yards. He has a big arm but needs more polish.

Maybe that dude could start: Eli Rogers is coming on as a slot receiver, and he didn't disappoint with four catches and 39 yards in limited action. He has a quick first step and uses it to navigate the middle of the field. In two preseason games, he's the young receiver who has stood out the most. Rookie slot corner Sean Davis looked more prepared running with the first team than he did a week ago, when he admitted to nerves.

Who got hurt? The Steelers left the game in relatively good health but had several key players sidelined from the start, including three of their past four first-round picks: Jarvis Jones, Bud Dupree and Artie Burns.

A surprise player who impressed: Defensive back Montell Garner is making a case to stay on the team. His activity in the open field is noticeable. And with cornerback Senquez Golson out because of a Lisfranc injury, there could be room for one more newbie in the defensive backfield. Safety Jacob Hagen has good range at 6-foot-3. He closed on one ball quickly for a pass breakup, like he did a few times in Monday's practice at Saint Vincent College. He's a long shot, but he has presence.

When it was starters vs. starters, the Steelers looked ...: Solid defensively. The Steelers mixed and matched coverages (yes, some 4-3 action), with Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford averaging 6.1 yards per passing attempt. The Eagles' underneath passing game was a good matchup for Pittsburgh, but the Steelers were active and sniffed out Philadelphia's screen passes and tight-end targets. On an Arthur Moats sack, safety Robert Golden covered the hot read perfectly and Bradford was all alone. "I felt like we bounced back from last week where we weren't getting off the field on third downs," Moats said.

One reason to be concerned: The Steelers need a lift at tight end with Ladarius Green out, and miscues by Jesse James and Xavier Grimble didn't help that cause. James missed an edge block that resulted in Jones taking a hit on his final interception. Grimble has an intriguing skill set, but he dropped a wide-open pass over the middle in a rare chance to make an impact. James had held his own in run-blocking early in the game, so his miss was curious.

Pouncey back: Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey played his first NFL game snaps in 360 days. Pouncey injured his fibula on Aug. 23, 2015, against the Packers, resulting in a missed season and several surgeries. "It felt amazing to be back out there with the guys, hit around," Pouncey said. "I was smiling the whole time."

No preseason playoffs for Steelers: The Steelers are now 2-13 in their past 15 preseason games after the loss to the Eagles. Time to rebuild!