What We Learned - Steelers - 13 / Giants - 18

Larod Stephens Howling (#34) Was a Bright Spot
For the Steelers vs the Giants Sat. Night

Maybe I should have re-titled this article "Did We Learn Anything?" because this was a game that certainly was not crisp in any stretch of the imagination.  However, there is SOMETHING that Steelers fans can take from this 1st Preseason Game performance.  I'll break it down for you right here:

- Steelers Identity Could Be Changing on Offense - We all know that when Bruce Arians was parading around the facility claiming "we want to run the ball", yet consistently threw the ball on short yardage situations.  I like to call that "out thinking yourself", or "having a horrendous offensive line".  Whatever you want to call it, if this first game was any type of indicator, that indicator would tell you the Steelers are looking to run the ball more this season.  The Steelers offensive line is very young, very athletic, and outside of Ramon Foster...moves very well.  That is why this new "zone blocking" scheme they are implementing could work well.  Larod Stephens-Howling had himself a day rushing for 40 yards on 7 carries (thats a 5.7yds/carry), and that is something the Steelers haven't seen since 2009.  Putting too much into one game?  Maybe.  Or, this could be the new Steelers offense mutating into something that could equal success.

- Mental Mistakes Must Be Rectified NOW - There is a trend with the Pittsburgh Steelers that isn't a good one.  The past few years the Steelers have been near the lead, or led the league in penalites.  That trend continued against the Giants on Saturday night as the Steelers were penalized 7 times for 50 yards.  I realize that this is a relatively young team, but the mental mistakes cannot happen if you want to succeed in the NFL.  This is a direct correlation to the coaching staff, and more specifically, Mike Tomlin.  You have 4 weeks in the preseason to get this straightened out.  To reign the players in, and to make them understand that penalties will absolutely kill a team.  Perfect example.  1st possession ends with a punt.  Drew Butler drills a punt that is hardley returned.  Holding penalty on Pittsburgh.  Time to re-kick.  Punt is blocked and it eventually leads to (LUCKILY) a Giants Field Goal.  Absolutely unacceptable.

- Fans Should Calm Down - Alot of fans took to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets griping about everything from play calling to the simple fact the Steelers lost the game.  In my opinion, the only thing fans should "freak out" about are injuries.  When you watched David DeCastro go down injured last year in the preseason everyone was concerned.  If there aren't injuries, the fan base should just sit back, watch, and enjoy watching football.  NFL teams aren't game planning for their opponents on offense or defense, so it isn't likely that the teams will execute with the same degree of accuracy as they will when the games really count.

- Unlike the OLine, DLine Showing Some Decent Depth - If you read my "Watch to Watch For" article on this game, you know I was excited about watching the boys in the trenches.  Although the offensive line depth is weak (that is putting it nicely), the defensive line depth showed promise.  DE Al Woods was named the Steelers Digest as the Player of the Week.  Woods and Heyward could prove to be the Travis Kirschke and Chris Hoke of this defensive line.  Guys that can come in and spell the starters to keep everyone fresh and stay effective. 


- Position Battles Still In the Air - The RB position battle only got cloudier after this preseason game.  With Larod Stephens Howling performing well with the first team, you ask yourself what happens with everyone else?  Isaac Redman got a few carries and was effective.  Joanathan Dwyer was very "underwhelming" (as someone put it on Twitter) with 6 carries and 15 yards behind the first team OLine.  It will only get more crowded with Le'veon Bell suits up next Monday against the Redskins.  Other position battles of note, Jarvis Jones looked slow.  Not because he is slow, but because you could see him having to think too much on the field.  Players talk all the time about how they eventually got to top speed when they don't have to think anymore and can just play and react to the situation.  I fully expect Jones to improve as the preseason drags on, and eventually assist Jason Worilds in holding down the ROLB position, but he has alot of work to do until that happens.

Next Steelers Action:
Steelers @ Redskins - 8:00PM - ESPN
Monday August 19, 2013