Steelers vs. Eagles - Thoughts and Reactions

Emmanuel Sanders (#88) Celebrates a TD

For those of you "out of market" Steeler fans (like me) who have the NFL Network, you had to wait until Friday at 1:00pm (EST) to watch the entire Steelers vs. Eagles preseason game.  After watching the entire game, I obviously have some thoughts and reactions to the minimal amount of quality football that was on showcase in Philly.

- Mike Adams Injured / Overmatched - Mike Adams got his first NFL start in the first preseason matchup, but it was the fact that he was injured that dominated headlines.  Luckily, he seems to have dodged a major bullet of a major leg injury, but after watching the game I can't help but notice it looked like the injury might have saved him, and Ben Roethlisberger.  Adams was responsible for 1.0 sacks in the limited amount of time that Ben played, and looked overmatched.  I know what you are thinking, "He is a rookie...there are going to be growing pains!" I realize that, but at the same time both of the Eagles starting DE were NOT playing.  I can only imagine what Babin and company would have done if they had started.  I'm hoping he will make a quick recovery and hopefully improve before the regular season when the Denver Broncos aggressive pass rushers will be coming for Ben's head.

- Dink and Dunk Offense - Some might find it to be boring, but look at the fact that the Steelers took the opening drive 60+ yards and almost took up a half of a quarter that lead to points on the opening drive.  Sure it would have been nice to score a TD right off the bat, but points are points.  Don't think this is all the offense will do, but its nice to know the Steelers can run the quick pass offense and make it work when needed.  Getting the ball into the RBs hands out in the flat doesn't hurt either.  This type of offense will keep the starting QB clean and will hopefully open up some deep throws as well.  The best defense is keeping the opponent's offense off the field, and that is exactly what the Steelers did with their starting offense. 

- David DeCastro Looked Solid - The only way he resembled Alan Faneca was the fact that he was wearing the same jersey # (66).  That isn't to say that he looked bad though.  I wouldn't say he looked great either, but he looked solid.  He made some nice blocks to spring some quality runs and showed the pulling ability that had him so highly rated in the NFL draft.  He looked more like a NFL lineman that Mike Adams, and that is something that the Steelers desperately needed at the guard position.  It will be interesting to see if Mike Tomlin keeps him as a starter if Willie Colon is healthy for the next preseason game, but I didn't see anything to show me why he SHOULDN'T be the starter next week.

- Rookie Chris Rainey = Explosive - Whether it was in the return game, catching screen passes, or just getting the ball in open space, the former Florida Gator RB is as explosive as they come.  He showed tremendous burst and escapability on several occasions (one of which went for a TD).  He saw some time with the starters and currently looks like a shoe-in for the starting 3rd down RB role.  His "position flexibility" (as Tomlin would say) gives him a great opportunity to be the biggest Impact Rookie for the Steelers this year (reference to my previous post before the preseason began...you can see all my old posts by clicking "older posts" at the bottom of the page).

- Barron Batch = ?? - The player who was talked about as the surprise of training camp last year before tearing his ACL, had high expectations heading into this season.  I will hold judgement for later in the preseason as I hope that the Steelers will give him more time with the #1s and #2s than with the #3s and #4s so we can see if this guy can actually contribute to the 2012-2013 team.  He didn't show much in the redzone as he failed to score on 1st and goal on 2 separate occasions, and didn't have much room to run.  He will be a bubble player that needs to prove his worth in the next few weeks if he wants to make the final 53 man roster.

All in all I liked what I saw.  The Steelers were up 13-0 half way through the 3rd quarter, and you can't ask for much more than that.  Sure, it would be nice to put up a ton of points, but did anyone else see the Patriots and Saints final score? 7-6.  Thats right...7-6.  Don't worry about the offense, and the defense looked good even with undersized DLinemen anchoring that 3-4 defense.  I feel there is alot too look forward to for all those Steelers Fans out across the nation and around the world!