Preseason, Halfway Home: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Some will write about every game ~ including preseason. If the years have taught me anything it is that an individual player (or team) can look like a world-beater one game and a bum the very next.

Those of you who watched the Steelers in Landover, Maryland know what I mean.

But two games can give us some notion as to where some players are at in their preparation for the season, and here are some thoughts along those lines.

The Good

1. Stefan Logan: After doing nothing in the game against Arizona, "The Joystick" came to play versus the Redskins ~ a twelve yard return average on punts and a 39.3 yard return average on kicks ~ and his presence energized the kick/punt return units more than any player since Louis Lipps. Given the emphasis that special teams receive in the preseason Mr. Logan's performance may well be the best of any Steeler thus far.


2. Doug Legursky: After a year on the Pittsburgh practice squad last season Mr. Legursky is making a strong push for a spot on the 53-man roster in 2009. His ability to step in for Justin Hartwig in week one, along with his strong performance against the Arizona starters, and then the versatility to start at left guard in week two, move to center shortly thereafter, and more than hold his own against Albert Haynesworth (zero tackles in Saturday evening's game) must have Larry Zierlein and Mike Tomlin feeling very good.


3. A.Q. Shipley: He has stepped in, playing significant minutes in both games, and performed quite capably. Whether or not he will remain on the 53-man roster remains to be seen but Mr. Shipley has only helped his chances with solid plan.

Honorable Mention: Bruce Davis for solid special teams play.

The Bad

1. Dennis Dixon: Nobody was more pleased about the Steelers' decision to choose Mr. Dixon in the 2008 NFL Draft ~ he was a dynamic college quarterback who, despite a devastating knee injury, exhibited Micheal Vick athleticism without all the baggage. But after two weeks (a combined 18/35/180/0 TD/0 INT/66.369 QB Rating) it seems that the challenge of being the third string quarterback (i.e. not playing) is simply more than he can overcome. The lack of touch on his passes is very disappointing to see, and he still seems less than comfortable passing from the pocket. Making the decision to keep or cut Mr. Dixon is made even more difficult because, thanks to his presence on the Steelers' roster for the 2008 season), he is ineligible for the Steelers' practice squad this season.


2. Limas Sweed: He has made some very nice catches and played pretty well versus Arizona, but he continues to perform inconsistently ~ dropping a third down pass versus the Redskins (on Pittsburgh's opening offensive series) that would have been good enough for a first down. He seems to make the tough catches in traffic but struggle with the easier catches. He has great potential but his concentration needs to improve (think AFC Championship game versus Baltimore ~ I know I do).


3. Joe Burnett: In week one he was given an opportunity to show what he could do as a kick/punt returner, and what he did was call fair catches. Then against the Redskins, after Stefan Logan had impressed all evening, he was given another opportunity and promptly fumbled. He has one more game to provide the coaching staff with some reason or another to keep him around.

The Ugly

1. Max Starks & Tony Hills: Is it possible that the situation at left offensive tackle for the Steelers is deteriorating? Max Starks comes out of his stance as slowly as any starting left tackle in football ~ high school and college included ~ and Tony Hills has a nasty tendency to stand straight up out of his stance. Bruce Arians had better plan on keeping an extra blocker on the left side all season long, barring some kind of miracle.


2. Penalties: In the first two preseason games of 2008 the Steelers were called for a total of ten penalties; meanwhile in two games this season they have been penalized 20 times for 159 yards. Sixteen of those have come against the offense ~ the majority involving the offensive line (e.g. illegal formation, holding, false start). To put that into some kind of perspective nearly 30% of the Steelers' offensive output (i.e. 518 net yards) has been negated by penalties. Nothing like making an already tough job tougher.


3. Opening series defense: In the game versus Arizona, the first time the Steelers' defense was on the field the Arizona offense ran off 10 plays, for 42 yards, and possessed the ball for 4:47 (zero points). In the second game the Redskins offense had a drive of 15 plays (including a fake punt), 62 yards, and possessed the abll for 6:47 (scoring three points). In both games adjustments were made (though in the Arizona game the Cardinals' first three possessions consisted of drives of 10 plays, 10 plays, and 14 plays ~ none of which resulted in points) and defensive play improved. However, it would be great to see the defense begin with a three-and-out in a few games ~ just to make me feel better.

For all the positive and negative developments this is still the preseason so there is no need for panic. But after two games it is pretty clear that there is a great deal of work still do; and with less than ten days before first cuts are made and three weeks before the regular season begins time is definitely short.

Personnel News Dominates

Naturally last weekend's draft dominated the news, and with so many media outlets covering what has become a circus we did not feel inclined to get into a "blow-by-blow" reportage of what we (and, probably, you) were seeing on the NFL Network/ESPN. However, with Tuesday's news that Larry Foote is soon to be an ex-Steeler (a rumor that was floating around during the week leading up to the Super Bowl) we decided to add our two cents to everything going on.

So far as Mr. Foote goes, like many of you we are a bit nervous about turning over the starting position to Lawrence Timmons. There is no doubt that Mr. Timmons showed flashes of brilliance during the 2008 season (and he may be the fastest player on the roster), but we just do not see him as an inside linebacker. If LaMarr Woodley had not performed at a Pro Bowl level last season we would wonder if there were not plans to move him inside and Mr. Timmons outside. Then again, how many times does Dick Lebeau have to dazzle us with his genius before we all just relax?

As for the draft . . .

1. We just want it noted for the record that we were one of the first "media outlets" to report on Frank Summers (a.k.a. "Little Bus") as a potential late round pick for the Steelers. The young man has an interesting story (not the least of which is his dyslexia), one that involved going to Cal, redshirting, being placed on academic probation, leaving Cal, being offered a scholarship to play at USC but choosing UNLV instead. The folks at Pro Football Weekly like his size and his hands, but rated him as someone to be signed after the draft because of his lack of burst and inconsistent blocking.


2. It speaks to how little we know about player evaluation that A.Q. Shipley lasted until the seventh round. We were impressed by his work at the Combine, he was well-regarded by NFL Network's resident expert Mike Mayock, and was described by Ourlad's Draft Service as a "[t]ough and intense player." Mr. Shipley has the fundamentals to be a serviceable offensive lineman in the NFL; and that fact makes this a terrific pick for the seventh round.


3. We should know better than to doubt Kevin Colbert and the scouts of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but we are very dubious about the choice of Ra'Shon Harris in the sixth round. He certainly has good size ~ 6'3", 312 pounds ~ but Ourlad's rated him near the bottom of available defensive tackles (a score of 3.49, which in their system is indicative of a player who has some potential but is also borderline). Additionally, Pro Football Weekly in their very critical analysis indicated that Mr. Harris has "[q]uestionanle work habits."


4. Conversely, we like the choice of Keenan Lewis in the third round. On the field, Ourlad's describes him as a "[g]ood man to man cover corner with long arms . . . Can . . . drive quickly on the ball in the air." Pro Football Weekly sees him as a below average tackler who lacks toughness (ouch!). Off the field Mr. Lewis and his family have a pretty compelling story, having been displaced from the home in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina.

The Steelers have their minicamp next weekend, and then "organized team activities" (OTA) May 19-21, May 26-28, June 2-4, and June 9-11. With so much activity on the horizon we believe that there will be more personnel moves in the offing.